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Category Archives: Advanced Level

12 Tips for Memorizing Piano Music

I’ll be the first one to admit: memorizing music does not come easily to me.  I really have to work at it, and it takes a lot of time.  Over the past couple of years, I have been reading and trying out everything I could find about memorizing music, and I’ve come up with a [...]
Also posted in Beginners/Elementary Level, By Student's Level, Group Keyboard, Ideas, Improving as a Teacher, Intermediate Level, Memorization, Practicing, Recitals / Performances, Topics in Teaching Piano | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Teacher Resources @ Clavier’s Piano Explorer site

Many piano teachers subscribe to Clavier magazine, and some even subscribe their students to Clavier’s Piano Explorer, the music magazine for kids.  I recently found out that their site contains some great resources for teaching about various composers and concepts in music history.  This month, there have some great resources about Beethoven, including: Links to YouTube recordings, organized [...]
Also posted in Beginners/Elementary Level, By Student's Level, Ideas, Intermediate Level, Music History, Resources / Links, Studio Class / Group Lessons, piano camps | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

My Favs: Jim Brickman solo piano music

In a post last week, I mentioned Jim Brickman — composer of new age solo piano music (as well as some pop music with vocals).  His music is great to play when you are stressed out and just want to play something relaxing that doesn’t require as much concentration as classical music.  =D  I thought [...]
Also posted in Repertoire/Method Books, Resources / Links | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Free piano arrangements of anime music

I recently received a new transfer adult student.  She’s an excellent sight-reader and a fun person to be around!  She has a great interest in anime (for those of you not familiar with anime [AH-nee-may], it is “a style of animation developed in Japan,” according to Answers.com).  Shehas been teaching me quite a bit about anime [...]
Also posted in By Student's Level, My Students, Repertoire/Method Books, Resources / Links | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Free Sheet Music @ pianostreet.com

Free sheet music is always a good thing, right?  :]  By signing up for a free Silver membership over at pianostreet.com, you’ll have access to free pdfs of classical music scores, including:  Bach – 15 Inventions Beethoven – 32 Sonatas Burgmuller – 3 pieces from 25 Easy and Progressive Studies Schumann - Traumerei Tchaikovsky – 2 pieces from Album for the [...]
Also posted in By Student's Level, Intermediate Level, Repertoire/Method Books, Resources / Links, Topics in Teaching Piano | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Soprano on Her Head

Amazon.com Widgets I just finished reading a marvelous book, called Soprano on Her Head: Right-Side-Up Reflections on Life and Other Performances, by Eloise Ristad.  My piano professor recommended I read this book during a lesson when we were discussing performance anxiety (which I experience frequently, I must admit). In this easy-to-read, humorous book, Ristad shares her [...]
Also posted in Beginners/Elementary Level, Book Review, By Student's Level, For During the Lesson, Humor, Ideas, Improving as a Teacher, Improvisation, Inspiration, Intermediate Level, Resources / Links, Topics in Teaching Piano, What I'm Up To | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Playing-By-Ear Activities

Learning to play by ear is one of the most natural ways to develop the ear – and one of the most fun!  Below are some lists of familiar tunes you can assign at the lesson for the student to learn to play by ear.  I found this valuable information about playing-by-ear activities to assign [...]
Also posted in Beginners/Elementary Level, By Student's Level, Ear Training, Improving as a Teacher, Intermediate Level, Resources / Links, Topics in Teaching Piano | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Example Studio Policies handout

Here’s a sample of my Studio Policies handout I made during my Piano Pedagogy class at college.  (This one is just a sample — the info is not completely accurate to my own studio policies.)  Hope it helps in making your own!  
Also posted in Beginners/Elementary Level, By Student's Level, Ideas, Intermediate Level, Lesson Plans, Printables | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Studio Policies

As a fellow piano teacher, I can’t stress enough how important it is to have written Studio Policies.  They’re great for letting new students know about how your studio is run!   It will help improve the level of communication between you and the parent/student, because it becomes more clear what you each expect of each [...]
Also posted in Beginners/Elementary Level, By Student's Level, Ideas, Intermediate Level | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Printables for Interviewing Students

Here are some sample forms for conducting student interviews, as promised.  Feel free to take a peek so you can make your own. Beginner Student Interview Form Transfer Student Interview Form New Student Information Form The ideas for these forms came largely from reading How to Teach Piano Successfully  by James Bastien (which is a wonderful book which I highly recommend), [...]
Also posted in Beginners/Elementary Level, By Student's Level, Ideas, Intermediate Level, Lesson Plans, Printables | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments
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