Piano at Play
4 Spooky Repertoire Picks for Early Piano Levels [Videos]
For music that sends chills down your spine, look no further! Here are four spooky picks for Late Elementary to Early Intermediate. Each piece is only one page, ideal for a themed performance. Hauntingly beautiful with catchy rhythms and harmonic twists and turns, your students will play these frightfully well! ...continue reading →
Tidbits: CFMTA 2019 conference wrap, Rock the Boat update, The Noise of Time review
3 tidbits of news: 1) CFMTA Winnipeg 2019: here’s a fun little conference wrap with photos. 2) Exciting update on Rock the Boat, my new Early Elementary piano collection with note and rote solos with optional teacher duets. Your students are going to love it! 3) Book review of Julian Barnes's The Noise of Time. ...continue reading →
4 Tips for expressive playing using 'Green Shade' [RCM Level 6 List C]
Before learning to play music by composers like Chopin, Intermediate piano students benefit from repertoire that nurtures expressive, Romantic-styled playing. Here are 4 tips for playing expressively using ‘Green Shade’. ...continue reading →
Piano Pen Pals - beat the 'solitary-piano-lesson blues' socially [Printables]
Ever want to beat the “solitary-piano-lesson” blues? Here’s a social activity for your studio that’s off the beaten path — pen pal letters! If it's possible, writing and receiving letters is more fun today than ever. It’s motivating for a student to hear from someone their age, writing about practicing the piano and their favourite piece of music. Here’s everything you need to get started. ...continue reading →
'Starry Dreams (Do Come True)' Level 6 Jazz piano piece [eSheet]
"Do what you love until others love it, too." There are moments in your professional life when you take stock of where you are, how far you've come and what started it all. This post is about rediscovering my genesis as a composer: 1) with a new Level 6 Jazz piece that harkens back to my earliest days of improvising on the piano, and 2) professional photos inspired by the composer who first inspired me. ...continue reading →
O Canada piano arrangements perfect for public events, school assemblies and recitals
School assemblies and graduations, Canada Day, official ceremonies including Remembrance Day, and Canada Music Week recitals in November -- all these begin with the playing or singing of our national anthem. Canada's iconic national anthem now has five versatile and appealing piano arrangements. Click to see and hear O Canada arranged by five Canadian composers, written to reflect the pride we feel for our beautiful nation. ...continue reading →
DIY Piano Dictation Book: your professional communication tool [Printables]
Want to save phone calls, misunderstandings with piano parents regarding policies, and streamline how you operate your studio business? Consider printing your own studio dictation books. Put everything into one book: policies, practicing hints, phone numbers, performance hall addresses, finger exercises, staff paper and lesson sheets, bound with Yearbook-style covers. ...continue reading →
Understanding piano parents: What Minor League Baseball taught me
As I sat through ball practices and games, barely catching the innings and outs, I finally understood how it felt to be a piano parent who didn't know the ins and outs of piano. What I learned from being a ball mom who felt almost completely in the dark, was a brand-new sense of compassion for the well-meaning yet uninformed piano parent. ...continue reading →
'Quitting' piano: 7 options for teachers, students and parents
Someday each and every student is going to discontinue. It is natural and inevitable. No one takes piano lessons forever. Yet, the emotion of stopping is usually wrapped up in disappointment or regret. Here are some ideas for piano teachers to help all involved navigate the end of a student's piano lesson chapter with compassion and professionalism. ...continue reading →
