Tag: music lessons

Father’s Day Music Memories

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This is a picture of my Dad and me on my wedding day 17 years ago today! As I think about him on this Father’s Day a very happy memory of how he supported my music learning when I was a child comes to my mind. Although I did not live with him as a child, my Dad made sure that I had a piano at his house so I could practice when I came to visit. I was so happy when he bought that piano and I played it all the time when I was there. Today, it occurs to me just how special that was for him to buy a brand new piano just for me to use one weekend out of a month. When I consider that many of today’s parents hesitate to even buy their child a $100 keyboard when taking lessons –  let alone a piano, I am deeply humbled. My Dad must have seen something musical in me even then. I am so thankful for this gift he gave me and I hope he feels good knowing that because he supported my music learning each and every one of the families that I work with is benefitting from it.

If you have parents in your studio or prospective parents who question whether or not to make the investment in a good quality piano because they are not sure if they will stick with it, share my story with them or a similar story of your own and hopefully they will want to be a hero just like my Dad is.

App of the Week: Beat Sneak Bandit

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Thanks to one of the teachers in the Music Teacher’s Group on Facebook, I learned about this great music game! Wonderful for working on rhythm without even realizing it! Available on iTunes. I used it with my rising 6th graders in Music Camp this week (all boys) and they loved it!!!

Street Musicians Make Great Music Teachers!

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Recently my family and I went down to Savannah, GA for my daughter’s dance performance and while we were there we were able to sneak in some music (YAY). As we strolled along the riverfront we heard the jazzy sounds of a saxophone. So, of course we went to talk to the guy who was playing. He graciously played some Duke Ellington for us and then asked what else we wanted to hear. My kids hesitated because they didn’t want to ask him to play something that he didn’t know. Of course I was pretty sure this man could play any song, so I asked him to play Blue Bossa , a jazz standard my son is learning to play. He smiled and began to play it beautifully. My kids were amazed that he could just play it on the spur of the moment like that. The lesson – continue to study music patterns and learn as many songs as you can so you will be ready to take requests some day as well!

Pinterest Idea Of The Week: Twitter Board

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Source: mesmrswhitesclass.blogspot.com via Dana on Pinterest

While browsing  Pinterest this morning, I found an amazing idea that I can’t wait to use in my studio this week!  The Twitter Board is a place where students can write “tweets” about something they learned during their lesson or something that inspired them during the lesson. This reinforces the learning and when other students read it, they learn as well. How cool is that?

Quaver’s Marvelous World

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I am so excited about this music teaching resource! If you are looking for a fun, fresh, new way to introduce music theory concepts to kids this is it! Although it is designed for classroom use, I am finding it very useful in private piano lessons. My students love the entertaining and engaging videos. There is also a companion website where kids can explore the music concepts in-depth, and it is so much fun!!! I cannot say that enough because with kids, it’s all about fun.

If you order the DVDs, you will get awesome teaching guides, worksheets,  and access to online helps as well. A word of warning, though – the DVDs are expensive. Each DVD contains 2 episodes for about $69. I was so impressed with the youtube previews and their website that I felt it was worth the investment – especially since I can use it with all my students  – and I am not disappointed!  You can get more information on their website at www.quavermusic.com

Have you tried Quaver’s Marvelous World in your studio? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it and how you use it.

Summer Piano Shorts: Arpeggios Make Great Intros

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This is the first in a series of what I call Summer Piano Shorts. These are  just quick piano experiments for my piano students who are taking the summer off from lessons. You can download a copy of this worksheet to use at home or with a student. They will be able to play a nice intro for songs using arpeggios. Look for a Summer Piano Short every Monday!

First Piano Lesson Activity: Piano Keyboard Pattern Cards

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Young children often get confused at the piano and can’t remember where the notes are because they get lost in the sea of white keys. Of course as piano teachers we always direct them to look for the black key patterns of 2 and 3, so while reading a post from Sheryl Welles at Notable Music Studio I got an idea for this simple keyboard patterning game. It is great to use at a first piano lesson.

What you need:

Foam Sheets in 2 different colors (purchase at a craft store or a dollar store)

Piano Keyboard Printable (enough for 3-4 octaves)

Glue

Timer

The cards will look like this:

      

To Play:

After introducing the student to the 2 and 3 black key groups on the piano, use this quick game to test their understanding. Have them line up the cards in a keyboard pattern. Time them and see how fast they can do it!

To extend the learning, have them make a set to take home. At home they can teach younger siblings or parents the keyboard pattern!

How To Get More Piano Students

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Sometimes the best way to get kids interested in piano lessons – or anything else for that matter – is to have their friends tell them how much fun it is! If you take special care to keep fun at the center of your piano lessons, your students will reward you for it by telling their friends about it. And remember – kids tell it exactly the way they see it, so make sure to keep it fun because if it’s not they will tell that too!

One thing that keeps lessons fun is special projects. The sound file above is from the CD project we do in my studio. Each kid gets to record his or her own CD. Find out more about this project and how you can incorporate it into your teaching in Recording Season is Here!

Musical Mother’s Day Gifts

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Here are some of the gifts my students gave their moms for Mother’s Day:

 Using a composing activity by Susan Paradis, Caroline wrote a song for her mom. I took a picture of her while she was composing. Then I laminated her song and mailed the song and the picture to her mom.

   Jordan made a video of herself playing her mom’s favorite songs. In the video she also tells her mom just how long it took her to get the song right! I’m guessing she wanted to make sure her mom knew just how much of herself she put into this gift!

4 year old Mia wrote a song for her mom using the notes in the 2 black key group. Mia sang and played the song for her mom. I wrote down the notes she played, then printed them along with the words she made up on pretty stationery. We laminated it and gave it to her mom at the end of her piano lesson.  She also recorded the song as part of her CD recording project. 

 Madison wrote a song for her mom using my songwriting game and  composing tools from KinderBach. Again, we laminated it and Madison kept it as a surprise to present to her mom on Mother’s Day.

What’s the best musical Mother’s Day gift you ever received from your kid? Share it in a comment below!

Instant Motivation – Children

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As part of her interview for the CD Recording Project my students have been doing this Spring, I asked
my daughter who her favorite musical
 artist was and she said, “You, Mom!”   How sweet is that?!