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 […]
Go Practice Music — Practice smarter, not longer – A Guest Post
A note from Natalie: With so many piano apps on the market (and more being added all the time!) it is often overwhelming to navigate all the options. What appealed to me about Go Practice Music (click here to use my referral link) when Sebastien reached out to me about it is the sleek interface […]
Gustav’s Musical World – A Guest Post by Heather Donovan
Note from Natalie: Anyone who’s been around here a while knows that I love children’s books and I have a whole section of the Music Matters Blog website devoted to Music Books for Kids. So I was especially thrilled when author Heather Donovan contacted me about her new adorable children’s book about Gustav and his […]
It’s Practice Incentive Planning Time!
One of my favorite summer activities is setting aside time to brainstorm and plan for the next year’s studio practice incentive theme. It’s so fun to go over all the input from my students and their parents during our Year-End Evaluations. I solicit specific theme ideas in their questionnaires and then we also discuss areas […]
Rhythm Practice Games for Music Lessons – A Guest Post by Spin the Wheel
Note from Natalie: As a student who struggled with internalizing a sense of musical pulse, I especially appreciate the way that Spin the Wheel incorporates different movements into their rhythm activities to help students not only understand rhythmic notation cognitively, but feel it musically as well! Rhythm Practice Games for Music Lessons: Create a Music […]
