My students are awesome! Our high school offers vocal (choir), beginning orchestra, and piano labs I and II. Our piano lab has had several of our keyboards bite the dust this past school year and I would like to begin replacing them with higher quality keyboards that have weighted keys and all 88 keys.
I feel my students have progressed to where they need a quality instrument on which to learn dynamics and progress into more advanced music.
The students in my piano lab this year learned to play and compose a 12-bar blues and a rondo. This was in addition to learning their beginning repertoire in their method books and some supplemental pieces as well. While I am so grateful to have a piano lab, our current keyboards are smaller and the keys are not weighted and touch sensitive which means the students cannot produce dynamics or learn other expressive musical concepts like legato or staccato.
We have many students coming up from the elementary and middle school who are multi-talented pianists and musicians and I want them to feel they can progress at school as well as at home!
My Project
Our STEM school is very interested in promoting and becoming a STEAM school. Our students are so curious and talented in many ways and I have noticed this year the growing interest in our Piano Lab class. We needed to add a section to accommodate the enrollment this year!
We have many advanced students who would benefit and progress faster and further if they had a full-size keyboard with full-size, weighted keys on which to practice.
We have one for me as the teacher, but they have to take turns getting to play the full size keyboard and they really notice the difference. I want every student to know what it feels like to play with weighted keys, able to learn how to produce dynamics and legato and staccato.
Piano study is proven to engage both sides of the brain, improves math skills, language skills, reading comprehension, strengthens hand/eye coordination, expands cultural knowledge, and reduces stress and anxiety. I love that our school offers this course and want it to be the best experience it can be for the students!
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