I remember sitting at a restaurant in Austin, TX with a group of fellow MTNA conference attendees in 2006. Julie Knerr and Katie Fisher were among the group, and I sat with rapt attention as they flipped through pages of hand-drawn illustrations and notes while explaining the concept behind the new piano method they were […]
Philosophical Musings
A Piano Teacher’s First Lesson Plan
Even though I’ve switched over to primarily using Piano Safari as my beginning method for new piano students, it’s still really helpful to gather other ideas and perspectives for introducing new students to piano lessons. The Fabers have put together a step-by-step First Lesson Plan for their My First Piano Adventures series. I really appreciate […]
How Students Can Get the Most Out of Piano Lessons
The last e-newsletter from The Musician’s Way directing me back to this wonderful post by Gerald Klickstein on “Making the Most of Music Lessons.” Gerald asks, “What’s the central issue in lessons?” He then goes on to state, “Learning. What, then, is the primary role of students? To be adept learners. (Teachers facilitate learning.) So […]
Are You a Diametrically Opposed Teacher?
A couple nights ago I presented my workshop, Creativity on the Cutting Edge, to a music teachers association. In so doing, I was reminded of this wonderful statement about the teaching method of Theodor Leschetizky in an article about him in the September/October 2012 issue of American Music Teacher: “The great quality of Leschetizky was […]
Off to the Slopes!
It will be another quiet week here on Music Matters Blog because the studio is closed while I’m in Colorado enjoying the snowy slopes! In the meantime you might be interested in checking out a series of posts I wrote last year on Teaching Tips from Snowboard School: Introduction Part 1 – Be a Pro […]
A Picture and a Video and a Quote (or Two)
After our fabulous weekend in Kansas City, my students and I thoroughly enjoyed our first experience participating in the Multi-Piano Concert! We got back late Sunday evening, so I’ve been scrambling to get everything done this week and thus the blog has been a bit quiet. However, I thought I would share with you a […]
