Summer is just around the corner and with it the opportunity to switch gears and host some fun alternatives to traditional lessons. One of my favorite summer activities over the years has been putting on piano camps. We typically do a one-week camp, with students meeting every day of the week for several hours. By […]
Group Class Ideas
Group Piano Class Highlights
Here’s a 1-minute video (created on my iPhone using the Videolicious app) of our first Vanishing Voices group piano class of the year! We had a great time playing a round of Composer Trading, performing for each other, learning about Josquin Desprez, listening to a couple of his compositions, and attempting to decipher the Latin […]
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If you’re looking for music group class game that your students will love, Composer Trading is sure to do the job! Every time we play it, my students beg to play it again. We played it again at our group class this week and they were thrilled! You can download the free image files and […]
September Surprise Group Piano Class – by Candlelight!
The September Surprise! has become a much-anticipated tradition in our studio, but I think I can safely say that this year’s will go down in history as one of the most memorable. The students and their families arrived in the midst of an intense thunderstorm, and near the end of one of the performances a […]
Using Pennies to Teach 16th Note Rhythms
Years ago I first tried the idea of using pennies as a tactile way to teach the subdivision of 16th note rhythms. It’s been a while since I used it in my teaching, but now that all of my students are reaching a higher level of playing, it was time to break out the penny […]
Snapshots From This Week’s Group Class
In addition to performing for each other this week we practiced sharing definitions and descriptions of the musical elements of our pieces. Composing with the fun new game Compose Yourself! A game of notating Major and minor scales accurately by following the correct pattern. Major and minor scale-building game at the piano keyboard!  We […]
