“My dad said I should start with my map pin here because that would give me the most central location for getting to the other destinations.” ~student after the September Surprise “My dad had a question…can you go around the world to the east and come back in on the west?” ~student at the first […]
Philosophical Musings
Invisible Labor
One of my favorite quotes is this gem from Victor Hugo, author of the literary classic, Les Miserables: “A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor.” I am always reminded of those words this time of year when I begin brainstorming […]
Notes First or Artistry First?
The latest Musicians Way newsletter (which is always chock full of interesting links and resources) references a post from a few years ago addressing the issue of The Problems with ‘Notes First’ Practice. The longer I teach, the more I realize the wisdom of Gerald Klickstein’s approach, which focuses on developing musical artistry first, not […]
Tried and True Piano Practice Strategy
After watching a webinar by Sara Ernst (Practicing Piano through the Early Stages) with our local music teachers association a couple of months ago, I was inspired anew to teach my students effective practice strategies during their piano lessons. This is not my favorite part of teaching and often brings to mind this quote by […]
The Math Behind an Octave
There are so many things that are easy to take for granted as musicians. We are standing on the shoulders, as it were, of many who have gone before us, making observations and discoveries that have been instrumental (:-)) in the progress and development of music as we understand it today. Even this tidbit that […]
Guiding Students to Become Independent Learners and Musicians
The more I learn about Classical education, the more I am inspired to help my students become effective learners in every area of their studies. After reading this insightful post by Katherine Fisher, one of the authors of my absolute favorite piano method (Piano Safari, in case you didn’t know :-)), I am contemplating ways […]
