In the November/December 2012 issue of Clavier Companion, Susan Geffen wrote a very kind review of Music Matters Blog. Since the magazine recently launched a blog (if you haven’t already, you should definitely add it to your blog reading list!), they asked if I would contribute a guest post. As I pondered what to write, […]
Teaching
Happy Thanksgiving Week!
The studio is closed for Thanksgiving this week, so I’ll be taking the week off of blogging as well. Hope you all have a wonderful time of celebration and rest with your families. Here’s a video of one of my favorite songs that reminds me to have an attitude of thankfulness for the many blessings […]
Fun Friday Film
If I let them, I think a good 50% of my studio would choose to play Carol of the Bells for the Christmas recital every year. 🙂 It’s one of those pieces that everyone just loves. Well…check out this cool a cappella version of the Christmas favorite by Pentatonix:
Rote Teaching at Its Finest
In light of yesterday’s post on the value of teaching pieces by rote, I thought this was a most fascinating video clip illustrating how even non-pianists can participate in the beauty of music-making via rote teaching. So cool! HT: The Teaching Studio
Monday Mailbag – What’s the Point of Teaching Pieces by Rote?
You suggest teaching by rote, and your website lists “24 Piano Pieces Perfect for Rote Teaching”.  I certainly appreciate that you took the time to develop this list. But I don’t get it. Why teach by rote? How does learning a piece by rote develop skills necessary to aid in learning the next piece of […]
Watch The Cliburn: 50 Years of Gold
One of the first classical music CDs I fell in love with was the album The World’s Favorite Piano Music by Van Cliburn. Ever since then I’ve had a special place in my heart for his music and other musical endeavors. I was excited to learn the other day that there is a documentary of […]













