Several times now I’ve heard Dennis Alexander mention his personal website and how few teachers seem to know it exists. And several times now I’ve forgotten about it! So I decided that maybe if I make a point of writing about it, I’ll be more inclined to remember it. And while I was at it, […]
Teaching
Teaching Piano Technique to Beginning Students
Tim Topham recently wrote a fabulous article that presents 4 Tips for Teaching Beginner Technique to piano students. He outlines the importance of non-legato touch, emphasizes forming a naturally curved hand, discusses naming musical gestures, and describes rotating the wrist. These closely parallel some of the technique principles I’ve discovered over the years and incorporate […]
32 Free Folk Songs and Popular Tunes for Easy Piano
One area of particular interest for me is folk songs from different countries. Especially when I’m putting together the Piano Expeditions piano camp curriculum, I enjoy trying to find folk songs from the country we’re “visiting” and see if they can be adapted for use in our week of piano camp. I was recently checking […]
A Collection of Free Music Manuscript or Staff Paper
When I was perusing the Virtual Sheet Music website the other day, I came across their section of free resources for music teachers and noticed that they have a music manuscript file that you can adjust and print in either landscape or portrait mode with your specified number of staves. Since I rarely use theory […]
New Piano Expeditions Piano Camp Curriculum Coming This Summer
Grab your tickets and get ready to travel because this summer our Piano Expeditions Piano Camp is off to experience the wonders of Italy! Our summer piano camps have been a highlight in the studio for many years, and for the last several years the Piano Expeditions programs in particular have been a fabulous way […]
A Comparison of Jane Magrath’s Piano Teaching Literature Reference Works
Years ago I acquired a used copy of Jane Magrath’s book, The Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature, published in 1995 by Alfred Publishing. It has served me well for many years, especially in my early days as a piano teacher when I was learning how to appropriately level and select repertoire for […]
