What else do students gain from lessons besides the skill of playing an instrument? The list is LONG. We could talk about perseverance, longer focus and attention span, problem solving abilities, a healthy one-on-one relationship with an adult other than mom or dad, fine motor skills, and the list goes on. Music has the unique …
Category: Holiday
Bringing Easter to the Studio
I don't know about you, but Easter has snuck up on me this year! Spring is on it's way and everyone is looking for signs up bunnies, eggs, and crosses. And your piano students will be no different 🙂 I have long said that holidays are the perfect opportunities to shake things up and add …
Finding a Pot of Gold and Prepared Practice
Imagination is everything. If I tell a student we're going to do a score study, I'm either met with a blank stare or with disappointment. But if I tell that same student we're going to follow the rainbow to a pot of gold, the score study suddenly becomes exciting! It's the same objective coming in …
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Valentine’s Day Freebies
Looking for fun and easy ways to incorporate Valentine's Day into piano lessons? Whether or not you like the holiday, you can be sure your students are getting into the spirit! I've already had a few students bring valentines by the studio and wearing their pinkest, cheeriest, and heart-filled outfits 😉 Today I've included 3 …
Happy New Year 2021
Happy New Year! I have to admit, I didn’t quite know whether to cry, celebrate, or just go to sleep last night as the clock struck 12 and the ball dropped. But as I lay in bed this morning, it dawned on me. All of us will experience years that are hard. All of us …
Day 12
We have made it to Day 12! I sincerely thank those of you who have embarked on this journey with me …. I hope the 12 Days of Note Reading Christmas has inspired you to teach in a more holistic manner in the coming year! In the past 12 days, we have talked through the …
Day 11: Play Backs
At first, Day 11 may have you thinking that I have forgotten we are doing a note reading series. And the answer is no, I haven’t. But as I mentioned in Day 9, if a student is able to hear the notes they are about to play, it will make playing and correcting mistakes much …
Day 10: Games
If you’ve been following along for our whole series, you by now have 10 different techniques to ensure that your students are amazing notes readers! Have you heard the old Roman proverb, “Repetition is the mother of learning”? They were not wrong. But as I’ve said in the past, repetition does not have to be …
Day 9: Say and Play
We have arrived at Day 9 (can you believe how quickly December is flying by?), and today I am simply sharing an idea. Some of you may feel validated because you already implement this idea into your curriculum. Others may find this so simple they can’t believe they’ve never thought to do it. Keep reading …
Day 8: Timed Tests
Have you ever sat down and thought through exactly what it takes to read music? There is so much more than simply naming a string of notes. A piano studio must be able to -recognize if the note is in treble or bass clef, and understand which hand plays which clef -identify whether they are …
Piano Possibilities 