As I mentioned last week, we focus on musical form at piano lessons right from the beginning. This week we had to get creative with the song, Ferris Wheel, from Piano Safari Level 1. The first line, which we labeled “A” is repeated in inverted form for the third line, and the second line is […]
Teaching
Musical Form & Analysis for Beginning Piano Students
Having been a long-time piano student who graduated from high school with no idea how to tell what key I was playing in, I’ve been determined as a piano teacher to make sure that my students understand music theory. Not in a disconnected fill-in-the-answer-in-the-theory-book way, but in a way that ignites greater understanding and appreciation […]
New Free Tortoises Beginner Piano Solo with Teacher Duet
One of my new students this year absolutely loves animals. In fact, she’s been bringing various stuffed animals to her lesson to introduce me to them! For our upcoming cookout and piano recital this spring I’m planning to have all the students play some kind of ensemble piece with one or more other students. This […]
Honest Reflections on Feeling Overwhelmed
I may or may not have a bad habit (just one, I’m sure!) of feeling overwhelmed that I’m not doing enough and then adding more things to my plate and feeling even more overwhelmed. Take this week for example. I’m writing this from a cozy Airbnb about an hour from my house where I’ve been […]
Happy New Year!
Let’s pretend like it’s not almost February by the time I’m getting around to writing this New Year’s post! Although things have been quiet out here, there’s been a lot going on behind the scenes that I’m very excited to share. I’ve spent a lot of time brainstorming and praying and putting things in place […]
Christmas Tunes Bingo is a Hit!
At our final group class of the year, we pulled out the new Christmas Tunes Bingo game and gave it a try. I pulled a musical excerpt out of an envelope and played it on the piano. The students had to guess the name of the Christmas song, then determine which category it belongs to […]
