Comments on: Jingle Bells Variations

By: Elissa Milne

Elissa Milne — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:36:58 +0000

What I love is that each of the students has made a unique contribution to the project, whether their performance was polished or still a little rough around the edges – nothing was pre-fabricated at all, and you can see how much the students learned from exploring the possibilities from the kinds of choices they made……

Thanks for putting the video together! Very inspirational!

By: Wendy

Wendy — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:55:17 +0000

Hi Michelle,

I’m so glad you tried it yourself. The trick is to ask yourself “how” you want it to sound (pick an adjective) and then “how” you make those sounds on the piano. You may need someone to give you some ideas, so don’t hesitate to send me an email with your adjective and we can brainstorm together. A lot of times, you can borrow bass patterns or fun little intros from the music you are currently studying.

Thanks for the kind words about the students’ creativity. I know they appreciate it!

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:26:15 +0000

Wow! These are terrific! I’m an adult beginner, and I took it upon myself to try your exercise. I didn’t come up with anything nearly as creative. You and your students deserve a big round of applause.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:12:16 +0000

AMAZING! Really beautiful. Congratulations to all of the players/arrangers/composers. Nicely done!

By: Natalie

Natalie — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:50:21 +0000

This was fun to watch with our kids. We enjoyed each variation. Thanks for sharing!
(Nicole and Luke’s Alaskan cousins)

By: Wendy

Wendy — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:08:49 +0000

Thanks Jennifer! It was one of the most fun things the students have done this year. I think everyone was fairly pleased with their own creativity…which is one goal I had.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:45:18 +0000

Love the project! What fun variations the students came up with. Everyone was fantastic!