Do you have a student who seems to struggle with the same issue…every week…with little to no improvement? Maybe they can’t seem to grasp bass clef reading. Or lose all sense of rhythm when they see a dotted quarter note. Or struggle with playing staccato in one hand and legato in another.
When a student struggles for weeks on end it’s discouraging for them and frustrating for you. It’s not the way you want to teach, and it’s certainly not the way students want to learn.
The thing is, student struggles are normal. No one learns at exactly the same rate. So why isn’t there music designed to target the problem areas we see over and over again? We don’t have to keep powering through the method book and on to learning new things when there’s some serious issues that need to be addressed!
So why not be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to these issues? That’s exactly why we created Tune Up Tunes®!
What Are Tune Up Tunes®?
Tune Up Tunes® are the answer to specific student problems. These seven sets of Short Sheets® are carefully composed to help students improve in specific areas, including:
- Bass clef reading
- Left hand independence
- Left hand strength and finger independence
- Right hand/left hand balance
- Playing staccato and legato at the same time
- Playing dotted quarter notes with rhythmic accuracy.
Many students struggle putting exercises and concepts into practice when other elements of music are introduced (like dynamics, phrasing, etc.). This means they may understand a concept theoretically, but not be physically able to play what they see.
So Tune Up Tunes® give students actual music through which to work on a concept, not just a game or theory exercise. Just as Rhythm Menagerie® gets rhythm “in” students bodies, Tune Up Tunes® help students master a concept through real pieces of music.
Tune Up Tunes® are a sub-series of Short Sheets®, so the three, one-page pieces mean students don’t get overwhelmed with pages of music. They’re also written to reinforce the concept many times throughout the piece, while still being required to play with musicality. These aren’t glorified exercises, they are real pieces of music that intentionally give opportunities for these concepts to be grasped.
How Can I Use Tune Up Tunes®?
Use them as a primary resource for teaching concepts, a supplement to current repertoire, part of the 30/40 piece challenge, or even as recital pieces! There are 3 pieces in each set, so students have an opportunity to learn within the context of multiple songs.
While we do indicate on the cover what the music focuses on, there’s no indication that these are designed to solve a student problem. So students don’t even need to know that you’re introducing pieces meant to help them grasp a concept that seems out of reach. Like other Short Sheets®, these are fun pieces that students will enjoy playing – which is a must when doing something difficult. When we’re having fun, we can learn up to 40x faster. This means that finding music that kids have fun playing actually helps them to learn faster!
Here’s Where to Find Them!
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Playing pieces designed to give attainable progress in a specific area is a great way to help students overcome musical obstacles. When students know they have the tools and support to improve, it gives them resilience when the next struggle comes along. Tackling those areas not only improves a students’ chances of staying in lessons, but gives them motivation as well.
What do you think of the new Tune Up Tunes®? We have lots of plans for this series. But let us know what other musical concepts for which you’d like to see a set of Tune Up Tunes®!
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