Category Archives: intermediate level

Review: Daniel McFarlane’s Repertoire for Students

By joy (admin) | Published: 19 April 2012

Australian composer Daniel McFarlane has composed a number of student-level repertoire books which are available on his website.  Daniel was kind enough to send me digital copies of his books so I could review them here. In appearance, all of Daniel’s books have easy-to-read scores with no illustrations.  The titles of each piece are in [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, by student's level, repertoire / methods, reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Musical Instruments Quizzing/Sorting game

By joy (admin) | Published: 31 January 2012

My Homeschool Class and my Piano Readiness Class both recently finished their Musical Instruments Workbooks.  We usually complete just two pages each class, so it took us awhile to get through it! Now that we’ve finished it, we’ve been playing a fun little sorting/quizzing game using the deck of instrument cards that came with my [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, games, group classes, music camps, Preschool / Early Childhood Music | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Christmas Rhythm Learning Moments

By joy (admin) | Published: 28 November 2011

As I’m sure is currently the case with many of you, my students are working on Christmas pieces along with their usual assignments.  As usual, a few of them have encountered rhythmic “simplifications” in their arrangements (Away in a Manger and Go Tell it on the Mountain come to mind).  After pointing it out the [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, private lessons, rhythm, seasonal / holiday | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Make Me A Rhythm! game

By joy (admin) | Published: 18 November 2011

I was recently browsing some forums online and found a description of this game by a music educator.  It sounds like a great game to use with large groups of students — perhaps for group lessons or summer camps.  I asked the music educator if I could post about the game on my blog, and [...]

Also posted in advanced level, beginners / elementary Level, composition, games, games, group classes, music camps, printables, rhythm | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Musical Hopscotch” game

By joy (admin) | Published: 17 November 2011

About year ago, Sheryl Welles posted on her blog about a “Twister Hopscotch” game that she modified into a wonderful music game.  Basically, all you have to do is use Avery circle stickers of some kind to make the spinner into a music spinner with rhythmic note values. Here’s how the game works: In advance, [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, games, group classes, movement, music camps, Preschool / Early Childhood Music, rhythm | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carpet Squares for Working With Groups

By joy (admin) | Published: 12 September 2011

Many months ago, I bought a bunch of carpet square samples from a flooring store.  Even though I was still in grad school at the time and didn’t have any real use for them (yet), I had a plan for them.  And they were incredibly cheap.  :) During last week’s Piano Readiness Class, I got [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, games, group classes, music camps, settings: | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Just Updated: Scale & Arpeggio Fingering (2 Octaves) Reference Sheet

By joy (admin) | Published: 24 June 2011

Some of you may remember the Scale & Arpeggio Fingering reference sheet I posted in December of 2010. About a month ago, a friendly reader made some very helpful suggestions for improvement, and so I spent quite a bit of time revising the printable. It’s called “Scale and Arpeggio Fingering for Piano (2 Octaves)” and [...]

Also posted in adult students, advanced level, music theory, other resources, practicing, printables, private lessons, technique | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

May 2011 Giveaway: “Fearless Fortissimo” Piano Music for Boys

By joy (admin) | Published: 6 May 2011

Greetings!  Today I have two important announcements: I have finished all the requirements for my Master’s degree!  HOORAY!  =D Today we have a new GIVEAWAY!  Here are the details: Andrea & Trevor Dow from yesterday’s interview have kindly agreed to sponsor a giveaway of Episode 1 of The Adventures of Fearless Fortissimo!  This pdf is [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, giveaways, motivation, private lessons, repertoire / methods | Tagged , , , , | 40 Comments

Thoughts on Memorization: A Skill Integral to Piano Playing?

By joy (admin) | Published: 14 March 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX4NH7yHFKI”>this

Last week was Spring Break from college for me!  My husband and I had a wonderful time visiting our families and spending time with them.  Our days were full doing all kinds of family activities — however, I did manage to keep an eye on my blog, especially the Forum Q&A about memorization that was [...]

Also posted in advanced level, beginners / elementary Level, interpretation, memorization, practicing, private lessons | Tagged | 5 Comments

Forum Q&A | How do you teach legato pedaling?

By joy (admin) | Published: 1 March 2011

Last week, we discussed standardized testing – the advantages and disadvantages, do you require it, and why, etc..  Click here to read the comments that were left!  As always, it’s never too late to add your thoughts so feel free to jump into the conversation. This week, we are going to talk about pedaling.  Pedaling [...]

Also posted in Forum Q&A's, improving as a teacher, practicing | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Just Added: The Rhythm Magnet Game

By joy (admin) | Published: 28 February 2011

Here’s a fun movement/rhythm game to play with a group of students which I learned from a Dalcroze Eurhythmics instructor.  I call it the “Rhythm Magnet Game.” The great thing about this game is that it helps students learn to associate the sound/experience of each rhythm value with it’s corresponding notation.  In Dalcroze and other methodologies (such [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, by student's level, ear training, games, games, group classes, movement, music camps, other resources, rhythm | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

DIY: Ribbon Rings for Music & Movement Activities

By joy (admin) | Published: 10 January 2011

I got the idea for this craft from Kara’s Creative Place blog (thanks for the brilliant idea, Kara!).  Ribbon Rings (Kara’s example is pictured at right) are a fun prop for movement activities with young students during group lessons, camps, or early childhood music classes.  Kids love fluttering the ribbons of these props while they [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, games, group classes, music camps, Preschool / Early Childhood Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments
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