Anyone who’s been around here for a while knows that I’m a huge fan of Carnival of the Animals. I’ve used it as the theme for a regular summer piano camp for my students and also for the Piano Expeditions piano camp – To France with Saint-Saëns and His Carnival. Even before that, I used […]
Teaching
Review of Extreme Heterophony by John Pitts
When composer John Pitts contacted me about reviewing his newest book, Extreme Heterophony: a study in javanese gamelan, I was intrigued for two reasons. Not, mind you, because I had any idea what it was about! But because, firstly, there has been an increased effort in the music education community to explore more diversity in […]
Reflections on Favorites from 2021
As a compulsive planner, I always approach a New Year with high hopes, empty notebooks for making lists, and oodles of ideas and plans to pursue. As I pulled out my trusty “Idea Notebook” to start brainstorming, I couldn’t help but peruse all of my well-intentioned plans from days gone by. Some accomplished; many still […]
New Deck the Halls Christmas Piano Duet
Looking for a quick, fun, lively Christmas piano duet for a couple of students? This page and a half elementary piano duet of Deck the Halls sports a catchy intro, then shares the melody equally between both parts, concluding with a return to the theme from the intro. Simple to learn and fun to play!
Mary Did You Know Christmas Duet Arrangement Available
Thanks to the ArrangeMe publishing platform, another duet that my students and I have enjoyed playing for many years is now available! Mary, Did You Know? is a beautiful Christmas song that was written by Mark Lowry as series of questions to Mary as the mother of Jesus. Several of my students over the years […]
Rollin Rhythms Game a Hit at Piano Group Class
For our practice incentive theme this year (The Aquarium Caper), we are emphasizing developing rhythm skills, so I’ve been searching for a variety of rhythm games to include in our monthly piano group classes that will continue to reinforce rhythm knowledge and skills. For our last group class, I came across the free Rollin Rhythms […]
