If 8 rhythms is too much and your students are getting confused, start with 3.
Playing perfect 5ths in all keys is something all of my students have been doing since I printed the first key finder cards.
Now the focus is playing in all keys while developing an internal sense of pulse, and understanding the difference between pulse and rhythm. There are 8 different rhythms in 4 that can be made from whole notes, dotted half notes, half notes, and quarter notes. But teaching all of them at the same time may be overwhelming to some students.
My solution is to start with the top 3 while counting aloud and tapping the foot to the pulse.
Rhythm and pulse are (in my opinion) much harder to teach and learn than pitch, especially on the piano.
The goal of this exercise is to be able to count aloud and tap a steady beat while playing for eons. By eons, I mean 3-5 minutes, which for a new student seems like time is being measured in dinosaur years.
Creating leaders from the bench. One of the added benefits of teaching your students how to count aloud and play with a strong sense of pulse is when they play with others. Giving someone the gift of rhythm and pulse allows them to keep other musicians in time. After all, one would never expect a saxophonist or a trumpeter to count aloud while playing.
What about more advanced students?
I find that some of my more advanced students could use a little help in the keeping a steady pulse category. The way I keep it interesting for them is use key finder cards with different chord patterns, like the 2-5-1-4, or even the blues patterns. I'm not adding difficulty with the rhythms, but adding harmonic interest.
2 hand jazz and blues comping chords work well with advanced students who need work on their sense of rhythm and pulse. I use the 3 rhythms with counting and tapping sometimes myself.
Not reading. The point of this is not to develop strong reading skills. It is for pulse, harmony (for more advanced students), and transposition in all keys.
What I am finding is playing, tapping, and counting aloud is not fatiguing when introduced this way, and that students will spend longer periods of time in a lesson playing, and more time practicing because it's not tiring. I'd be interested to hear what you are experiencing.
Comments