Bartok Mikrokosmos Options

[aje]

As a lover of Bartok's style I love to use his music in teaching, but while I regularly use For Children and various others I have tended to only rarely use Mikrokosmos.

I'm interested to know whether there are any piano teachers here who regularly use Mikrokosmos as a core part of their teaching materials, and look forward to any hints/tips/comments other teachers have on this.

Thanks!

[Lone Ranger]

I must confess to never having been a natural fan of Bartok myself, UNTIL, that is, my teacher about 10 years ago was putting me through Grade VIII and insisted on my doing one of the Mikrokosmos (the second time around - about 25 years after I passed it when in Sixth form). I took to it because she loved it herself and managed to sell it to me. The fact that Bela Bartok was inspired by the gypsy folksongs and rhythms of his own people was a fascinating point for me. I have subsequently put my own pupils in for lower grade Bartok pieces when, that is, I managed to sell it to them.

I don't feel free to give much advice, but perhaps 3 words sum up the ingredients of selling it to pupils: enthusiasm, enthusiasm, enthusiasm.

LR

[ymapazagain]

When I was going through exams each year my piano teacher would give me a new piece from the Mikrokosmos. Bartok soon became my favourite composer!

I think as a young student the appeal was definitely in how weird and annoying it sounded (what a novelty to actually have my mum tell me to STOP playing the piano....and it was hilarious the way perpetuum mobile made my cat twitch!).

I haven't used mikrokosmos with any of my students yet, as I am yet to teach past grade 3. However if kids are anything like me they'll love it!

[bevpiano]

When I was going through exams each year my piano teacher would give me a new piece from the Mikrokosmos. Bartok soon became my favourite composer!

I think as a young student the appeal was definitely in how weird and annoying it sounded (what a novelty to actually have my mum tell me to STOP playing the piano....and it was hilarious the way perpetuum mobile made my cat twitch!).

I haven't used mikrokosmos with any of my students yet, as I am yet to teach past grade 3. However if kids are anything like me they'll love it!

Have you looked at the earlier volumes? They actually go right from the beginning, so you could use them with any of your students.

[barry-clari]

As a lover of Bartok's style I love to use his music in teaching, but while I regularly use For Children and various others I have tended to only rarely use Mikrokosmos.

I'm interested to know whether there are any piano teachers here who regularly use Mikrokosmos as a core part of their teaching materials, and look forward to any hints/tips/comments other teachers have on this.

Thanks!

Many, many moons ago, when I was having piano lessons, I was fed a wholesome diet of Mikrokosmos, and I quite enjoyed it. I think I've still got copies of the first few volumes somewhere (never made it to number 6)...

[sbhoa]

I have no experience of this at all.

[richardn]

As a lover of Bartok's style I love to use his music in teaching, but while I regularly use For Children and various others I have tended to only rarely use Mikrokosmos.

I'm interested to know whether there are any piano teachers here who regularly use Mikrokosmos as a core part of their teaching materials, and look forward to any hints/tips/comments other teachers have on this.

Thanks!

My son's first piano teacher used this regularly & she started him off by working through the first Mikrokosmos volume. He loved it & it has the great advantage of being interesting for musical parents to listen to. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[fsharpminor]

I also play lot of Bartok but I dont have Mikrocosmos. Its probably because the later volumes are fairly substantial things to go and buy, rather than the shorter works.

[HelenVJ]

Some - by no means all - of my adult students have enjoyed working through Mikrokosmos 1. Then there's also the highly optimistically titled 'First term at the Piano'. Perhaps they have really long terms in Hungary. Compare the 'Teach yourself Turkish in 3 months'-type books.

[sarah123]

I also play lot of Bartok but I dont have Mikrocosmos. Its probably because the later volumes are fairly substantial things to go and buy, rather than the shorter works.

Substantial things in what way? The books aren't particularly big or expensive and the pieces aren't long. Actually getting hold of a copy of volume 6 was by far the biggest problem. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

[fsharpminor]

Maybe what I saw was a combined volume.
I used to like 'From a Diary of a Fly' but never actually ha da copy . I think its in Book 6 and was in the past set for Grade 8.

[Cyrilla]

Sorry, not a piano teacher - but I do use quite a lot of Mikrokosmos pieces of all levels for musicianship training purposes.

Particularly fab for 20th century use of modes...

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)