Gabs and Izzy

My student, Gabby, who is 10, LOVES piano.  She LOVES music.  But, she is also very busy with lots of other things.  I had been wondering if she should continue with piano because she never had the chance to practice but loved coming to lessons.  We had a song she wanted to learn, Fur Elise, but didn't have much time to work on it, and recital was coming up really quickly.

Gabs loved working with chords.  She picked up very easily and was actually more excited about doing chord songs and writing music from what she learned in the book about how to write a song than anything else.  So, one of her recital songs was going to be the beautiful song that she wrote based on the chapter on how to write a song.

However, she wasn't learning Fur Elise quickly enough.  So, I asked her, "Gabs, your little sis Izzy likes to sing, right?"  She said, "Oh yes she sure does!"  I said, "How about if you accompany her on the piano for the recital -- that way she'll get to sing and you will still get to do another piece!"  She LOVED that idea, so the song she wanted to learn was Eye of the Tiger.  And Izzy LOVED that song! So, I found a chord chart for Eye of the Tiger and Gabs and Izzy practiced at home and put it together.

They did GREAT.  Gabs played the bass note of the chord with her left hand, and the chord with her right, creating her own rhythm that matched with the style of the song and with what Izzy was doing.  And, she decided to sing along with her during the chorus, so I had her miked up for that, as well.  They were a smash!   And, they had everything to be proud of!

That's what's so great about playing with chords -- it's flexible and fun.   My students love it!

T

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T.K. Goforth is a musician and author of the well-received book "Chord Piano is Fun!" She also writes a music blog called "Chord Piano Chick's Mostly Musical Musings.