Do you ever teach pieces to your students by rote? I have a couple of students that absolutely amaze me with their ability to watch me play something once and then repeat it almost perfectly and retain it in their memory all week long! Here are a few pieces that I frequently use for this […]
Resources
Review and Giveaway of Goal-Oriented Practice!
Within days of reading Gretchen Saathoff’s ebook, Goal-oriented Practice, I was already referring to it in conversations with students during their lessons. The 39-page book is an easy read – written in a conversational and easy-to-understand style. Sections of the book include: Your Practice Environment Warming Up Learning the Music You’re Off to a Good […]
Dozens of Free MP3 Downloadable Classics Especially for Children!
A friend of mine who is writing pre-school curriculum as she homeschools her children came across this fabulous website full of free mp3 downloadable classics! The files are from children’s record series (vinyl records) sold in the US during the 1950’s and 1960’s. I downloaded the “A Child’s Introduction to the Instruments of the Orchestra […]
No Hands Left Behind!
The key-notes blog recently posted a question and answer regarding how to strengthen and train the left hand. I thought the tips shared were helpful to keep in mind for both personal practice and when working with students. I’ve got a double-note drill pattern that my teacher taught me several years ago that is still […]
Ask Janet Your Injury-Related Questions
If you’ve been keeping up with the posts this week, you know that Janet Horvath has a wealth of expertise and experience to share in the area of injury prevention and recovery. She has kindly agreed to take specific questions from Music Matters Blog readers and answer them in a post next week. You can […]
Interview with Janet Horvath
I am pleased to welcome Janet Horvath, author of Playing (Less) Hurt, to Music Matters Blog today to talk a little bit more about injury prevention and the role it should play in our teaching. 1. You come from a very musical family and began playing at a young age. Can you tell us when […]
