An Italian Intrigue: Musical Adventures in Heart, Mind, and Strength Last month I had the amazing experience of spending three weeks in Italy! I decided to do double duty and use the trip to do reconnaissance work for this year’s theme. It was a ton of fun and now I’m excited to take my students […]
Teaching
Breakdancing…to Bach?!
Who would have thought that the music of one of the greatest composers of all time could serve as the backdrop for a troupe of breakdancers from Berlin?! I confess, I’ve kind of had a thing for breakdancing ever since I was first introduced to it by a group of Hmong teenagers when I was […]
Monday Mailbag – Three Simple Questions to Help You Figure Out What to Charge for Lessons
My question is about prices/tuition. I moved to the east coast three years ago and have had a hard time figuring out what the going rates are for piano lessons. I am an MTNA member, have played the piano for 30+ years, and taught for about 20 years, but I’m just not sure what to charge. […]
September Surprise is Tonight!
All year long we anticipate and prepare for this occasion. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of overkill, but the September Surprise! is definitely a highlight in our studio. Since I take off the whole month of August for brainstorming and planning our theme, selecting new repertoire, and traveling (more of that than the others this […]
Loads of Free Music Theory Worksheets!
One of my students’ moms sent me a link to Free Music Theory Worksheets page of the gmajormusictheory.org website. I know I’ve been there before, but it’s obviously been a while as they have added a ton of free printable worksheets! Since I rarely use theory books in my teaching, I’m always on the lookout […]
Monday Mailbag – How to Cure Students of the Incessant Compulsion to Repeat Measures Until All the Mistakes Are Fixed
What do you do with a student who replays measures again and again? I can see that he is thinking through each measure and wants to correct a rhythm or note mistake, but it’s as if he’s in his own world making it right. Help! I assume you’re looking for an answer something other than […]
