Fun with Flashcards!

I spent yesterday making my own set of flashcards (the blue & yellow flashcards on the top row).

The flashcards I made targets the learning of general knowledge of musical symbols, notes, dynamics and ornaments which are relevant and fundamental for the AMEB piano syllabus.

On one face, you have the symbol, note, dynamic and ornament and on the other face you have a brief explanation of what the symbol, note, dynamic and ornament is and its meaning.

I figured the traditional method of passing a student an A4 page crammed with information in bullet points and asking them to study and memorise the information might not be the most interesting or engaging way to learn.

Whether a student is learning to read notes, rhythmise beats or remember the definitions and terms of musical symbols, notes, dynamics or ornaments, using flashcards is an effective and creative way of helping students learn these different concepts in music.

Aside from the flashcards which I have made, I also use the following flashcards in my teaching:

*Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, but rather my honest opinion from using the above product.*

The "Poco Keyboard Flashcards" are targeted to help students reinforce their recognition of notes on the stave and identifying which key on the piano correlates to such a note.

I have a student who used to struggle with note reading. When I first took her in for private lessons, it was clear that she didn't enjoy playing the piano.

I identified in the first few lessons that the main issue was that she couldn't read her notes confidently and as a result, didn't fully understand what she was playing and the pieces she was assigned to practice.

From there, we slowly worked on her note reading through:

a) playing mini games with flashcards;

b) positive encouragement to read/check her notes;

c) positive praise when she identifies notes correctly during our lessons and flashcard sessions; and

d) use of other resources, e.g: Hal Leonard's 'Notespeller' series and Samantha Coates & Michelle Madder's 'How to Blitz Sight Reading' series (which I also highly recommend!)

Today, this student of mine absolutely enjoys playing the piano.

Her mom tells me piano is her favourite activity and the very first thing she opts to work on each day.

Nothing brings a teacher greater joy than to know that their students are absolutely enjoying the art of playing the piano.

In saying the above, although flashcards are great to help students improve in their knowledge of note-reading and other musical concepts, they are not the be-all and end-all.

There are other key factors which are essential to a student's improvement and passion torwards playing the piano, including (but not limited to):

a) a parent's involvement in their child's musical studies;

b) a parent and teacher's role in encouraging the child to practice and ask questions if they are unsure of certain things; and

c) a parent and teacher's patience and empathy towards the student's musical journey.