When teaching piano students I am constantly reminded that language is very subjective. One moment a student can be looking at me, nodding with complete understanding and then the next moment… deer in the headlights.
Just last week I was using the words “rise and fall” to describe a certain phrase, when the deer in the headlights bolted in front of my metaphorical car. My teen piano student was looking particularly confused (or was it bored… I’m not sure). So I abandoned language altogether (well, not completely) and decided to approach phrasing in a much more colorful way.
Break Out The Crayons – Using Gradients To Show Phrasing
You’ll need your trusty pencil crayons (as if they don’t already have a permanent spot beside your piano!) and that’s it!
But what is a gradient? A gradient is a color that blends from one intensity to another. You can achieve this by shading lightly with your pencil crayon and then varying the intensity of the color based on your desired intensity of sound. See the example below:
Using degrees of color intensity is a really effective way to show intensity of sound without messing about trying to find the right words to describe what it is you are wanting to hear. With this visual, your piano students… a) won’t forget their phrasing and b) will be able to include more subtlety as they transfer what they see into what they play.
Other Bonuses To Using “Gradient Phrasing”
Other wonderful things I’ve discovered while using this way of indicating phrasing are:
a) By using a variety of colors you can also mark similar phrases – this way of finding patterns in your students’ music is a very effective learning and memorizing tool.
b) Using gradient phrasing allows your students to easily be looking ahead, and therefore they are more able to plan their expression as they play (this avoids reaching the height of their dynamic range before the actual climax of the phrase or vice versa).
c) Using color to show intensity also doesn’t interfere with dynamic markings – this allows you to show the difference in phrasing within a mezzo piano versus phrasing within a forte marking. You can either match gradient colors with dynamics (so all phrases within a mp or p marking are green and all phrases within a mf or f marking are red etc.) or you can highlight the dynamics in a different way and continue as you would in (a) above.
d) Gradient phrasing works with even very young children – there is an inherent understanding when it comes to color intensity representing sound intensity, and therefore even young children are able to show great amounts of subtlety in their phrasing.
Remember to Hand Over The Reins (or the Pencil)
This activity becomes even more effective if your student first hears the phrase and then transfers this into a gradient themselves. With my piano students, I will either play the phrase while they listen and then create the gradients, or they’ll play the phrase, we’ll discuss what we liked about what they played, and then they’ll create the gradient. In either case, your students’ abilities to transfer what they hear into what they see will make this much easier when they then have to do this in reverse (transfer what they see into what they play/hear).
Having motivating repertoire to explore phrasing is also key in having your students fully engaged in the process. And when it comes to motivating material, PianoBookClub is your go-to source. For just $8 a month we send you an entire book of supplementary repertoire with a studio license to print it forever! See the fun we’ve been delivering here!
Karen says
March 6, 2015 at 4:52 amlove the gradients! Thank you so much!
Milla says
March 6, 2015 at 6:06 amGreat idea! Start using immediately! Thanks!
Nancy Kay Grace says
March 6, 2015 at 6:16 amvery insightful! Thanks for sharing!
Patsy I says
March 6, 2015 at 6:46 amLove this idea so very much! It fits perfectly with the Piano Book Club “Guardians” music that one of my teens is working on and will be the exact follow-up at next week’s lesson. Thanks!
Andrea says
March 6, 2015 at 2:12 pmGlad to hear it Patsy! Hope your students are enjoying the music from the Guardians of Arranmore book 🙂
Morgan says
March 6, 2015 at 6:59 amMaybe I’m just stupid… But I don’t really get it.
I can see how it would be very helpful for a crescendo or diminuendo, which is obviously part of phrasing. But how would I explain the difference?
Andrea says
March 6, 2015 at 11:46 amHi Morgan! Possibly the confusion lies in what we’re talking about when we say “phrasing”. To me, teaching students phrasing means teaching them how to execute the building and release of tension within each phrase and being able to use this expression to show where phrases begin, end, peak and how they relate to phrases that precede and follow. So in a way, this does include dynamics like crescendo and diminuendo, but it’s not always just dynamics – it can involve subtle changes in tempo etc. By using varying degrees of color you avoid having to use all sorts of words (that are easily misinterpreted) and instead can show how *intensity* increases and decreases. This intensity comes from that combination of dynamics, rubato etc. Does this clarify?
Sandra says
March 6, 2015 at 7:09 amI like to use shades of red for crescendo and shades of blue for diminuendo.
Sometimes I assign colours for (ex) F, Mf , P etc and lightly colour whole blocks of the music. You can still mark cres’s and dim’s over the top of the colour blocks. It becomes a very visual reminder to use the dynamic markings.
Faith says
March 6, 2015 at 7:26 amColor also works very well for note reading. I first used it with beginning Christmas carols when my students would try to play “by ear” instead of careful note reading. Example: Away In a Manger (in C Major)… Connect the two G’s with red, the two E’s with green, the two C’s with yellow, etc. Before you know it, they will stop and ask for a crayon to “fix” a mistake.
Robin says
March 6, 2015 at 7:46 amLove the shading idea! Will add that to my arsenal. In my teaching bag (I travel to homes) I have a box of crayons, two sets of highlighters, pens of many different colors, a new box of washi tape (10 colors), sticky notes of varying colors (most of this thanks to Diane Hidy and my art teacher friend, Melissa Duffy) – all to emphasize different concepts that my students need to work on. When a student needs to focus a concept that they’ve been ignoring in their music, they decide what in my bag (and which color) will help them remember. Varies from student to student and week to week.
Shelley says
March 6, 2015 at 8:08 amI’m wondering the same as Morgan. I get how it will help dynamics, but how will it help phrasing? TIA
Andrea says
March 6, 2015 at 11:47 amHi Shelley – I just answered Morgan in the comments above if you want to have a read to clarify 🙂
Michelle says
March 6, 2015 at 9:06 amNice idea. I keep a few paint chips near my piano to help describe something similar with varying degrees of dynamics. It’s a nice visual for kids to see there are many shades of one color. I think coupled with your idea to allow students to shade the song, it’s a great teaching tool. It gives them some control and is a visual reminder when they’re practicing their songs. Win/win!
Louise says
March 6, 2015 at 9:39 amDo you check with the student first, to fink out if it okay for you to color in their books or on their music?
Andrea says
March 6, 2015 at 11:49 amHi Louise – I can’t imagine not colouring on my students’ music! My piano teacher once told me about her own piano prof. If his students ever arrived to their lesson with a “clean” piece of music he literally tossed the book across the room and told them to come back once they had truly practiced. I don’t agree with the music throwing 😉 but I do agree that having a “working copy” of your music where you explore a myriad of different concepts visually as well as aurally is important. Most of the music I use now is from digital sources like PianoBookClub and so I can print a clean copy if needed for a competition, festival etc. But my students’ music for the most part is like a rainbow 🙂
Amanda Turner says
March 6, 2015 at 7:13 pmWith my students, if they’re using a method book (ex. Alfred’s, Faber) I will colour right in the book. If they’re doing RCM pieces and maybe preparing for an exam, I will photocopy the song and colour all over it. Only because, if the piece is coloured/drawn all over and the examiner sees it, they know what the student struggled on and will sometimes try to “nail” them on those problems (they’ll notice them more, anyway, I’ve been told). So I like to keep those books clean. But I’ll just tape or pin the copy into the book until their exam.
Tamara Koop says
March 6, 2015 at 2:15 pmHi, this is fantastic! A new way to use colour! My students will love it. Except for one 13 year old girl who now says she doesn’t want stickers or colours in her book anymore as it makes her feel like a baby! Which is fine. We’ll just use led pencil!! Oh well! So you still have to be sensitive to what will work best with what students and what ages so as not to offend! 🙂
Judith says
March 6, 2015 at 5:20 pmHi guys, I think the phrasing part comes from the shifting of arm weight into the keys. More Intenity in the colour=more arm weight and the opposite for lighter colours – thus creating more shaping:)
Also if you guys are worried about colouring in the book you can use erasable crayons! they’re GREAT!
Andrea says
March 6, 2015 at 8:29 pmWell put Judith – thanks for providing another explanation 🙂
Judith says
March 6, 2015 at 5:23 pmhttp://www.resourcesforteaching.co.uk/ekmps/shops/rockmill03/images/faber-castell-12-erasable-crayons-1974-p.jpg
Karen says
March 6, 2015 at 6:04 pmThis is my favorite post so far!!! Yay for color in music, and for shading!
Amanda Turner says
March 6, 2015 at 7:08 pmAwesome! I Use colour so much in my teaching. This is just one more awesome and very practical way to use it. I use colour to show the chords, sometimes intervals (for beginners), repeating shapes or melodies, dynamics, and many other things. I never thought of doing that though. Thanks for the great idea.
Gregory says
March 7, 2015 at 8:47 amI don’t quite understand it. The idea first 2 bars in the example are mp so why is the 2nd bar shaded darker than the first bar? Surely they should both be the same? Or am I missing something?
Andrea says
March 7, 2015 at 1:10 pmHi Gregory – this is actually where the gradient approach really works -within a “mp” marking there can still be variation in expression… as Judith commented above, changes in arm weight while phrasing results in the shaping of a phrase that could be called “dynamics”, but is actually more of a combination of dynamics, a slight change in tempo… basically increased or decreased intensity as the tension builds or is released within a phrase. This can all happen within an mp or an mf or an f… In the example, the intensity increases within the first phrase (yet still within an mp marking as mentioned in the post) and then the relationship between the two phrases is shown by that intensity remaining and then fading by the end of the 2nd phrase. Does this clarify?
Jan says
April 19, 2016 at 5:12 amLove the idea of color phrasing. One way I explain phrasing is to think of a musical phrase much like a sentence and the inflection in our voices. When we start a sentence the inflection is stronger but as we come to the end of a sentence, our voice inflection goes down and is softer. To contrast the idea, I show how the inflection in our voices go up at the end of a sentence when we are asking a question. I find that students relate to the idea of thinking of their instrument as a “voice” as they begin to grasp the concept of allowing the music to “breathe” a little within the beat. The contrast between a declarative statement and when we are asking a question helps to give them an aural concept of the idea away from the piano.
sandy says
August 19, 2017 at 6:21 amI love this idea…….such a great representation of how to add expression and interest to the piece. A great visual for students to grasp. I would venture to say that they love you as a teacher!