Gone Digital

Technology has been pretty much incorporated into all aspects of our daily lives... I know for a fact that I cannot lIVE without my Blackberry, or my laptop or even just internet access.  I check my emails a hundred times a day! Maybe not exactly 100 but definitely many times to keep up with daily communication. So as someone who's grown up solely on an acoustic instrument I got my first taste of utilizing a digital piano for the first time as part of my piano-teaching part-time job halfway through university. 

It was a great piano school and it was an eye-opening experience - they were so well-organized and it was such a nice little community.  There was a Christmas recital midway through every school year and then a June/Spring recital to end things off.  The studio was located only about 30 mins north of my hometown and had a fantastic reputation of selling and using the highest quality digital pianos in their classrooms.  And just a quick note when I'm referring to "digital pianos", they are not the small Casio-type keyboards - they are the 88-key digital pianos that come with a range of instrumental sounds, pedals and internal disk drives. 

Every August they would hold a teacher conference & training session prior to the school year and in my first year, I definitely remember going through the Alfred's Piano Library Syllabus and thinking to myself, "how in the world do I use digital eqiupment with an electronic rhythm sequence?! All the buttons are making me dizzy...."  That was only 5 years ago! By the looks of the industry now, the use of digital tech has really accelerated and it's more than crucial to be able to implement these devices in every day teaching.  It is a growing trend.  

I have gotten used to the idea of using digital now and much more comfortable - I am able to incorporate the traditional acoustic teaching methods along with the digital systems.  I recall flipping through the newer versions of the Leila Fletcher piano method course and there'd be a CD attached to it for background tracks.  (I personally find that it is still one of the most effective beginner piano books to use & I still have my (really) old copy at home!)   The sequences are surely more interesting than the bland metronome that goes "tick tick tick"... although I do still pull out the Met often in addition to sequences.  Using the sequences can be helpful - but NOT to the point where students become DEPENDENT on them while playing a song.  So rhythm-wise and ear-training wise, the sequences are a great tool.  However teachers who are required to use digital in the workplace have to be aware of key sensitivity (ie where digital pianos do have a different touch to the keys and are not ideal for technique training).  I am still a firm believer that acoustic pianos are necessary for proper technique.

Perhaps this is the very first step in getting students acquainted with the digital trend much more early on?  It sparks creativity. I have piano students now as young as 5 years old to encourage to start "composing" (simple rhythms) using INNS (as mentioned in my previous post & it's the scientific digital coding for music) and experimenting with improvisation (making up your own melody, on the spot, at the piano). These kids are FASCINATED by all of it!