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 […]
Teaching
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 […]
New Christmas Tunes Bingo and More Music Games!
One of the tried-and-true games in our studio is Music Bingo. It’s a simple game that works for students of all ages and levels and effectively reinforces musical terms and symbols. I often pull it out for group classes. A while back I began pondering the possibility of creating a Bingo game that would help […]
Thanksgiving Special!
This fall marks 18 years of blogging here at Music Matters Blog! I still remember sitting down with a spiral notebook before I launched the site and planning out what the first 30 days of posts would be. My biggest concern was that I would run out of things to blog about after that first […]
Rote Teaching and Improvisation with Older Beginner Piano Students
After attending our KMTA state conference last month, I was inspired anew by a session from my friend and colleague, Agniezska Lasko. Her session, Using Contemporary Compositional Techniques in Teaching Improvisation to Children, is one I could attend over and over again and probably gain new ideas every time! I came back to my studio […]
How to Give Your Students’ Note Reading a Super Boost – A Giveaway!
With the plethora of piano teaching resources constantly hitting the market it’s easy to let old favorites slip to the wayside when exploring new possibilities. I’m sorry to say that’s exactly what happened with Notebusters, a fabulous workbook created by Steven Gross and Karen Spurney. It’s been 10 years since I reviewed their original workbook […]
