Last week at our state music teachers conference, I presented a workshop called, “How to Design a Practice Incentive that Will Motivate Your Students All Year Long.” It was a lot of fun! As much as I love designing my own full-blown program, I know that lots of teachers prefer to either use a pre-designed […]
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Monday Mailbag – Teaching Family Members
I’m actually more of a piano student, than teacher. (I’m a high school senior preparing to major in piano at college next year). However, my parents have given me the opportunity to teach my 12 year old sister to play, so that I get practice teaching and they don’t have to pay for lessons. My […]
KMTA Conference – Beyond Scales and Hanon by Elizabeth M. Grace
Having previously suffered from an injury, Beth now presents workshops and works with many students to develop proper technique skills. I have previously been to several of her workshops and had students take a masterclass with her, so I know how incredibly helpful the principles are that she shares. They have greatly impacted my own […]
KMTA Conference – Stages of Talent Development by Randall Faber
This morning is off to a great start with Randall Faber presenting a session on “Stages of Talent Development.” The presentation is accompanied by an 18-page handout that I’m excited to read through after the conference. Dr. Faber began by positing that we can’t assume that a student is engaged in the lesson or what […]
KMTA Conference – Preparing Student Winners by Jack Winerock
This was a very interesting session, with lots of interaction and thoughts shared by various teachers. Here are a few random nuggets of wisdom that I picked up: Outline very clear expectations for students so that if they elect to enter a competition, they know what they are getting into. The student should be willing […]
KMTA Conference – Piano Innovations in the Computer Age by Nathanael May
A collection of quotes, historical tidbits, musical excerpts, and personal insights comprised this workshop by Nathanel May that explored the evolution of the piano in light of advancing technology, especially from 1980-2000. Nathanael said that notes and recordings will be available on his website, so check it out if you want a glimpse into this […]
