Some of my favorite CDs growing up were those of pianist Murray Perahia, so a recent interview with him in Listen magazine published by Steinway & Sons grabbed my attention. It was so refreshing to read Perahia’s comments relating to contemporary music and his preference for tonality, in particular the ingenious work of J.S. Bach. […]
Teaching
New Free Piano and Music Worksheets Every Week!
If you haven’t checked out the Music Matters Blog store in a while, you may be pleased to know that there is now a Free Resources section and every week I’m working on adding new free music theory and piano worksheets to the collection. Many of these have been posted over the years, but have […]
Best Easy and Effective Note Identification App
Alyssa and I have been focusing a lot the last several months on her note identification speed. We’ve been doing a modified version of our NoteStars Challenge and she has made great progress, so when I came across this NoteRush app recently I immediately thought of Alyssa. The app is simple and intuitive, so in […]
Questions to Ask Students
At our local music teachers association meeting this morning we watched a webinar by Dr. Barbara Fast and Dr. Andrea McAlister on Overcoming the Brain’s Negativity Bias: Empowering Students Through Positive Engaging Language. From Dr. Fast’s segment, I especially appreciated the specific questions she suggested using during a piano lesson (some she gleaned from a […]
Unlimited Repertoire All Year? Yes, Please!
After a quick glance in July, I mentioned Chris Owenby’s new Practice Habits Online Community. However, over the last week I’ve spent more time digging into all that is included in the membership and I’m even more excited about the prospect of utilizing this throughout the coming year! If you sign up for a Gold […]
Free Downloadable Rhythm Cards and Game Idea
One of my studio go-to’s for an easy, educational game for group classes is Team Rhythm Dictation. The students are split into two teams and are given a set of individual rhythmic note cards to use. (Click here to download a free set of individual note cards to use in your studio.) The barlines are […]
