Teaching Boys - Tim Topham
>> Live Links available at www.timtopham.com <<
[NB: Pieces in BOLD were played in the presentation]
PRESENTATION:
http://prezi.com/tiemimpx4rvt/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
REPERTOIRE:
Repertoire rules for teachers:
http://elissamilne.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/repertoire-rules-for-teachers/
What boys seem to like:
1. Own choice
2. Driving and/or unusual rhythms
○ From Norton Connections Book 1: Driving Range
○ Piano Music of Sonny Chua - the collection: solos: You Dirty Rat
Bober: Piano for Busy Teens Book 2: Toccata
○ From Daniel McFarlane Soundscapes 1: Nitro
3. Powerful textures/harmonies/chords:
○ Nevue: From Dream to Dream
○ Denis Alexander - Especially for boys: Space Invaders
○ Kevin Olson: My kind of music Book 3: Cathedral
○ Rhythm Machine - Lynn Olson
4. Stuff they know/Pop - Skyfall, Get Lucky, Clocks, etc
5. Classics: Fur Elise, Canon in D etc.
6. Easy pieces that look hard
○ Great Smoky Mountains Premier Piano 4
○ Nimble Fingers - Celebrated Virtuosic Solos Book 1 - Vandall
TEACHING IDEAS:
• Teaching 12-bar blues + jazz improv
• Teaching structure with Circle of 5ths
• Teaching basic chords & progressions & LH accompaniment
patterns for composing
TECHNOLOGY TO EXPLORE:
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Quizler for exam scale drilling
Notestar (backing tracks)
Music Flash Class (note learning)
Home Concert Xtreme (backing tracks)
I Real B (backing tracks)
AnyTune (change the speed of recorded music, looping)
Film scores:
• Zimmer:
○ Pearl Harbour - Tennessee
○ Time from Inception
• Armstrong:
○ Balcony Scene
○ PM's love theme
○ Glasgow love theme
• Lord of the Rings/Hobbit:
○ In Dreams (grade 1-2 level) - from Dan Coates: At The Movies.
• Classics:
○ Superman, James Bond, Star Wars, Raiders March, Schindler's List,
Batman, Mission Impossible - Check out Something for the Boys arr
Dan Coates - great book of these in easy piano arrangement.
○ Hal Leonard has just brought out two Star Wars books in easy piano,
one with backing tracks: "Star Wars Beginning Piano Solos" - great
arrangements.
• He's a Pirate & The Medallion Calls from Curse of the Black Pearl (Pirates of
the Caribbean)
• Amelie by Yann Tiersen. Actually lots of great film soundtracks by Tiersen
are available.
• "Any other name" from American Beauty - Thomas Newman
• River Flows in You and Kiss the Rain from Twilight - Yiruma
• The Firm - Dave Grusin: Memphis Stomp
Video Game music (more info on my blog):
• Halo 3:
○ Never Forget arr Benjamin Bergem
• Mass Effect:
○ An end, once and for all (ME3)
• ZELDA:
○ Zelda's Lullaby Alfred: http://www.alfred.com/Products/The-Legendof-Zelda-Series-for-Piano--00-38601.aspx)
• Final Fantasy
○ I: main theme (ichigos)
○ VII: Tifa's Theme
○ XIII: A wish
Australian Piano Solos:
• Daniel McFarlane
○ Soundscapes 1: Fortress, Urban Beat
○ Supersonics 1: Off the Beat, Going Undercover
○ Supersonics 4 Reloaded: Out on the Town, The chase, Light up my life
• Sonny Chua:
○ Sonny Chua Volume 1 P/1: Jive Turkey
○ Sonny Chua Volume 2 G2/3: Zeitgeist 4, Dog hungry
Pop/Rock Music
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Boys like to show-off!
Try working with the student to learn famous riffs and progressions by ear
Use www.ultimate-guitar.com to find chord progressions
Google for the sheet music
Find someone playing it on YouTube - they often link to sheet music
Here are some examples of pop music that I've worked on with boys:
"Classic" Pop songs that sound good on piano
• Mad World
• Cats in the Cradle
• Kiss from a Rose - Seal
• Coldplay - eg Clocks
• Watermark + May it Be (used in LOTR movies) - Enya
• Where is my mind - Maxence Cyrin
• Ludovico Einaudi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzGWcpX0qlI
More Recent:
• Get Lucky - Daft Punk
• Don't You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia
• Bruno Mars
• Will I am
• The Fray - How to save a life
• The Script - Hall of Fame
Examples of pop music that one of my teens (16 yr old)
learnt in last few years:
○ Dreaming with a Broken Heart – John Mayer
○ Broken Hearted Girl – Beyonce Knowles (YUP!)
○ Love Song – Sarah Bareilles
○ Apologize – One Republic
○ Fall for You – Secondhand Serenade
○ Better Together – Jack Johnson
○ Halo – Beyonce Knowles
○ Where I Stood – Missy Higgins
○ Dead and Gone – Justin Timberlake
○ Unfaithful – Rihanna
○ OMG – Usher
○ Don’t Stop Believing – Journey
○ Roses – Outkast
○ Where the Story Ends – The Fray
○ Decode – Paramore
○ The River Flows in You – Yiruma
○ Supersonics 1: Off the Beat, Going Undercover
○ Supersonics 4 Reloaded: Out on the Town, The chase, Light up my life
• Sonny Chua:
○ Sonny Chua Volume 1 P/1: Jive Turkey
○ Sonny Chua Volume 2 G2/3: Zeitgeist 4, Dog hungry
○ Sonny Chua Volume 3 G4/5: Zeitgeist 7 and Zeitgeist 8
○ Sonny Chua Volume 4 G6-8: Struttin it Around (ANZCA 7 / VCE contemp)
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Roses – Outkast
Where the Story Ends – The Fray
Decode – Paramore
The River Flows in You – Yiruma
International Composers:
• David Nevue (online downloads: http://www.davidnevue.com/)
○ Solitude
○ Ludwig's Dream
• Robert Vandall
○ Celebrated Virtuosic Solos:
 Book 2: That's cool, speed zone
 Book 4: High point Toccata, Encore Toccata, Ovation No 1
 Book 5: Whirlwind, White Heat
• Dennis Alexander:
○ The best of Book 2: Toccata Brilliante
○ Dennis Alexander's Favourite Solos
 Book 1: Lost Troubadour
 Book 3: Reverie in F minor
○ Rhythm Roulette
• Chris Goldston
○ From Imprints: Frost, Castillian Evening
○ Night Train
• Margaret Goldston
○ The virtuosic Performer Book 2: Dance of Fire, Masked Horseman, Moonlit
• Melody Bober:
○ Midnight Rhapsody
○ Piano for Busy Teens: Books A (prelim) B, 1, 2, 3. Great mix - modern, "classic", exercises, warm-ups, all designed to be short, sharp and
productive. Great duets at the end too.
 Book 1: Midnight Ride, Fiesta Cha Cha Duet
 Book 2 (grade 2-3): Jazz Stomp, Gypsy Rondo Duet, Toccata
• Kevin Olsen - My Kind of Music:
○ Book 1 (Beginner) - Tiger Tracks, After the Rain
○ Book 3 (Gd 1-2) - Cathedral, Masquerade Ball, Lazy Afternoon
○ Book 4 (Gd 2-3) - First Light, Gettysburg
• Martha Mier
○ Bravo Book 2 Solos: Genesis, Toccata Vivo
More ideas...
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Christopher Norton - Connections Series, American Popular Piano, Microjazz, Microstyles, etc.
Elissa Milne - pepperbox jazz, little peppers, etc.
Kerin Bailey - Jazzin' Around series
ANZCA Modern Piano syllabus is full of great music for boys. Eg. Check out Grade 3: Puffing Billy Blues
John Schmidt - "The piano guys" on YouTube - Check out "Road Trip" - free download with backing tracks
Keep searching for new music:
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○ Finally, check out the new series starting next semester on my blog: "10 of the best pieces for boys by composer x, y, z" @
www.timtopham.com. Register your email for updates of new posts and to stay in touch.