Tag: music

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.

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!

Activities for Waiting Students and Siblings

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One of the most distracting things that can happen during a music lesson is for a waiting student or a little sister or brother to interrupt and ask, “What can I do now?” To eliminate this problem, or at least minimize it I set up a Waiting Activity Area in my piano studio. Here is a mini tour of it:

For those who like to color, Hello Kitty music coloring pages. Kids can look inside the bag for more coloring activities.

Kids who like puzzles and challenges can choose this.

Great practice on staff notation. Color by Note sheets!

For those who love to build things, LEGOS! Of course they must build something related to music!

A game to practice the music alphabet. Kids can stack the cups in order or build chords!

Each of the activities in the center have something for the kids to show me when they have completed it, so they do get it done. I’ve also made my ipad or iphone available with music apps to play in the waiting center.

I’d love to hear what kinds of things you keep in your studio for waiting students and siblings. Make a comment below!

…Oh and come back tomorrow for the post about the music store field trip that I promised!

You’re Gonna Laugh At This!

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While reading a few posts on Piano Addict, I came across this joke…

The doorbell rang and the lady of the house discovered a workman, complete with tool chest, on the front porch.

“Madam,” he announced, “I’m the piano tuner.”

The lady exclaimed, “Why, I didn’t send for a piano tuner.”

The man replied, “I know you didn’t, but your neighbors did.”


Undercover Piano Practice

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Summer is… A  Great time to change up the piano practice routine for kids

School is out and so are daily routines, but you know that piano practice must continue! So what’s a parent to do? Before you decide that piano just isn’t going to work out for your child because they don’t want to practice. do a google search for the nearest piano store – not music store, but piano store – and drive your kids over there! No piano books, just you and the kids. We wouldn’t want to make the kids think we are about to practice piano, now would we?

Can’t get your child to touch the piano at home? This will have him touching 5 or 6 pianos GLADLY!

Once you get to the store, it will seem like you’re in a candy store – no kidding! There’s something about a room full of pianos that can get a kid excited in a way that practicing piano just can’t. Check out these pics of our latest trip to the piano store (We actually went to price a new piano, but of course they played the pianos while we were there) –

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By the way, I had a hard time getting my son to leave the piano store! Gotta love it!

Coming Up…

You might have noticed my daughter in one of the pictures with a model of the inner workings of a piano key. I’ll be writing about The Music Store Field Trip in an upcoming post. To guarantee you don’t miss it, subscribe to the blog and you will be notified as soon as it is posted!

Summer Practice Challenge

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Summer is here! The school year is almost over for many kids right now and that means that parents and piano teachers have to have a plan for helping kids continue to play (piano that is) over the summer. So, here is a Summer Practice Chart you can use. The Summer Practice Challenge is to practice playing piano for 100 minutes each week. That’s only 20 minutes a day! Each day they reach their goal they get to color in, check off, or put a sticker on one piano key. If they practice this way for only 5 days they will reach their goal.

On the right side of the chart is a To Do List that takes the guessing out of what to practice. Summer is a great time to focus on scales so that is the first thing in the to do list. A summer of scales will make learning new songs in the fall so much easier and faster!

The second practice step is a new song for the week. If the child is taking lessons over the summer this is the one song that is covered in the lesson. I set a goal of learning one song a week because most people are doing more leisure activities this time of year and so there won’t be as much discipline when it comes to new repertoire. I suggest using a practice prop such as an abacus or dice to help the child do repetitions. For example, they can stop practicing a particular thing once they have played the song the number of times that the dice show.

Finally, a worksheet page reviewing theory concepts tied to the song for the week can finish off the practice session.

And the only thing left to do is color in, check off, or put a sticker on one piano key for the day!

At the end of the summer I have a gift card for ice cream for the student who practiced the most minutes over the summer.

What do you do to keep your students playing piano over the summer?

A Piano Activity Kids Can’t Resist

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Transitioning between piano lessons can be a bit hectic at times, BUT –

A simple activity can make all the difference! With a small refrigerator or magnetic board and a keyboard graphic you can squeeze in that extra precious 5 minutes that sometimes gets lost in the transition between lessons.

One of my favorite transitional activities is the Magnetic Piano Puzzle I made using a 1 octave keyboard printable from Wendy Stevens at ComposeCreate.com.

Print the keyboard, attach  colorful letter stickers for the key names, then laminate.

Next you will cut out each of the white keys. This will leave you with a set of 2 black keys and a set of 3 black keys in addition to the white keys. Put magnetic tape on the back of each and arrange on the refrigerator.

Your student will then put the puzzle together. My refrigerator faces the studio door so it is the first thing kids see when they come in. Usually the younger ones will rush straight to the puzzle to put it together without me even asking. If they don’t and I am transitioning from another lesson, I ask them to see how fast they can put the puzzle together.

For those just learning the keys, I sometimes just put up the 2 black key puzzle or the 3 black key puzzle for them to assemble.

  

Extend the learning by removing certain keys from the completed puzzle so students can practice quickly recognizing which key is missing.

There are tons of ways to use this puzzle. Can you think of any? Share them in a comment below!

Music Alphabet Manipulatives

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   Yet another use for Play Doh!

I wrote out all the music alphabet (including sharps and flats) on the tops from empty Play Doh containers. I can think of so many ways to use these in music teaching.

   A colorful representation of keyboard topography

Sometimes it’s hard for students to grasp that there are 12 individual tones in music. This way they can see it in full color!

 

  Younger ones can have races to see how fast they can put the music notes in order

-This can be done starting on ANY note so students get fluent at stepping up and down on the staff.

-Notes can be left out also so that students can name the missing note to complete the pattern.

-Students can stack the notes to build colorful chords

– If you are using a color code for piano notes/keys such as with Yellow Cat Music Education (great for students with dyslexia or who have trouble reading music notation), you can also use it when putting your own letters on the play doh caps. What fun!

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?!

From Piano Parent to Piano Student – What My Mother Now Knows Pt. 3

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Hello Readers! This is the final post of the series about my mother’s adventures as a piano student. In yesterday’s post she shared what it feels like to actually be on the bench during a lesson. Today you will get to find out about her biggest challenge so far in lessons. She writes:

I Can’t Play This!

After my first Hanon song, I procrastinated a month.  Then I started translating the next song.  I discovered that notes began to change within certain measures.  But that translation helped me get those notes correct.  Afterwards, I sat at the piano and pecked out the song.  As time progressed, I developed courage, moved beyond pecking, and played rhythmically.  On several occasions I told the teacher that I would be ready to play Hanon by the next week.  But I didn’t feel comfortable when that day came.  Within a two-month period I went and demonstrated to my teacher that I could play  my second Hanon song.  Her face lit up and she was very proud.  Indeed that let me know that I had WHIPPED Hanon just as I told her I would.  “Whew!  The work paid off.

Five months of piano lessons is an honor and a privilege.  I’m venturing more and am determined to let each song tell its own story.  I have a sway, a rock, and a love all my own!

Coming Full Circle – Twice!

You already know that I have moved from being a piano parent to a piano student and that my teacher also taught my younger daughter. But there is more! I taught my teacher, Gisele Gentry, when she was a college student. You never know where life will take you! Enjoy the journey!