hEarItAbility, written by Trixie Hennig is a unique piano book that begins with the aural exploration of sounds. Found on the website Trixie states “As we learn to read and spell language, we are often told to “sound it out”. And yet in piano education, this phrase is rarely used. And how applicable it is – true mastery comes with the integration of sight and sound. One need not be neglected at the development of the other.”
I do include ear training exercises and games in my studio, I must confess that I typically don’t use the ear as the first component. This is one reason why hEarItAbility intrigued me as I wanted to see where it went and how I could easily incorporate it with my students. I was happy to see that my discovery with hEarItAbility went so much farther then I had originally hoped for.
hEarItAbility covers the Hear It- See It; Sound it out; Play it- Write It; Explore It- Explain It concepts. All in one book! Students will play in major and minor pentascales, play with both hands, transpose, do dictation in both rhythm and melody, learn about form, explore the keyboard and more!
The book, which is available both print and digital format is a very clean and simple layout. There are two main categories within the book. Ears and Eyes. Because of what the student does with the pieces found in the book, it lends itself to a variety of learning styles. Many of the pieces are familiar, which is important with the ear aspect. However if a student is not familiar with a piece, this is a perfect opportunity for the teacher to sing the piece or use recording samples to listen to.
hEarItAbility can be used as a main jumpstart at lessons or as a supplementary book no matter what method you like to use. Trixie explains, “”The book was really designed as a supplement to fill the gap in current methods, but can be used as an alternative to the standard pedagogical approach. Several teachers recognize the value of teaching students songs by ear (this is different than rote teaching – the teacher assists the student, doesn’t demonstrate the piece), but don’t have a tool to help them with the “at home” aspect or a purposeful sequence of development. hEarItAbility does that and more!”
Below you will see some sample pages. You will notice the first sample of Hot Cross buns is in the “ear” category. There is a keyboard graph that shows students what notes they will be playing on the keyboard. From there, they will depend on their ear to navigate the melodies going up or down. On the second sample page of Hot Cross buns, which is the “eyes” category; the lines and spaces are introduced. Students can now visually see what those notes are doing on the staff when they are going up and down and mark where those notes should go.
The next sample of “lucky numbers” has students using their ears to discover pieces by playing with finger numbers. And the last sample of Old MacDonald has students playing and creating with both hands and changing up some rhythm ideas for the left hand accompaniment.
hEarItAbility is a book that sets both students and teachers up for success right at the beginning. As a teacher, I like that this book is easy to understand and wouldn’t take much time to implement with my students. Using these simple ideas, students can explore the entire piano in creative ways using their ears, eyes and hands. If you have hesitated to use ear training in your studio, this book would be a perfect book to start with.
There is a second volume currently in the field testing stage. Trixie explains that “it will explore and introduce the concepts of ostinato, labeling tonic-dominant, canons/rounds, half notes, whole notes and much more! All while students play songs they either know or can learn to sing easily, figuring them out by ear, exploring concepts at the keyboard and THEN notating them.”
Trixie has offered to giveaway 4 digital copies of hEarItAbility to some lucky readers. To enter leave a comment below. Deadline to enter is by Thursday, August 15th 10:00pm (mountain time). (*Winner MUST respond within 72 hours of announcement or another winner will be chosen*) The winner will be announced on this blog and on the FPSResources Facebook page by Friday, August 16th. Be sure you subscribe to the blog and like FPSResources on the Facebook page so you don’t miss out seeing if you are a winner!
Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own.
I would LOVE to try this!!! Thanks for sharing.
I am looking for new supplemental material & this sound Perfect!!!
A book that encourages children to listen is definitely worth having!
I like the flexibility it offers.
This sounds really interesting — and I’m always looking for concrete ways to incorporate ear training into weekly lessons.
This sounds like a great way to incorporate ear training in every lesson. I would love to try this!
I would love to try this with my piano students!
Ooh! This looks fun! I’d love to try it!
This looks like a terrific resource! Thanks for sharing about it.
This looks like a fantastic resource. I would love to win it!
Enjoyed reading about this book. It has the makings of an excellent resource!
This sounds fascinating. I am excited to try it out.
sounds like an awesome resource! Thanks for the chance to win!
This is an INCREDIBLE awesome idea! I am so excited about using this in my studio. The students will love this!
Wow! This looks like a really helpful resource.
My son has absolute pitch and began learning how to play piano by ear when he was only five years old. I would love to learn how to integrate ear training into lessons right from the start with all of my beginning students, most of which do not have absolute pitch!
The circle sticker melodic activity looks fun!
I would love to try this with my students!
Looks interesting … I always love to try new things!
This sounds like a great resource. I would love to try it!
I believe that learning a language, whether it be an oral or a musical language, requires auditory memory of sounds( pitches and rhythm ) from students, followed by a dictorial response ( can you repeat what you have listened to ? ), and finally a written ( reading the musical symbols ) response. Students will have had alot of prior auditory knowledge by the time they read and play. This approach to me is a natural one and it WORKS!!!!!
RIC COLUNGA,
Sounds like a wonderful way to work the ear and sounds and fingers together!!! I’d surely like to incorporate this into student’s work!! Thanks for making this available and for a good review, too!
Sounds very intriguing!! I am always looking for new ideas to incorporate ear training into lessons and having the student have ‘fun’ with it. Look forward to hearing more about this!!
Sounds like a great way to incorporate aural development in the lesson!
This approach is very different from my current method of instruction. I’m quite intrigued and would love to win a copy!
I am very interested in adding this as a supplement. I think my students would live it.
This appears to be a valuable resource for a student I have. The whole staff thing just isn’t “clicking”. This might help.
This sounds like another means of helping students learn to enjoy and play music. I am all for helping students learn in many ways so that we can encourage them to learn on their own. Developing their ear before reading is an important part (the basis really) the of Gordon theory and this seems to tie right in. I would love to have a copy.
This looks terrific! Practical ear training that will be fun for the student (and the teacher)!
This sounds fascinating – I’ve been looking for some structure to my ear training activities. Thanks for having this giveaway!
Looks a very interesting book: encouraging for students who find music reading ‘heavy going’ to develop their skills in playing by ear.
Fresh, invigorating ideas!
Sounds like an ideal resource for this fall. it’s been a while since I’ve had more than one or two fall openings in my studio; this year I have open time slots, and every query has either been from age 5-7, or from adults. Looks like I have a new crop of 5 and 6 year olds this fall. I look forward to using this resource.
Sounds interesting! And might fill a gap that I’ve been neglecting in my studio.
This looks like a very interesting book. I’d love to try it!
I knew Trixie when I was a teen (my friend’s sister’s best friend). She is amazingly talented and I will be so happy to try out this book on some new students!
Sounds like a great resource.
Ear training was almost nonexistent in my training so when I took piano pedagogy in college I was far behind other students. I’m making every effort to include this skill in my students’ curriculum. I would love to expand my sources in this area and the book sounds great.
i have the perfect student for this resource!
This sounds like a great resource. I need to check this out further!
This looks like a great resource! Thanks for sharing!
Can’t wait to try hEARItAbility. I’m delighted to see both a digital and hard copy versions. Very versatile. This is just what I have been looking for. Thank you Trixie Hennig, for sharing your expertise to enhance our teaching.
sounds like something that I could use in my studio
WOW! Something for the little ones !
I have started doing more ear training with my students and would love to use this resource. It sounds great!
This looks like great supplemental material.
Thanks for the review, Jennifer! Love ear training apps.
This is a must for my studio!
I can use this with my students
Been working with my students on ear training
This sounds perfect for the group I have now.
Definitely something I’d be interested in using in my studio!