We’re halfway through our week and so far everyone has survived! Even with a wider range of ages this year (3-10 years old), I’ve been impressed at how well all of the students have gotten along and worked together. The older ones love being praised when they catch on to concepts quickly and can demonstrate […]
Group Class Ideas
Piano Expeditions Piano Camp – Day 2
There is nothing quite so invigorating for a piano teacher as a room full of little ones having a blast learning about music! Here are the highlights from Day 2 of To Russia with Mussorgsky and His Expedition: We didn’t get to our game yesterday, so we started today with a piano keyboard relay. Black […]
Piano Expeditions Piano Camp – Day 1
What a fabulously fun morning we had at piano camp going To Russia with Mussorgsky and His Exhibition! Here are a few highlights: “Fishing” for their two-black-key flashcards with a simple stick-and-magnet pole. Coloring while listening to Promenade from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Listening attentively while Stephanie (my wonderful high school student who is […]
It’s Time for Piano Camp!
One of our favorite studio traditions is a week-long piano camp! It’s taken various forms over the years – from an intensive course for serious high school students, to a Carnival of the Animals adventure for my current students, to our most recent offering: Piano Expeditions for young, mostly-preschool students who are not taking formal […]
Time for a Music Spelling Bee!
We finished out our final group piano class this week with a fun game of Music Spelling Bee! Each of the students received a magnetic dry erase board (I really like these from Really Good Stuff and have used them for years!) with magnets and a transparency sheet with a music staff printed on it […]
Free Beginner Piano Game for Whole and Half Steps
Now that I’ve started offering preschool Piano Expeditions piano camps in the summer, I’m always on the lookout for games and activities that are well-suited to this age. I love to have some sort of simple activity to engage them right at the beginning while everyone is arriving, and this Toads, Tones, and Semitones game […]