Any studio that chooses to teach through the summer understands that it will present its own unique challenges. Schedules change, motivation can wane, and those who are not as self-motivated in personality tend to struggle through practice during the months off of a school routine. With this in mind, there are two ways to gear …
Continue reading Summer Strategies: Warming up to Piano Practice
Christmas music is in full swing, and the excitement is tangible around my studio 🙂 Now that it's December, we've had a few snowflakes, and there are sparkling Christmas lights hung everywhere, I have joined my student’s excitement in hearing the carols coming out of my studio (key word being December, not November). But sometimes …
Continue reading Can Santa Deliver Gifts AND Good Practice Habits?
Tis the season where we often feel frantic. Holidays, events, performances, family ... and suddenly I feel tired just sitting here! Studio life can feel just as frantic - especially if your students will be performing. But providing fun and engaging holiday-related activities will add the push you and your students need to get to …
It's November! And around my studio, that means the Christmas music makes its first appearance. Everyone has their own philosophy on when Christmas music should begin. Because I'm a musician and I understand the idea of practice, I dutifully hand it out after Halloween. But my piano teacher ears can't handle Jingle Bells much before …
If your schedule is anything like mine has been lately, you want to walk into October with your teaching materials as planned as possible 🙂 Your students will be thrilled at the prospect of anything Halloween related showing up in their lessons, but it doesn't have to be complicated! Below you'll find my favorites for …
And just like that, summer is over and school has ushered in fall (although it's been in the 90s here in Cleveland 😉 ). Whether or not your students have continued through the summer and need a change of pace, or your students have been off all summer and need to get back into a …
My youngest student is currently 3 years old, and right now we are focusing on counting, finger independence, and music appreciation. I also have 4 and 5 year old students working right alongside the rest of my students (I really do teach age 3-93 😉 ). And although some teachers refuse to teach little ones …
Kinesthetic learning meets ear training in today’s free printable! I recently saw an old picture my mom had taken of me from high school. In it I was reading a book. But I wasn’t sitting on a chair, in the grass, or on my bed. I was walking around my house in circles while I …
Are you using the Piano Ninja Challenge with your students this summer? The only thing better than the challenge itself is having lots of fun extras to keep the theme going 🙂 We'll be keeping our ninja theme going all summer, but today I'm sharing a fun and engaging kinesthetic game along with a banner …
Continue reading Free Piano Ninja Game to Kick Off the Summer
It's been awhile since we've done a resource roundup on the blog, and coming off of Black History Month and Women's History Month I've been doing a lot of extra thinking about incorporating history into my lesson plans 🙂 Today's post is not only full of fun and engaging ways to teach music history, but …
Piano Possibilities 