September 2021 - "At the Drop of a Hat"

I had the pleasure of hearing Marvin Blickenstaff, a “famous piano teacher” (if there is such a thing!) at a pedagogy conference in June. Among his many jewels of wisdom, he gave those of us in attendance the idea of having our students keep a couple of piano pieces always ready to play, pieces which he called “At the Drop of a Hat.” The idea was if they were ever in a situation where someone said “ohhhhh, Beth, you take piano lessons? That’s wonderful! I’d love to hear you play something!” the student could then say, “why certainly, here’s ‘Lightly Row’” and proceed to amaze their unsuspecting audience with their level of readiness and professionalism. 

Needless to say, I loved this idea, and thought, “what a great project to work on with my students!” Not only does it give students the confidence that they are always be ready to play something when asked, it gives them ownership of the pieces they love to play and helps them decide what they want to keep current in their repertoire (which is a fancy word for the list of pieces one has played). 

I’d like all of my students to have at least two “Drop of a Hat” pieces in their fingers this year. It should be a piece that has been polished - meaning memorized and performed for a recital or recording. It should be somewhat short and appealing for the listener - this is a great time to bring out those showstoppers from the past! I may ask students at any time during the year to play their “Drop of a Hat” pieces for me at their lesson. 

Be warned, however! If your student is *only* practicing their “Drop of a Hat” pieces, they are not completing their piano practice assignments. This is in addition to their regular lesson material, not a substitution.

Let me know if you have any questions - I’ll be happy to help choose pieces. Keep it simple!