Those of you who have been around here for a while know that my teaching philosophy and approach has been largely influenced by Forrest Kinney and his Pattern Play books and teacher workshops. I am excited to share that he has a new website and has been working on lots of projects to share with […]
Repertoire Suggestions
Faber’s New Studio Collection
Randall and Nancy Faber recently announced their new Studio Collection, “a spectacular mix of styles with carefully selected pieces from the PreTime® to BigTime® Piano Supplementary Library.” I love that you can click each book’s image on the site to view videos of Randall Faber performing and sometimes discussing the pieces. What a great resource […]
Review and Giveaway of Be Still by James Koerts
When James Koerts contacted me about his new collection of hymn arrangements titled, Be Still, I jumped at the chance to play through them! After having such a satisfying experience with his new book of Christmas piano arrangements a couple of years ago, I had high expectations for this latest release. And I was not […]
A Special Piano Solo
I’d Rather Have Jesus has been one of my favorite hymns for many years. Rhea Miller’s beautiful lyrics express the feelings of my own heart. I’ve always wanted to write my own arrangement of this hymn, and after attending The Creative Life conference last summer and launching Project 28 in my studio, that became one […]
Monday Mailbag – 5 Essential Resources for Selecting Repertoire for Intermediate Piano Students
I have been thinking a little more about curriculum. My younger students typically work through a method book with additional repertoire and activities added. My older students choose several pieces to work on through the semester/year, discuss theory/musical concepts in their pieces, work through a theory book, and typically do scales or other technical exercises. […]
Piano Teaching Tips
One of the most helpful aspects of the Alfred Ledger Lines blog is the Piano Teaching Tips that they post periodically featuring one of their composers giving a little “masterclass” of sorts on how to play one of their pieces. The most recent one is a post by E.L. Lancaster highlighting Midnight Adventure, an etude […]
