So yesterday I extended the MTB listening tests by getting students to sing AND play on the piano notes and melodies. By getting students to play on the piano what they have sung, they are training themselves to play by ear. What could be improved in my delivery of the musicianship lesson is to have students put down their phone/ipads (which contains a piano app) first, have them sing back the note/melody first then figure out the notes on their virtual piano.
I went on to get students to create their own melodies, have their peers sing it back to them and then play it by ear. In this way, 2 processes in the Orff methodology is fulfilled – imitation and improvisation. Maybe I can introduce literacy into the process as well. This would mean having students to write down the notes on manuscript paper. Something for me to consider.
A random thought. Why does the improvisation stage comes after the literacy stage in the Orff methodology which I have not studied?
In terms of the room/studio arrangement, I need to make more space for students and parents and buy more stools.