My new Very Clever Trick for getting kids to practice piano more.

Tweet

I was able to capture my good friend Alee's attention yesterday by getting her to practice her scales with both hands, but a third apart. What the heck does that mean? If she plays a C-scale, C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C, with her left hand, she should play E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E with her right hand. Each note in the right hand will be a third above the note in the left hand. That generates "pretty harmonies" all the way up the scales. "That's pretty!" she said. "Let me do it again!" Buwaahaahaa! I even wrote it out for her in notes, to reinforce the connection between written notes and notes on the piano. Later, I tried the same thing with another student. "That's pretty!" Heh. I've been doing this for years on guitar (doing scales in harmony with my students). Why did I not think to do it on piano before? I will attach a love song that relies partially on vocal harmony for the beauty of the chorus. Check it out if you have time. It's by the Seldom Scene, one of my favorite bluegrass bands. We all know how much @Vandana7 enjoys my choices of love songs. Maybe she'll like this one too. Have you ever had an "aha" experience and added something new to your repertoire, whether it be in writing, art, socializing, getting rich, or whatever?