"Wait," she amended, "Not forever, because eventually the piano strings would just chill out with the vibrating."
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tempos and Good Vibrations
Ten-year-old Anna's piano lesson today was spent working on a piece filled with triplets. Before she began to play, she commented, "Really, if it weren't for this," - and she pointed to the word Moderato at the top of the page - "the triplets could be as fast or as slow as you want. And so could the quarter notes!" I was pleased with her realization and understanding, as all too often students have misconceptions that an eighth note is "a fast note" or a whole note is "a slow note," rather than perceiving the speed of any note within the structure and proportion of the overall tempo. As we talked about this concept a bit, Anna exclaimed, "So if the tempo were really slow, a quarter note could last, like, forever!"
"Wait," she amended, "Not forever, because eventually the piano strings would just chill out with the vibrating."
"Wait," she amended, "Not forever, because eventually the piano strings would just chill out with the vibrating."
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What a fun student to teach!
ReplyDeleteAnd she's fortunate to have such a great teacher.