In Unit C6 students extend their skills in legato and staccato to include ‘drop and float’ articulation, where two notes (e.g. two quavers) are connected by a legato slur, or by a legato slur with a staccato dot on the second note).
Activities
- Ensure the student can identify and perform standard staccato and legato articulations first. Visit Unit A01 for some ideas on how to help your student with this.
- Discuss how we can use the weight of the arm to make different sounds, and encourage the student to experiment using scales patterns or other simple technical exercises.
- Ask the student to practice drop and float movements away from the piano, for example on a table or even on their leg or arm.
- Encourage the student to actively listen to the sound they produce, and get them to think about which note is really being emphasised.
piano TRACKS Project 