Ebony and Ivory (Okay, Black Plastic and White Plastic)

I decided to write a little about electronic keyboards in the classroom this week.  Two years ago, I gathered all my budget resources and cajoled a vendor to come down on the price so I could outfit my classroom with 24 electronic keyboards.  I've seen some concern of late as to how to include these tools in the general music setting, so I'm going to post a tiny bit of my take on how to use them effectively.

Rather than using a "method" or focusing on "how to play the piano" I decided to use the keyboards more as a "music teaching tool."  I have worked out some ways of using the keyboards effectively to enhance my existing curriculum rather than adding a new element (learning to play the piano) into it.  After all, using these small keyboards is certainly not the best way to teach "piano playing" anyway.

First, I wanted my students to be well aware of the many, many features that most keyboards come equipped with today.  Most have:  a multitude of sounds, accompaniment patterns, rhythms, drum kits, the ability to record, prerecorded music, and automatic chording just to name a few features available.  Let's face it, what do most young children do when they pick up an electronic keyboard?  They push the "demo" button ad nauseum!  I want my students to be able to use these instruments in meaningful ways - not simply push the demo button.

My third grade students using their keyboards (the faces have been changed to protect the innocent and reflect the true joy they always feel when in my presence...LOL)

The good news about the keyboards I use is that there is a lot of information written directly above the keys.  In the upper octaves, there are numbers written (an introduction to scale degrees?).  The lower octaves have letters written above them (leading to pitch reading).  My first few lessons with the keyboards involve basic operations and locating these letters and numbers - how to turn the keyboard on, where buttons and jacks are located, switching between features, etc.  Document cameras are so much better than the old overhead projectors for this purpose - I can show the students exactly where to find features by projecting these rather small images onto a much larger screen.

Melodic and Rhythmic Ostinati

Because the first month of school is mainly spent on reviewing basic rhythm patterns, I teach my students how to play simple ostinati or short songs using the numbers or the letters written above the keys.  I also teach them how to change the sound (tone color) by showing them where the selection buttons are (numbers on our keyboards) and how to enter them.  Additionally we learn to use the percussion pads these keyboards have for playing rhythms (reading from flashcards or playing rhythmic ostinati).  One of the simple songs we learn from their textbook is "Rain is Falling Down."  They get SO excited when they can play a song along with the recording!

Meter

Our keyboards come with a large number of prerecorded songs.  I teach the students how to access the songs.  Then, after lessons on identifying meter in three and meter in two, I have them listen to the prerecorded songs and locate three songs in each meter.  After an allotted time limit (usually no more than 10 minutes) we share which songs we discovered and their meter.

Harmony

Third grade is when I introduce canons (rounds) in my curriculum.  After being introduced to the concept and singing several songs in canon, we get out the keyboards and learn to use the "record" feature.  I teach them the first portion of "Frere Jacques" using the key numbers, then have them record the first part of the melody, then play along with themselves in canon by playing back what they have recorded.

I also teach them to use the "easy chord" feature and we practice reading cord symbols from selected songs in their music text.

Form

Splitting into groups, I assign various groups different forms - AB, ABA, or rondo.  The students use the keyboards to create pieces of music that demonstrate their assigned form.  We discuss ways to change one section so it sounds different from another (change the tone color, change the rhythm, change the melody, change a combinations of these) then, after their allotted time to work in groups, we perform for the class and have the audience guess their assigned form.


A Few Things to Consider

Power - unless you're blessed with outlets in your classroom, get batteries...lots and lots of batteries!  Honestly, these keyboards do not drain batteries as quickly as you would think.  Most of my keyboards have the same batteries we put in when we got them.  I take them out over the summer months to keep them from leaking.

Storage - I had one of our staff members build me two racks that fit the keyboards perfectly (twelve shelves in each).  He used scrap wood and left over polyurethane, so the cost was FREE!

Headphones - when we work as a group, headphones aren't necessary - but when I assign projects (listening for meter for example) the headphones are great - 24 students, completely engaged making music and not a sound can be heard in my room!  I bought these myself from a place that sells them in bulk.  I got 30 sets for under $50 - in my humble opinion, the BEST investment I've ever made as a teacher!

Feel free to comment...I'd love to hear if you use electronic keyboards in your classroom and how you integrate them.

Until next week...