175 | But I Can’t Play the Piano: Tips & Tricks - HD 1080p
===
[00:00:00] Bryson Tarbet: I failed class piano twice. You're listening to That Music Podcast with Bryson Tarbin. The curriculum designer and educational consultant behind That Music Teacher and the Elementary Music Summit. Each week, Bryson and his guests will dive into the reality of being an elementary music teacher and how music can truly be transformative in the lives of the students you serve.
[00:00:27] Bryson Tarbet: Show notes and resources mentioned in this episode can be found at thatmusicteacher. com.
[00:00:39] Bryson Tarbet: Hello everyone and welcome back to that music podcast. You heard me correctly. I failed class piano twice in undergrad. Um, if you know anything about my experience in undergrad, you know that I struggled with piano, you know, a lot of times people ask you if you could go back and change one thing about your life, what would it be?
[00:00:55] Bryson Tarbet: And it was. to learn the piano before I went to undergrad. Um, raise your [00:01:00] hand if you are not a pianist, but were forced to do the piano things in undergrad. Um, my hand is raised all the way up. Um, I want to talk a little bit about that because first of all, I still do not You know, I would not qualify myself as a pianist.
[00:01:14] Bryson Tarbet: Um, I know enough to be dangerous. And I think that when we, when we, when we think about this, and when we're asked about this, you know, do you play the piano, we often go, ooh, if we're kind of on, on that fence. Um, and that was exactly how I felt when I was essentially asked to do a sixth grade choir. We needed some flexibility in the schedule, and that was one way that we could make it a little better.
[00:01:39] Bryson Tarbet: Um, And I, I straight up told my principal at the time and I said, you know what, I am not a pianist. So as long as we are on the same working expectation of, of what will be coming out of, you know, the piano when I'm in there, we're, we'll be good. And I think that first of all, you do not need to play the piano at all in order to be [00:02:00] successful in a choral setting.
[00:02:01] Bryson Tarbet: Is it helpful? Yes. Does it, um, especially in a setting where you're not going to be able to have an accompanist or a rehearsal track? Yeah, it's gonna be really helpful, but quite frankly when I was doing my rehearsals in in the choral setting I was not using the piano a lot And part of that is something that I took with me from undergrad when I was student teaching My cooperating teacher basically said Bryson.
[00:02:27] Bryson Tarbet: You are not great at the piano which again It's totally true. And she basically said, so stop using it so heavily. Um, and, and you're, you're a great, great singer. You have a good ear use that. Um, so when I would get away from the piano, that was when I was able to be more successful because I wasn't so focused on me playing the right thing.
[00:02:47] Bryson Tarbet: So I could still hear what my students were singing. I could give them better, better feedback. I could model it better than rather than trying to use it in the piano. And that is. Yeah. Totally affect a way effective way of running a rehearsal when I did [00:03:00] my kodai levels We had lila gabor All the way from hungary as our choir director and she very rarely used the piano A lot of tuning fork a lot of here's your pitch a lot of here's a pitch now find yours And it was a really cool experience for me Because again, I'm not a pianist now We look for 100 percent could be a pianist.
[00:03:24] Bryson Tarbet: You know, she, she had those chops. She just chose not to use them in that setting a lot. And I think that's one of those things where we need to understand our own strengths and weaknesses as educators and use that to frame the way in which we teach. At this point, I, you know, when I started my choir program, I had already gone through my my Kodai levels.
[00:03:44] Bryson Tarbet: I've had this experience of a kind of a different way of rather than being behind a piano and plunking out parts. So when I was in front of my choir, I would, you know, I could do some basic chords. I could plunk out a couple different parts. And then one of the really cool things that came out of going through my code levels [00:04:00] is, you know, part of our musicianship was, all right, you're going to sing one part and you're going to play another part.
[00:04:04] Bryson Tarbet: And basically, it just, it kind of forced me into taking, you know, basic piano skills, right? Like playing a melody. And, but using my voice as the strong part, right, I'm much stronger as, as a singer than as a pianist. So if I can play this part, but I can sing the harmony part. So instead of that, that right there, instead of me having to play out to play two parts, I only have to play one part and then sing another part.
[00:04:29] Bryson Tarbet: And that was a skill that I use a lot when I was in that choral setting is all right, you know, part one, I'm going to sing your part, part two, I'm going to play your part. And then maybe I'd flip it. Um, and that was, that allowed me to not have to be bogged down in the, in the keys. Um, but it still allowed me to use that piano as a tool.
[00:04:48] Bryson Tarbet: So that is a big trick. If you are vocally strong, use that to your advantage. Don't feel like you have to do all the things. On top of that, don't feel like you need to play what's on the page. [00:05:00] Uh, for instance, you know, a lot of times, if once my students were able to kind of know their parts pretty much, and they would keep it going, um, the next logical step would be to add the accompaniment, right?
[00:05:10] Bryson Tarbet: Except for the vast majority of the pieces I was not going to be successful playing the accompaniment So what I would do is I would simplify it So depending on the song I would maybe just play the left hand or just play the right hand or maybe just play the chords Right just another way to give them more without having to do The whole thing.
[00:05:30] Bryson Tarbet: Um, and then kind of going off of that, when I was selecting music, I knew that I was not going to have an accompanist ever. And I knew that if we were ever to perform, it would be me and the choir. Um, so when I was looking at pieces of music that I wanted to perform, I, I specifically looked for ones that had a piano accompaniment that either was simple enough that I could, I felt like I could learn it if I practiced it, um, or was simple enough or was something that I could simplify in a way that would [00:06:00] still have a good final polished product, but wasn't super complicated.
[00:06:04] Bryson Tarbet: Um, because I also knew that I just didn't have a lot of time to, to dedicate to practicing the piece, because again, this was just one of the many classes that I taught at the time. So that's another strategy that you can use is just being aware of. The situation you're in, you know, if I was a great pianist, I probably would have picked more complex pieces, um, or at least, you know, more complex accompaniment.
[00:06:27] Bryson Tarbet: Um, but I was just getting started. This was a first year program. This was me in front of the piano and I knew that I needed to simplify. And I knew that I also really wanted to get my students singing. Because one, it's easier for me and two, my students have been doing a lot of that already because when they came to me, this is a sixth grade choir.
[00:06:47] Bryson Tarbet: At this point, they've been singing all the way since kindergarten. Um, especially the students that had me, the vast majority of their singing. Was acapella in that kind of Kodai tradition, right? And I think that for me, one of the [00:07:00] biggest things that I found helpful was not reinventing the wheel. And I've talked about this a lot on the podcast about, you know, when I was going through this, the idea of creating this program is thinking of it as an extension of what we were already doing rather than something completely different.
[00:07:14] Bryson Tarbet: Um, so we were able to do things like rounds. We were able to do, um, Acapella singing because they'd already been doing it. And I was just thoughtful about the way that I planned and the pieces that I planned. Um, and, and. Quite frankly, we were in a really unique situation where I wasn't expected to do anything.
[00:07:36] Bryson Tarbet: I ever, I was, you know, I was expected to have the students making music in a choral setting. And that was it. I got to kind of create my own parameters of what success looked like. And for me, it was just getting them singing, getting them singing in different parts and getting them singing different styles of music.
[00:07:52] Bryson Tarbet: So if you are sitting there, stressing out because you are not a great piano player, take a breath. [00:08:00] Obviously, if you can improve those skills, it's going to be helpful. Um, if you're an undergrad listening to this, just practice. Like, it's going to be so much helpful for you. But, you know, I've gone to, uh, interviews where they wanted me to play the piano.
[00:08:11] Bryson Tarbet: And I'm like, yeah, I don't think this is, I don't think this is going to work. You know, like if you want someone who can be an accompanist for the high school, that that's not going to be me. And I think it's also a thing we need to realize is. That the expectations we're walking into, they just might not be made for us.
[00:08:25] Bryson Tarbet: And that's okay. Um, it can be kind of frustrating when you're trying to find a job and you're just like, please anyone. Um, but the reality is, is you don't have to be a good pianist to be a good music educator. And I think that's something, how do I want to say this nicely? I think that's something that I wish was more widely spread at the undergraduate level.
[00:08:48] Bryson Tarbet: So I want to leave you with this. If you want to make choir music. And you feel like you do not have the piano chops and those piano chops are going to get in the way. Don't let them. There are other ways that you can make [00:09:00] music and get your students making music at a high quality that's allowing them to grow.
[00:09:04] Bryson Tarbet: That's allowing them to get new experiences without you having to be tied behind a piano. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode. As always, if you have not left us a review on iTunes or wherever you're listening, it would mean the world to us if you were to leave us a review. Not only does that help us get the podcast in front of new listeners, but it also helps us understand what types of episodes you resonate with.
[00:09:25] Bryson Tarbet: Most with that being said, thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for listening or watching. If you're hanging out on YouTube with us and in case nobody has told you lately, thank you so much for making a difference in the lives of the students.
