Create a Sound Story.

This is a fun activity on the piano.

Creating a sound story on your instrument is a great way to stir the imagination.

I find this to be a very successful activity for my piano students, especially the younger ones, they enjoy the freedom to improvise and enhance a story with their own ideas...and it gets their fingers moving - all 10.

Prompts:

I begin by having them choose pictures that I have drawn or printed.

I demonstrate some ideas on the keyboard so they understand the process and hopefully get them intrigued. :) They pick the group of notes that will work for each scene.

Character: For example, I have them chose, dinosaur or deer.

(Music: Dinosaur music- loud quarter notes. Deer music- soft quarter notes ascending.

This is a great time to add vocabulary: forte and piano.)

Setting: I ask them where will the story take place, maybe the amusement park or the forest.

Music: The amusement park is busy, so fast music. The forest is serene, so slow music.

Activity: I have them chose what the activity will be for the character.

Rollarcoaster: Glisando on the keyboard, up and down. Walking through the forest: quarter notes.

Optional: Other characters they meet.

Home: Where the main character lives. Finally, I ask their character to go back home to get a good night's sleep. (Cue the soft, quiet music, high pitched notes, maybe "Twinkle").

For the younger student, it is a quick activity. The story goes something like this:

"There once was a big, loud dinosaur. He stomped his feet all around the park.

He decided to go on the rollarcoaster. He had so much fun going up and down and round and round. He made great loud roars as he would go.

Finally, he became very tired and stomped back to his cave where he fell sound asleep. Snore, snore, snore."

2-5 seconds of music for each scene is all they need.

For the older student, we pick a fairy tale of short story. As the story is read, we decide on the best musical phrases that would enhance the scene. To make it more fun, add various sounds from a keyboard voicing section. Voices: flute, guitar, violin, digital sound, bass, percussion.

I ususally keep a note of what voicing we use and the notes that are played. We eventually record the story and musical background for them to listen and enjoy.