I’ve been doing a ton of repertoire brainstorming and searching over the summer to find engaging music written in every key (which may or may not have something to do with our upcoming practice incentive theme…). It’s been exciting to play through lots of wonderful music, and I’ve found some gems along the way. Here […]
Using Musical Wheels to Make Music Theory and Ear Training More Engaging – A Guest Post by Spin the Wheel
It usually happens in the last ten minutes of a music lesson. You’ve just finished a rhythm exercise that took careful explanation, a bit of clapping, a retry, and finally some progress. The room is just starting to shift. A few students are packing away early. Someone asks, ‘What are we doing next?’ And instead […]
And the Winner Is…
#1 – Sharla Congrats, Sharla! You will receive a free Cracking the Crystal Code practice incentive theme package along with all the studio posters to hang on your wall. Thanks to all who participated in the giveaway. You can receive 20% off this or any of the practice incentive theme packages in the Music Matters […]
Effortless Sight-Reading for Musicians
There are so many resources and ideas for teaching piano that it can sometimes be overwhelming to know what to include in piano lessons for our students. How much should we focus on learning difficult repertoire? How much off-the bench focus on games and hands-on activities? How often should we be incorporating playing by ear […]
The Science of Piano Sight-Reading
In the June/July 2026 issue of American Music Teacher, Jenny Jieun Park published a column titled, “The Science of Piano Sight-Reading: Practical Applications for Teachers.” Having just concluded a year of specific piano sight-reading focus with our practice incentive theme, Cracking the Crystal Code, I was especially interested to read this article. After sharing highlights […]
Win a Free Practice Incentive Theme Package with Studio Banners – a $110 Value!
I’ll be honest, some of my practice incentive themes and studio banners are harder to let go of than others. Cracking the Crystal Code is one of those. I am still relishing the year of incredible progress that I saw in each of my students, along with the way their motivation remained high all year […]
