One thing that I’ve realized that I do frequently with my students that keeps my enthusiasm for teaching fresh is visualize them in the future. I imagine that Landon is no longer a 9-year old boy with hard-to-control fingers, but a mature 19-year old who sits at his family’s piano accompanying hymns while his family […]
Philosophical Musings
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Have you ever wondered why a student can successfully correct a problem at the lesson when you point it out to them, but then return the following week having reverted to the incorrect way of playing it? I actually started to understand the fundamental issue involved in this phenomenon as a result of taking lessons […]
Easy Phrases for Students
I love teaching! This is my first week back to teaching after my summer break and I am loving it! I took a little more time off than usual this summer, so I was afraid my students would be pretty rusty. I have been pleasantly surprised. I think I’m rustier than most of them! 🙂 […]
Great Pianists on Piano Playing Podcasts
Michael Griffin, developer of the Music Education World website and author of the Music and Keyboard in the Classroom curriculum, has just posted eight episodes of a new Great Pianists on Piano Playing Podcast (scroll to the bottom of the page for the links). The eight episodes range from 5 to 18 minutes in length […]
Quotes from Music and Keyboard in the Classroom Teacher’s Manual
In the course of reading the Teacher’s Manual for my review of the Music and Keyboard in the Classroom curriculum, these are some quotes that I found particularly helpful and/or thought-provoking: “To further shape a music curriculum it is essential to know what we believe, as educators. Otherwise we will be irresolute in the delivery […]
Making A Difference in the World
Following is an article I wrote recently for our local association’s newsletter: With the touch of a button or the click of a mouse almost anyone anywhere in the world has access to a vast anthology of music. Indeed, we are subjected to the sounds of music whether we are walking through a store, eating […]
