In my planning for piano camps each summer I spend hours upon hours searching for music-related books for kids, trying to find just the right one to accompany each theme. Invariably, I ended up borrowing from the library books that I’ve borrowed before…and then forgotten. I perform all kinds of queries for “interactive children’s books” […]
Teaching
Silhouettes – A Delightful New Piano Book by Jakub Metelka
One of my favorite pastimes is sitting down with a new piano book and sight-reading through it. The pleasure is further enhanced when it’s a new collection by a lesser-known composer with a fresh and engaging sound. Such was the case with the trio of books by Czech composer Jakub Metelka that I discovered last […]
It’s Time for Christmas Tunes Bingo!
We had our November group class this week, so I decided it was time to pull out our Christmas Tunes Bingo game again! With our practice incentive theme this year (The PUZZLEMAKER), I built listening pages into the assignment books, so we’ve been using them at each of the monthly group classes this year. This […]
Rote Favorites in the Piano Studio this Fall
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know that I’m a huge proponent of using rote teaching with all of my students. Here are a few favorite pieces from this fall: How do you get an energetic 8-year old boy who wants to play everything lightning fast to appreciate playing beautiful musical sounds […]
Another Successful September Surprise!
How can it be October already?! As always, we launched a new year in the studio with our beloved September Surprise! It’s an opportunity for the students to play any piece that they want (thus surprising me with what they’ve worked on over the summer) and it’s when I announce our new practice incentive theme for […]
Top Ten Takeaways from our State Music Teachers Conference
There’s nothing quite like a conference to marry my loves of teaching and traveling! Our annual state music teachers conference was a joint venture with Missouri this year, and it was fabulous. We’re just wrapping up a weekend full of insightful sessions, inspiring performances, and invigorating fellowship. By the time the last session concluded I […]
