For last year’s practice incentive theme, I created a collection of flashcards that I’ve wanted to have for a long time. In addition to the typical note identification flashcards, I also wanted ones with a variety of intervals and triads in various places on the staff. The end result was a huge bundle of 883 […]
5 Helpful Tips for Your Piano Studio Website
MTNA launched a business digest not too long ago that features helpful articles and resources related to running an effective music studio. In their October 2022 issue, Daniel Patterson shares 5 Website Rules that Will Increase Your Enrollment. I’ve been pondering revamping my studio website for a while now, and Daniel’s column provides some helpful […]
New We Three Kings Beginner Piano Sheet Music
It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is just around the corner! Our studio enjoys participating in a local WinterFest arts fair at the beginning of December where students have the opportunity to provide background music for the hundreds of shoppers and vendors participating in the occasion. It’s a fabulous experience that is less intimidating than […]
New in the Studio this Fall – Ready to Play
While perusing the Piano Safari website late this summer, I came across a couple of books in their Musicianship category. Ready to Play books 1 (Off We Go!) and 2 (Moving Up!) by Sally Cathcart. Forever on a quest to improve how I teach my students musicianship, I was intrigued and added a copy of […]
Notes First or Artistry First?
The latest Musicians Way newsletter (which is always chock full of interesting links and resources) references a post from a few years ago addressing the issue of The Problems with ‘Notes First’ Practice. The longer I teach, the more I realize the wisdom of Gerald Klickstein’s approach, which focuses on developing musical artistry first, not […]
Win a Free Flight and a Ukulele
If you’ve been a Music Matters Blog reader here for a while probably know that in addition to teaching piano, I also I love to travel (I have a travel blog that I update sporadically – hammockinthewoods.com). So it was fun to read about the recent Southwest Airlines arrangement with Guitar Center to provide ukuleles […]
