I have been reading your site for the past year and have found it very helpful. I am a new teacher starting out so I have 4 students right now. In the fall I will be partnering with an after school program doing private lessons with possibly 8-10 more students. I saw your post about […]
Monday Mailbag
Monday Mailbag – Teaching Balance Between Hands
Some of my students have a lot of trouble with balance between the hands. I have them play one hand very loudly, and “ghost” the other hand, gradually adding the other hand by tapping the keys, then playing softly, getting gradually louder, but would love some other ideas. This is the same tried-and-true strategy that […]
Monday Mailbag
One of the fallouts of my computer crash several weeks ago is that I no longer have access to all of my e-mails. In particular, I had over fifty Monday Mailbag questions saved for upcoming postings. So…it looks like we’re going to have to start over from scratch. If you have a questions you’d like […]
Monday Mailbag – How to Develop an Internal Sense of Pulse
I want my students to feel an internal beat; it seems that any kind of external beat (counting, tapping, metronome, etc.) can be “warped” or ignored while concentrating on note location, etc. But, I’m having trouble with some students who never seem to get it (it doesn’t matter what song it is). When approaching a […]
Monday Mailbag – Teaching Hand Position
I have a technical question – my boy wants to rest his wrist a lot while plays. I sit by him and sort of poke underneath to remind him. Now he’s getting into harder stuff and has runs with 8th notes. He tends to play with his fingers straight. What can I do to get […]
Monday Mailbag – Planning a Comprehensive Curriculum 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. […]
