I’ve blogged before about my thoughts on and struggles with memorizing music. I can definitely see improvement over my college years as far as successful memorization goes, but I admittedly still find it discouraging. I think what makes it frustrating for me is the fact that sight-reading is so easy for me, and memorizing is so not easy. :) Some [...]
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 [...]
Last week we discussed how to teach legato pedaling to students, and we got a few great responses – click here to check them out! As always, feel free to add your thoughts to the discussion! This week, we are considering the topic of memorization. I’ve seen great discussions about this topic on many websites [...]
Why do we learn and practice scales? Is it just for tradition’s sake? This post discusses 5 great reasons for learning and practicing scales.
Just added: a new free, printable worksheet called: > Performing at the Piano Worksheet Just in time for the spring recital season, this fill-in-the-blank worksheet is intended to help prepare students for an upcoming recital or other performance by discussing stage presence and performance etiquette. Terms/concepts covered in the worksheet: Memorizing Applause Bowing Checking the [...]
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 [...]
I was recently introduced to “The Practice Notebook” blog, created by flautist Zara Lawler. She has tons of excellent tips for practicing efficiently, no matter what instrument you play. Most notably, I found some excellent blog posts about her method of memorizing music. In my experience, many teachers have their students memorize their pieces, but [...]
We’ve arrived at the end of the series on incorporating improvisation! We’ve already discussed the obstacles, history, and value of improvisation. And in the last few posts, we discussed at length a practical, 4-part method for incorporating improvisation into the piano lesson. Today’s consideration is the last of the series: what are the major benefits [...]
Recitals are an important part of having a piano studio. Performing is a important skill for any pianist. Despite the hard work involved, in the long run, the students find it a rewarding activity. Benefits of having a recital include: Parents enjoy hearing the progress their student(s) are making under your instruction. Grandparents and parents [...]
Joy is a pianist and teacher in Ohio with great passion for helping students experience the wonders of music making!
