Is singing along to Piano Comics necessary?

Singing along to the rhymed lyrics of Piano Comics is not necessary. It is advisable but not mandatory for the students. The rhymed lyrics help the rhythm of the melody  to be shown/heard before starting to learn the piece on the piano. If a teacher chooses to present the whole Piano Comics first and then start to learn it with their student (read here for many different ways to use Piano Comics) it is very important that the interpretation, articulation of the words, intonation of the melody, dynamics and accents are as clear as the playing of the scores. That requires a little extra work for the teacher, since, apart from the music scores we have to learn the rhymed lyrics and interpret them together efficiently. This rhythmical listening of the lyrics and the introduction to/familiarity with the melody enables the student to take in all these elements (articulation, dynamics, etc.) and later to bring this knowledge to their fingers on the piano. We play and learn pieces we have heard before much faster, especially if we have sang them.

Now, if the student does not wish to sing with Piano Comics that is perfectly fine. There are many reasons for that – they may be shy, or they may not like their voice, or they may not feel like expressing themselves in this way; perhaps they realize they are out of tune, or their voice chords and listening skills are still developing.

If, however, the student does wish to sing along to the Piano Comics, that is of a great value, as what they achieve is to practice accompaniment and solfeggio, to train and advance their listening skills. They will benefit greatly just by paying attention to the fine details of dynamics, articulation and the context of the lyrics in general, rather than by simply reciting casually. By interpreting the words musically and in accordance with each story. If, for example, the hero expresses anger and frustration through their words, then  accents on those syllables-keys will be placed or a change in tempo will be followed. These changes should be evident in the student’s singing/reciting so that later, the student brings this knowledge to their fingers.

Finally, the experienced piano teacher can sense the needs and capabilities of each student and advise whether they should be singing with each Piano Comic they play or not.

Watch this youtube tutorial  of an exercise for rhythm and words for piano beginners and find how they can work together in order to speed up the learning process.

by Anastasia Kaminskagia, 3.10.22