Teaching Done Differently
by Lou Ann Pope & Nicole Douglas, Creative Education Specialists Want to engage your students during the holiday season in a fun new way? Check out the newest addition to the Tonara’s Examples section of the Repertoire area on the teacher’s desktop platform. It can be […]
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by Chrissy Ricker, NCTM www.chrissyricker.com Assigning and pacing the repertoire we use with our students is one of the most challenging tasks we face as music teachers. The music we assign not only shapes the development of our students’ technical skills–it can also play a huge role in maintaining our students’ motivation to practice. Some […]
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By Gail Fischler, founder of Piano Addict Blog Do you judge yourself as you practice? Those negative inner thoughts are human nature. Sometimes voices from the past echo in our heads. Sometimes, the thoughts have nothing to do with the task at hand at all. Every good book that I have ever found, on practicing […]
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by Chrissy Ricker, NCTM www.chrissyricker.com Musical notation is a complex and elegant language. Using just lines and dots, the lovely sounds of our favorite works of music can be captured forever on the written page, to be learned and enjoyed by those of us fluent in the language of music. However, learning how to “decode” […]
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By Elisa Janson Jones “Right now I’m just delighted to be alive and to have had a nice long bath.” Richard Branson, Philanthropist and Entrepreneur Richard Branson is one of my biggest idols. He has a lot of money and spends a lot on good causes. He keeps a notebook. He’s an innovator. And […]
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by Jennifer Foxx of Music Educator Resources One of the most important skills a student must have when practicing is to be able to listen. Have you ever had a student that can play through a piece and it sounds completely off? They might be playing in the wrong key or wrong position, or are […]
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by Gail Fischler, founder of Piano Addict Blog Have you ever been horrified to discover rhythmic or voicing errors in music you have known and performed for some time? It happens. A case in point for me is Copland’s Four Piano Blues. The changing meters in these pieces evoke the improvisatory rhythm and rubato of […]
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by Leila Viss Leila Viss generates creative-based, tech-savvy instruction and resources for her private studio, the University of Denver’s Piano Preparatory Program, LeilaViss.com, 88 Creative Keys events, music industry magazines, and frequent speaking engagements. This article was originally posted here at leilaviss.com on August 29, 2019, and is reprinted with permission. As piano teachers, […]
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Classical music is, well, classic. Many beginning pianists dream of someday being able to play Fur Elise or Mozart’s Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Once they start to see the complexity of the pieces, though, beginners can sometimes feel discouraged and decide to give up classical music altogether. It does not have to be […]
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If you’ve ever had the urge to learn an instrument but haven’t had time, you might find life slows down as you get to 50 and actually have the time to seriously consider taking up a musical instrument. But you don’t want to spend years taking lessons before you can even feel you’re getting the […]
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