One of my high school boys has an insanely busy schedule this semester. In fact, in March his mom e-mailed me about the possibility of him taking off the months of April and May and resuming lessons in the fall when his schedule is a bit more open again. I explained to her that because […]
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Summer is Just Around the Corner!
In preparation for summer, I just sent home a Summer Survey with each of my students last week. I started sending these home with my students several years ago when I first started offering summer piano camps and it has been so helpful! Early on in my teaching, I made the mistake of planning an […]
Tips for Adjudicators
When I was adjudicating at a music festival last weekend, I was reminded of this fabulous post by Chris Foley of the Collaborative Piano Blog: 16 Ideas for First-Time Music Festival Adjudicators. The only thing I would change is to strike the “First-Time” from the title. This list is a handy checklist for new and […]
The Any Song Assignment
Do you have students who love to doodle around on the piano (or, as one student once declared to me, he liked to “type around on the keys sometimes” :-)) and do all sorts of things at the keyboard besides practice their assignments? Or perhaps you’ve encountered the student who can play up and down […]
Monday Mailbag – Motivating Students
I teach two girls whose parents own a shop. In better words, the business owns them. The hardest part in teaching the girls is that their parents have no time to instill any interest, appreciation, or enthusiasm into them. They grasp the concepts and practice, but there is not interest in dynamics or looking closer […]
Review of The Musician’s Way – Win a Copy for Yourself!
You would think that a book subtitled, “A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness” would tend toward dry, colorless explanations reserved for only the most devoted musicians. I can’t say that I was overly excited when Mr. Klickstein asked if I would be willing to review a copy of his book, The Musician’s Way, but […]
