Dr. David Brown, an innovative music educator, has gathered a team and developed an app to help students learn to read and play the piano. He has just recently launched PianoCub (and has a Kickstarter campaign running right now), and he has offered to giveaway a free 3-month subscription to one Music Matters Blog reader! […]
Guiding Students to Become Independent Learners and Musicians
The more I learn about Classical education, the more I am inspired to help my students become effective learners in every area of their studies. After reading this insightful post by Katherine Fisher, one of the authors of my absolute favorite piano method (Piano Safari, in case you didn’t know :-)), I am contemplating ways […]
Summer Piano Camp Roundup
This will be the first summer in a long time that I haven’t held a piano camp in my studio. It’s always so much fun to brainstorm and create a week of fun-filled music games and activities centered on a specific theme (although I think Carnival of the Animals will always be my favorite!). However, […]
The Seventh Annual Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition Winners
If you’re looking for some viewing and listening pleasure this summer, you might enjoy checking out these videos of the finalists and winners from the Seventh Annual Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition. The first prize winner, audience award winner, and press award winner was 38-year old Thomas Yu, a periodontist from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It’s […]
New Custom Files Added to Jungle Expedition Studio Practice Incentive Theme
Thanks to some wonderful suggestions from a Music Matters Blog customer who has previously used a Music Matters Blog studio practice incentive theme, I’ve created and added a few files to the Jungle Expedition theme to make it more easily customizable for use in your studio. The customizable files include: A new Jungle Huts page […]
Using Pennies to Teach 16th Note Rhythms
Years ago I first tried the idea of using pennies as a tactile way to teach the subdivision of 16th note rhythms. It’s been a while since I used it in my teaching, but now that all of my students are reaching a higher level of playing, it was time to break out the penny […]
