My piano lessons seem to go by in the blink of an eye. I suppose time flies when you’re having fun. But, because “time flies”, some lesson activities get missed.
For a long time the one activity in my studio that always seemed to get cheated was score study. It’s not that I didn’t do score study… it’s just that I didn’t do score study in an engaging way.
But still, it really bothered me. I was desperate to find ways to both get my students pumped about a piece AND give them some tools to fast track their success.
In today’s post we’re sharing a simple, fast, fun, and effective score study tool that can be used to explore the primary chords, accidentals, expression and patterns and sequences of a new piece using our “Highlighter Helpers”… because as we all know… kids LOVE highlighters!
If you’re a regular reader of the TeachPianoToday blog you’ll definitely want to add this score study tool to the other strategies we’ve blogged about recently, including:
- Score Study Printable Folder
- Doodle Study (student-directed score study)
Score Study Fun With Highlighter Helpers
You’re probably wondering, “What are Highlighter Helpers?” Well, they are… highlighters. But not just any highlighters. They are four different colored highlighters assigned to a specific score study task (primary chords, accidentals, expression and patterns/sequences) and are decorated with fun and exciting labels to indicate their highlighting super power.
You can use my labels by downloading them here. I print them out on an Avery standard address (5160) label sheet and then stick the labels to the side of their respective highlighter and voila!… my Highlighter Helpers are ready to go! Check out the picture below.
How To Use Highlighter Helpers:
Highlighter Helpers work well when combined with other score study techniques, but they really shine when you’re pinched for time. Here’s how to use Highlighter Helpers in piano lessons:
- Your newly-assembled Highlighter Helpers should be labelled with 4 different Score Study goals: Primary Chords, Accidentals, Expression, and Patterns and Sequences.
- Hand your students the Primary Chords Highlighter. Have them seek out and highlight the I, IV and V chords (or chord tones) in the given key. Younger students can find the Tonic and Dominant notes instead.
- Hand your students the Accidentals Highlighter. Have them find any notes that are affected by a key signature and/or accidental.
- Hand your students the Expression Highlighter. Have them search for articulation markings and dynamics.
- Hand your students the Patterns and Sequences Highlighter. Have them search for measures that repeat or are sequenced. Use different circle patterns to indicate each “set” of patterns (ie circle, square, cloud etc.)
- Review the piece, looking at the color of each different highlighted section, and discuss what the different colored highlighted sections reinforce (primary chords, accidentals, expression, patterns).
Highlighter Helpers put score analysis tools in your students’ hands… literally. Rather than sitting and listening to a lengthly introduction to a new piece, your students are actively previewing their music and committing the important bits and pieces to memory.
When you are finished with this score study strategy, your students’ scores will be a color-coded piano theory dream! Not only have you assisted your students in learning to look for and understand key components of a score and the corresponding theory concepts, but you’ve also provided visual reminders for home practice.
Worried about writing on your students’ music?
Don’t be! “On the page learning” is it one of the most effective teaching strategies. Plus… if your a subscriber to PianoBookClub, all of your music comes with unlimited printing… forever… so you can simply print a clean score if needed. Check out how you can get a new book of music each month for just $8 USD.
I love this! I use highlighters a lot in my lessons,but only when there is something specific that I want my students to pay particular attention to. I allow my students to choose the highlight color, kind of making it “their own.” Do you think there is more of an advantage to keeping the same colors for each category? Just wondering if I should switch to this concept – I love the idea and just want to use what will be most effective. Thanks for all your tips and tricks!
Hi Jennifer – these ones are used more for when you want to get into the “nitty gritty” of a score to teach some in-context theory. I actually print out a few copies of pieces for my students – one we use with this method in the beginning – they “color code” it all and we discuss the theory concepts. Once they know the piece we switch to a “clean” copy and then I just highlight what they need reminders for. I keep the colors the same all the time just so that there is a cohesive system.
I love highlighters! I don’t label them but what a great idea! Thank you! I have a few students who use them regularly but they create their own ‘coding’ system. Coding is popular here right now so I encourage them to put on their ‘Minecrafting’ hat and color code their way through their piece – looking to mine accidentals and so forth. We make a game of it where I have to try to guess which colors mean what and figure out their ‘code’ before they reveal it. Keep up the great work and thanks for always sharing fresh ideas!
Love the Minecraft take on score study Melissa 🙂 Creative!
Thank you! I use highlighters ad highlighter tape often. This bumps it up a notch!
Yoweee Zoweeee! We have 7 recitals this week, so no new music right now, but I’m gonna LOVE doing this in a couple of weeks when everyone gets fresh music. This will be perfect for my Rock the Recital book students, too…Thank you again!!
Hi Kelly – yes it’s a great “new” thing to introduce after the hustle and bustle of recitals 🙂
I use the Frixion by Pilot erasers and as the student masters each section we erase the marks. It gives them a sense of accomplishment and you end up with a clean score.
I meant erasable highlighters. Not erasers.
Haven’t discovered these yet Tanya! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I buy them from Amazon. Several different colors.
The Frixion ones are awesome, aren’t they Tanya.
I also highlight dynamics on the score because students forget them all the time. Can you also make one for dynamics? ( forte for red, piano for blue, mf for orange, mp for pink, pp yellow, etc.) Thanks!
Hi Ally – yes, possibly in the future! 🙂