Beyond the Page: What does Teamwork look like in your Studio?

Oct 24

I just wanted to share something magical that happened in my studio this month.

Although I’ve been writing for ensembles for a few years now, I have a confession to make - I am a private, one-on-one Piano Teacher- for over 30 years. And finally this year, I made the commitment to introduce ensemble playing to my students.

At first, I wasn’t sure how to do this- there are some many options! In the end, we selected a double duet (one for Late Elementary, one for Early Intermediate) to perform together for our Halloween recital. We chose “Top Gun Anthem” since it’s so popular right now. We had 3 rehearsals on Sunday afternoons to make it happen. Everyone learned their parts in their private lessons- and when they got together in our group rehearsal, playing with the Backing Track made it easy.

Each rehearsal was an hour, and I treated it like group lesson. We spent the first 15 minutes on warm-ups, (something NEW I’m working on- more soon!) to focus on steady beat, rhythms, note reading, finger movement, and listening in an ensemble setting. The next 30 minutes was spent rehearsing the main piece. As the camaraderie grew, it was clear we were reaping the benefits of Ensemble playing: their confidence was building, developing musical skills, expanding social skills, and experiencing collaborative teamwork.

For the last rehearsal, we shifted to a Master Class type setting and shared our solo recital pieces for each other. I started the discussion by saying, “What’s one nice thing you can say about Aiden’s performance?” This led to “What mood did you hear? Minor or Major? Did you see any Cross Hand Arpeggios? etc.” Comments & observations then peaked their interest about style, music theory, characteristics of music, and encouraged them to share more.

Why was this magical? This was the first time my students experienced the joy of making music together; something beyond themselves- and it planted the desire to seek out experiences like this again.

What does Teamwork look like in Your Studio? I’d love to learn from your experiences! As for us, we are just getting started…..