How do you know if a particular book or approach is helping a student? Well, when the student tells you that they think the book has really helped them, that’s a pretty good indication. 🙂 If only all students would just come right out and say so! One of my older beginners has been using […]
Resource Reviews
Review and Giveaway of Old MacDonald Had the Blues Piano Book by Rebekah Maxner
If student demand is any indication of quality, this music “re-telling” of classic folk songs is already destined for success! Shortly after receiving a copy of “Old MacDonald Had the Blues” from its composer, Rebekah Maxner, a student asked me what it was. I played him a sampling of some of the pieces and he’s […]
Review and Giveaway of Reflections CD by Sandy Skinner
I remember growing up listening to church pianists improvise the old hymns and wishing that I knew how to add in all those extra notes like they did. 🙂 That’s what the new CD, “Reflections” by Sandy Skinner reminds me of. In a world that is ever bustling with activity, it’s nice to still be […]
Review and Giveaway of American Portraits Piano Book by Wendy Stevens
If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is an audio clip worth? In a departure from my typical process of reviewing new materials, I thought it would be cool to give you samplings of the actual music rather than mere words attempting to describe the music. In fact, didn’t some great musician say […]
Review and Giveaway of Showers of Blessing Piano Book by Jenifer Cook
Anyone who has followed Jenifer Cook’s The Church Pianist blog knows that she is a gifted pianist and teacher. Her ability to communicate improvisation and arranging techniques to aspiring pianists is unparalleled in my opinion! It’s one thing to be able to play and improvise well, but a whole different thing to be able to […]
Free Practice Guide for Beginning Music Students
Mike Saville, of the fabulous How to Practice blog, has put together a beautiful ebook called, “Complete Beginner’s Guide to Practice.” Once you register a free account on the site, you can download the colorful 55-page ebook for free. In addition to lots of great tips and inspirational quotes, the book contains handy lists and […]
