Growing up my Dad always told me that “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” That truism has served me well, but there are always a few exceptions. And this is one of them. It’s been a while since I first wrote about my foray into Piano Safari (ok, so it’s […]
Teaching
Creativity on Heart and Soul
Have you ever had a student come into their lesson thrilled to show you the new song that their friend just taught them? Only to discover that it’s at the top of every piano teacher’s list of Most Disliked Songs? You know which one I’m talking about, don’t you? Yup. Heart and Soul. But, as […]
Introducing…the Shlap!
I love it when my students put their creative juices to work to come up with something innovative! Check out this new musical symbol that Stephanie devised:
New Sample Pages Added to the Store!
Many of you have requested the ability to see sample pages of the piano Practice Incentive Theme Packages and the Piano Camp Lesson Plans, so I’m excited to report that you can now view samples of every product available in the Music Matters Blog Store! I know many of you are busy getting ready for […]
8 Things You Didn’t Know About Piano Technique – A Guest Post by Doug Hanvey
A Word from Natalie: Perhaps the most impactful thing I have learned in my years of playing and teaching piano is the importance of understanding and properly using the body to achieve artistic playing with the greatest ease. The three greatest catalysts of this in my own education were: my teacher and mentor, Sylvia Coats, […]
Note Categories – A Music Note Identification Game
After getting a good start on our NoteStars challenge, I also assigned every student the Note Categories game. This game is very simple, but definitely challenging for students. I use one of each letter name scale block and time the student as they go through the set of student music note flashcards, placing each one […]
