Tag: music lessons for kids

Our First Piano Graduation of the School Year

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Yesterday I had my first student of this school year to graduate from her piano level. She just completed Faber’s My First Piano Adventures Level A! To celebrate the momentous occasion I taped the FINISH LINE pictured above from the piano to the wall. When she finished the last piece and a set of review questions, the student got to run across the finish line!   Of course that was very exciting for her and I must admit it was for me too! Now to really make sure that she understood just how big of an accomplishment completing her piano level was, I presented her with some gifts as well. She received a My First Piano Adventures Level A Christmas Book, A gift wrapped Wind Chime, and a bag of goodies! To top it all off and to create excitement among my other students and parents, I will be sending out a group e-mail to share the news with everyone. How do you celebrate piano graduations in your studio? I’d love to hear about it, so leave a comment if you’d like!

The Best Of Both Worlds

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For years I have taught on a Baldwin Pianovelle Digital Piano. Of course I know the beauty of an acoustic piano, but I do like the advantages that digital pianos provide. Instant rhythm sections to play along with are a lifesaver for students and myself as well. It makes learning to keep a steady beat a lot easier and a lot more fun! And oh my the sound effects! I’ve used them to teach all kinds of concepts from “shooting” keys to learn the names of  notes to using “drips of water” to teach technique. All these things are great, but I am so happy to finally have an acoustic baby grand in the studio in addition to the digital! With this being the first week of lessons and everybody’s introduction to the new baby in the studio my students have not wanted to take their hands off the piano! Great start to a great school year! Hmmm… I feel a contest to name the New Baby Grand is in our future!

What’s fresh and new in your studio this year? I’d love to hear about it from the simplest addition to the biggest.

 

Summer Piano Short: Cool Chords

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As promised, here is this week’s Summer Piano Short. This quick piano lesson online will show you how to get a bigger, cooler sound out of a major chord by making one simple addition. Click here to print a copy, and in case you missed the Arpeggio Summer Piano Short check that out as well. It will help you with this one.

This is the 4th and final post in the Summer Piano Short series, but  if you would like to see more Summer Piano Shorts, leave a comment below and I will look into my

BIG BOX of PIANO SECRETS and pull out a few more!

Summer Piano Shorts: Scary Music For Movies and TV

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Here’s a quick and fun piano exercise piano students can learn on their own! This activity shows how the diminished chord can be used to make scary background music for a movie or TV scene. Try it out! Print a copy of it here. Come back next Monday for another Summer Piano Short!