- Duets are fun! As one of my young beginners said once, “It sounds better when we play together.” A duet can help the simplest beginning song sound like “real music,” and even our youngest students need to experience making beautiful music! I love mixing things up once in awhile and starting a lesson by playing a duet with a student.
- Here are some reasons why playing duets with our students can be really beneficial:
- Duets are one way to teach steady beat. We can clap, count, march, and tap until we are blue in the face (and sometimes we do!), and still we have students who need more practice with this concept. Duets are one tool we can use to help keep the beat as our students play, and as we play together more often, the experience can help our students start to internalize a steady pulse.
- Duets strengthen the teacher-student bond. We all want to connect with our students, to form a relationship of trust and respect so that the teaching-learning exchange is profitable and enjoyable. When we sit beside our students and play duets, we create a shared experience where for a moment we are musicians together.
- Duets are a great way to practice sightreading. Some students will naturally read every piece of music they can get their hands on. Others need a little encouragement. Find pieces that are a level or two below the student’s playing level, and read them together as a duet at a moderate tempo. Help the student be successful by previewing the score together, discussing where there might be unexpected rhythms, leaps, or key changes. Then, set the tempo and play!
If you are using a method book series like Faber and Faber, Alfred, or Bastien, you will find teacher duets written in the lesson book for many of the student’s songs. These are great to play with beginners after the student has mastered playing their part.
For students who have been taking lessons for a few years, Margaret Goldston has some fun elementary level duets that are great for sightreading. Try “Duets for Bear Lovers,” “Duets for Cat Lovers,” or “Duets for Dog Lovers.” (I just learned that she also has three books of “Duets for Christmas Lovers!”) Goldston’s books feature primo and secondo parts of equal difficulty, and it can be fun to take turns playing each part with your students.
You might also try Helen Marlais’ “In Recital Series” of duet books published by Alfred Music.
A fun book for intermediate and advanced students is The Rodgers and Hammerstein Piano Duet Book arranged by Walter Pels and David Carr Glover. (You may have to find this one as a used copy!) Depending on your student’s sightreading ability, you may prefer to assign pieces in this book for the student to study at home before playing together.
At the advanced level, students may enjoy Faure’s Dolly Suite, Dvorzak’s Slavic Dances, Compton’s C.S. (Chopsticks) Theme and Variations, or any of a number of wonderful pieces for four hands.
What are some of your favorite duets to play with students? Let me know in the comments!
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