Basic piano skills for voice teachers
If you are in a university music program, you may or may not be required to work toward "proficiency" in keyboarding skills. If you plan to teach voice or choir, you will need some ability to offer pitch references to your students - usually from a piano/keyboard or guitar.
Learning keyboard skills usually includes some focus on pattern-learning in the form of scale/arpeggio/chord practice, in addition to other finger exercises/patterns, sight-reading, and working on solo piano repertoire. I encourage this - having keyboard skills is NEVER a drawback.
That said, there is one set of patterns that you may find yourself using more often than any other as a voice teacher. The pattern of ascending and descending major triads is very common - many vocal exercises employ a major harmonization! Mastery of triad patterns will allow you the facility to warm up your singer/choir without worrying about your hands too much.
Below is a sample learning sequence for keyboard practice, with suggested fingerings (1 being thumb, 3 being middle finger, 5 being pinky finger on each hand). If you are very new to piano, try just one hand at first. Keep working! Try going for more than one octave, once you get the hang of it.
Learning keyboard skills usually includes some focus on pattern-learning in the form of scale/arpeggio/chord practice, in addition to other finger exercises/patterns, sight-reading, and working on solo piano repertoire. I encourage this - having keyboard skills is NEVER a drawback.
That said, there is one set of patterns that you may find yourself using more often than any other as a voice teacher. The pattern of ascending and descending major triads is very common - many vocal exercises employ a major harmonization! Mastery of triad patterns will allow you the facility to warm up your singer/choir without worrying about your hands too much.
Below is a sample learning sequence for keyboard practice, with suggested fingerings (1 being thumb, 3 being middle finger, 5 being pinky finger on each hand). If you are very new to piano, try just one hand at first. Keep working! Try going for more than one octave, once you get the hang of it.
Exercise 1: single pitch - Hands in parallel motion
Exercise 2: two pitches - Practicing thirds only
Exercise 3: two pitches - Practicing fifths only
Exercise 4: Triads
Exercise 5: I-V-I progressions
What else?
The more confident you are at the keyboard (or guitar, or other reference instrument), the less time you'll spend worrying about it during lessons/rehearsals. In addition to the above patterns, traditional scale/chord/arpeggio/pattern work will help you build a foundation that you can apply to a range of music. More specialized resources like The Jazz Piano Book go in-depth with chord change patterns that are useful for teachers working in jazz.
If you're singing music with a separate piano part, you can also build a deeper connection to the music you sing by learning to play part or all of the accompaniment. Self-accompanying is a wonderful way to challenge your skills - both as a singer and as a pianist/guitarist. It is not currently a common practice in "classical" music, but is quite common in almost every other sphere - from Nina Simone to Tom Waits to Billy Joel to Alicia Keys...not to mention all the singer/guitarists out there!
Learning keyboard skills can seem daunting at first - but with focused work on just a few specific patterns, you will be much more prepared for a range of teaching scenarios.
Note: The fingerings shown above are not how you would play the chromatic scale/third patterns in any other context. These are meant to break down the triad "goal" pattern into its components before trying all 3 notes at once!
If you're singing music with a separate piano part, you can also build a deeper connection to the music you sing by learning to play part or all of the accompaniment. Self-accompanying is a wonderful way to challenge your skills - both as a singer and as a pianist/guitarist. It is not currently a common practice in "classical" music, but is quite common in almost every other sphere - from Nina Simone to Tom Waits to Billy Joel to Alicia Keys...not to mention all the singer/guitarists out there!
Learning keyboard skills can seem daunting at first - but with focused work on just a few specific patterns, you will be much more prepared for a range of teaching scenarios.
Note: The fingerings shown above are not how you would play the chromatic scale/third patterns in any other context. These are meant to break down the triad "goal" pattern into its components before trying all 3 notes at once!