Has anyone else had difficulty getting students to actually lift their hands off the keys when there is a rest written in the music? I’ve finally come upon an idea that seems to be working consistently with my students. A lot of my students use the Faber Piano Adventures series of method books. When we […]
Teaching
Practicing Piano with a Deck of Cards
Here’s another new blog I just came across recently. Wow, I’m so excited at how many music education blogs are popping up these days! If you have such a blog or have a recommendation of one, please let me know! Check out this great practice idea called, Scramble. All it takes is a deck of […]
Music Game Ideas
I can’t remember how I found it now, but here’s a great site with music game ideas. There are a bunch of different ideas…the perfect place to find your next group game! I think the game titled, “Melody,” looks like a fun option for a group of young beginning students. You can also check out […]
This Week in Photos
You will notice a common element in each of the following pictures. They are all a variation of the same game. I affectionately call it “The Dice Game.” Here are the basics of how it works: * One die has the words “up” and “down” on it; the other one has either “steps” and “skips” […]
Trying a New Stitch
Since I’m currently serving as the president of one of our local music teachers associations, one of my responsibilities is to write a letter for our quarterly newsletter. Just for fun I thought I’d post the article I wrote for the most recent newsletter… Several years ago one of my students presented me with a […]
This Week in Photos
Graham and I played the rhythm chart game and then when I went to take a picture, he fell to his knees and exclaimed, “Please, have mercy!” Never a dull moment during his lessons, huh? 🙂 My new little beginner, Emily, continues to amaze me! I gave her the assignment of memorizing the alphabet backwards […]