Category Archives: practicing

Practicing, Learning, and Memorizing for Piano Teachers

By joy (admin) | Published: 29 September 2011

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 [...]

Also posted in memorization | Tagged memorizing, practicing | 21 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, intermediate level, music theory, other resources, printables, private lessons, technique | Tagged arpeggios, fingerings, keyboard, major, minor, piano, rudimentary skills, scales, technique | 2 Comments

Practice Performing

By joy (admin) | Published: 28 April 2011

Perhaps you are wondering why there is a picture of a bunch of stuffed animals for this post. Haha, I’ll get to that in a moment! My private students are preparing to play for the university’s Community Music School recital tomorrow! There will be about 12 students performing, 4 of which are my students. For [...]

Also posted in private lessons, recitals / performances | Tagged performance anxiety, performances, practicing, recitals | 5 Comments

Thoughts on Memorization: A Skill Integral to Piano Playing?

By joy (admin) | Published: 14 March 2011

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, group keyboard classes, intermediate level, interpretation, memorization, private lessons | Tagged memorization | 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, intermediate level | Tagged damper pedal, pedaling, piano, piano teaching | 6 Comments

Just Added: Scale and Arpeggio Fingering (2 Octaves) Reference Sheet

By joy (admin) | Published: 6 December 2010

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve added a new printable to the Printables page….so here’s one I created a couple of months ago. You can find it on the Printables > Other Resources page. Scale and Arpeggio Fingering (2 Octaves) Reference Sheet (3 pages long) I created this printable with my intermediate/advanced students in [...]

Also posted in advanced level, intermediate level, other resources, printables, technique | Tagged arpeggios, fingerings, free, piano, printables, scales, technique | 2 Comments

Practice Tips: Bringing out the Melody

By joy (admin) | Published: 16 November 2010

A reader asks for practice tips for learning to bring out the melody in the midst of a series of chords.

Also posted in advanced level, technique | Tagged Bach, bringing out the melody, piano, piano students, piano teaching, practicing, technique | 2 Comments

Teaching Tip: Count Like a Musician!

By joy (admin) | Published: 19 October 2010

At the 2010 Michigan Music Teachers Assocation conference this weekend, our conference clinician Martha Hilley had some wise words for us that I thought I’d share here: Always be a musician, even when you are counting aloud! As she led us through some various exercises during one of the sessions, Martha Hilley encouraged us to [...]

Also posted in improving as a teacher, inspiration, rhythm | Tagged counting aloud, piano students, piano teaching, rhythm, tips | 2 Comments

Teaching Phrase: “Pretend It’s Easy”

By joy (admin) | Published: 12 October 2010

Lately, I’ve trying out this phrase with my students, in situations when a student is struggling with the technique of playing a particular passage: “Pretend this is really easy for you to play.” This phrase works best in a situation where the teacher observes that the student is holding far too much tension in his/her [...]

Also posted in settings:, technique | Tagged piano, piano teaching, practicing, technique | 3 Comments