New Piano Ensemble Music

by | Jan 12, 2017 | Group Lessons

piano ensemble musicThis year, I’ve been teaching piano ensemble classes on the first Saturday of each month. I teach a piano ensemble class for school-age students and also a class for current adult students. Both groups have really enjoyed meeting once per month. The kids have a blast playing together, and the adult students motivate each other.

The piano ensemble classes on Saturdays are one hour each. Here is how I structured the class with the younger students last weekend:

  • First five minutes: Introduce the students to each other. They like to talk about how old they are and how long they’ve been playing piano.
  • 20 minutes: Learn an ensemble piece. Last weekend, we started with Snake Dance. I let each student practice their part with their headphones on. Then we unplugged the headphones and played together. We played the piece several times, changing the keyboard sound each time. Students LOVE changing the keyboard sounds! We usually play the pieces with about three different settings. Students get lots of repetition playing together and usually don’t even notice!
  • 10 minutes: We played with NoteBlocks. My group last weekend loved how the quarter rests looked like mustaches.
    piano ensemble music
  • 20 minutes: Learn another ensemble piece. We finished with Are You Sleeping. I thought Snake Dance would be the big hit, but they actually loved Are You Sleeping. They really enjoyed singing the words while playing.
  • Last five minutes: We played both pieces for parents.

Both Snake Dance and Are You Sleeping are available here. I set Snake Dance up as a free download, so be sure you download it! You can read here about how the Ensemble Music can be used on just one or two pianos. You don’t have to have a fancy keyboard lab to use the Ensemble Music!

Related posts:

Piano Ensemble Music Using the Piano Ensemble Music with One or Two Pianos take me out to the ball game pianoNew Piano Ensemble Music: Take Me Out to the Ball Game teaching a piano ensemble classTeaching Piano Ensemble Classes

2 Comments

  1. Joni Hanna on February 4, 2017 at 7:43 pm

    Hi Lauren. Your website has inspired me. I would love to start a piano ensemble class here in Clemmons/Winston-Salem, NC. I am going to do more research. Thanks for all you offer via the internet. I appreciate all the information and tips. I wish you continued success.

    • lauren on February 5, 2017 at 9:53 am

      Thank you! I have no doubt your students will enjoy an ensemble class!