Color In My Piano

Blogging Break

joy (admin) — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:43:40 +0000

Just a quick post to let you know that I will be taking the week off from blogging. My brother is getting married this weekend, so my husband and I will be staying in Michigan with my family for a few days. And the early part of this week is going to be busy with the usual teaching in addition to the packing and preparations.

I hope you’ll miss me while I’m away! :) See you all next week.

[Visit Blogging Break to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Music Motor Match – A Rhythm Matching Game

joy (admin) — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:21:07 +0000

A large percentage of my studio right now is beginner/early elementary students. I like having simple and short games to play with them at the end of the lesson that reinforce concepts we are learning in their books. Motor Music Match is a game that I created with these things in mind. Take a look:

The point of the game is to match each car and sign to its proper place on the road where the rhythm value’s names are. It’s a great game that only takes a minute or two, so it’s perfect for the end of the lesson where you have a little bit of extra time. It would also work well to keep a copy of this game in your studio’s waiting room area.

When I first tested out this game with a student, he said, “There should be another level where it’s harder.” That’s when I added the street signs. :) So, to follow his suggestion, first ask your student to match the cars. When they are able to do that successfully, clear the road and add the signs to make the game a little harder.

To download the pdf for this game, visit the Printables > Games page and scroll down to the M’s for “Music Motor Match.” Enjoy!

[Visit Music Motor Match – A Rhythm Matching Game to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom

joy (admin) — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:55:51 +0000

A reader sent me this amusing story:

I taught a beginning keyboard group experience for 4-5 years olds – before anything was on the market – at a local community center. I had 5 preschoolers per class and we got to know each other very well in the small sessions.

I was at the local mall and my student Jennifer was there with her mom. I caught her tugging on her mom’s arm and asking, “Why is Miss Patti here? Doesn’t she stay and live at school with the keyboards?”

I chuckled to myself not only because it was so cute, but wondered “who” released me out of the music room.

– submitted by Patti K.

Every Wednesday brings Words of Wisdom here at the Color in my Piano blog in the form of a musical quote or joke, intended to bring inspiration or humor to the middle of your week. Have suggestions? Send me a message here.

[Visit Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Spring Recital Details

joy (admin) — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:36:36 +0000

As I mentioned yesterday, our Spring Recital was Saturday! Here’s how it went down:

It was held at the local library. They have an atrium with a Steinway baby grand piano. In the past, I’ve always held recitals at churches (and once at a school). I look for churches with grand pianos that can be moved to the center of the sanctuary. Being new in town, I haven’t yet discovered which churches have this kind of set-up (plus they have to be affordable). Two of my students suggested using the library, so we did. It costs $50 to rent and it’s a nice location with high ceilings and lots of natural light. I was happy with it!
I always play something at my students’ recitals. This year, I asked my friend, a violinist for whom I’m accompanying for her semester juries at my local university, to play her jury piece with me. She was thrilled to be asked — but she needed to be first on the program so she could leave early for another event she had in the afternoon. I wish I could let you hear the piece — but I forgot to start the video camera before we played the piece! (I’m still kicking myself.) Anyway, here’s Itzhak Perlman playing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKI9uoNfC18

After the violin piece, my students played. I had 10 out of my 16 students play at the recital (the others are adult students, new 4-year-old students, or had a schedule conflict). I knew it would be a short and sweet recital, but I still feel recitals are beneficial enough that it was worth doing anyway!
After playing, my students stood in the front for a group photo, and I gave them each a rose for their performance. It’s a tradition I’ve been doing for a few years now, although my students in my new town, of course, have not experienced it yet.
Afterwards, we had a little reception with cupcakes, a Kit Kat piano (a la Pinterest), and cheese n’ crackers.

I don’t think I can share video of the recital since the pieces performed are under copyright, but I hope to share a photo slideshow soon!

Do you all have Spring Recitals coming up? I like holding mine early in the Spring because May and June are such a busy months.

[Visit Spring Recital Details to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Spring Recital Photo

joy (admin) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:18:30 +0000

Saturday was our Spring Recital, and here’s a photo to share:

Just a quick post today! I’ll share more later this week.

[Visit Spring Recital Photo to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

April Blog Roundup

joy (admin) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:31:53 +0000

Here’s some blogs I’ve stumbled upon lately…

A Tad Bit Creative is a blog by Chrissa, who blogs about piano teaching among other creative and crafty topics. I love her photography too.

At DenleyMusic.com, Dianna blogs about violin and piano teaching. She has some nice resources and game ideas that she shares on her blog:

At thefameschoolblog.com, Dana runs a blog called “Kids & Keys” where she talks about creative piano teaching and piano parenting:

At the new Made For Music Teachers blog, “Mrs. S” shares some very nice printables she uses with her elementary music classes.

At the Nola Piano Teacher blog, the blogger writes posts about piano teaching, composers, performers, and more:

[Visit April Blog Roundup to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom

joy (admin) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:30:28 +0000

“Alas for those that never sing, But die with all their music in them!”

– Oliver Wendell Holmes

[Visit Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Listening Sheet for Young Students

joy (admin) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:24:28 +0000

As I mentioned last week, during my recent Piano Party/recital rehearsal I gave a listening sheet to my young beginners to complete as they listened to their fellow students perform. Here’s what it looked like:

I put each sheet in a plastic sheet protector and gave them a dry erase marker with a piece of felt so they could re-use the sheet for each piece they heard. It worked pretty well — my students were very attentive and really liked telling me about what they circled between pieces!

This worksheet would also work well for private lessons or group classes with beginner students to use while listening to recordings — like Carnival of the Animals, or whatever.

I do wish the sheet protector cleaned off a little better. The ones I used have kind of a matte surface…maybe I need to get some of the thicker, shiny ones? Or try laminating?

Anyway, my students really enjoyed this listening sheet! I found the clip art on some various public domain clip art sites. You could easily design your own the same way. Or if you’d like to download mine, visit the Printables > Worksheets page and scroll down to the L’s for “Listening Sheet for Young Students.”

P.S.: As requested, I added a page to the Rhythm Value Cards pdf: three beamed eighth note cards for use in compound time signatures. (Thanks for catching that, Bee!)

[Visit Listening Sheet for Young Students to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Music Fonts: The Ultimate Guide

joy (admin) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:35:14 +0000

I’ve been wanting to write a post about using music fonts for a long time. Finally, here it is! If you have been wondering how you can create your own music worksheets/resources, this guide will help you get started.

For my worksheets/materials, I use graphics exported from Finale about 30% of the time, and music fonts the other 70% of the time. The great thing about using music fonts is that anyone can use them, without having to buy an expensive program like Finale. However, using music fonts is a little more complicated than you might think. This post will attempt to demystify the process and point you to some links and resources.

Using Music Fonts

If you own a music engraving software like Finale or Sibelius, then guess what: You already have music fonts on your computer! Using Fontbook (on Mac computers) or “Fonts” in the Control Panel (PCs), you can view all the fonts installed on your computer.

If you don’t have any music fonts on your computer, you can find them online. Then you must download and install them onto your computer. It’s pretty easy to install fonts, but you can find tutorials online that can lead you through the process if you need some help (just Google it).

That is the easy part. Once the music font is installed on your computer, it’s a little bit tricky to figure out where the various notes/symbols are located within the font. If you open a new document in Microsoft Word (or whatever word processing software you use), select a music font, and press some random letters of the alphabet, you will see some of the symbols contained in the font. You can guess and begin to memorize where the various notes/symbols are, but that is time-consuming and somewhat impractical. Besides, many of the characters you might need are not represented by the buttons on your keyboard. For example, the currency symbol for Yen could be the barline. To insert the Yen symbol, normally you have to go to “Insert A Symbol” in Microsoft Word because it’s deep in the font somewhere. So, how do you know where the characters you need are? This is where character maps come in.

Character Maps

For some of the fonts listed below, you will find character maps available to view on the website or as a pdf download. A character map is a chart that shows all the characters of a font, and if you are lucky, where they are all located!

Some computers have built-it character map utilities. Macs have something called the “Character Viewer,” but it is only mildly helpful because it shows font characters by category across all fonts, rather than allowing you to choose one font to view at a time. PC’s have some kind of character map utility built-in too.

You can also buy separate character map utility software. One such example is PopChar (for Mac; pictured at right). Even the free trial version is helpful in getting an idea of what symbols are included in a font. Some character map utilities come with the ability to insert the symbol you click in directly into the document you are working on. This is the most ideal and convenient way to use music fonts.

Music Fonts

Here’s a complete list of available music fonts that I’m aware of. You may be able to find these fonts and their character maps by googling them. Just be sure to follow the copyrights for the fonts you download. For example, if you plan to sell the worksheets/materials you create using any of these music fonts, you first must check that the music font has a commercial-use license. Some of these fonts are free only for personal/educational use.

The fonts in this list with asterisks are the ones I highly recommend. If you know of other music fonts to add to this list, please leave a comment on this post.

Maestro | Maestro is one of the fonts that comes with Finale. It contains a complete set of music symbols. If you download the free Finale Notepad software from their website (yes, in 2012 they decided to make Finale Notepad available again! This is great if you have student interested in composition), you can get a selection of music fonts that way. Here is a guide from the Finale user manual that shows the keystrokes needed for inserting each symbol.
Petrucci | comes with Finale. It’s similar to Maestro, but just has a slightly different look. Also available here.
Engraver | comes with Finale. It’s similar to Maestro and Petrucci. Here is the guide from the Finale user manual that shows the keystrokes needed for inserting each symbol.
Finale Alphanotes | Finale comes with a variety of other special fonts. One of them is Finale Alphanotes, which provides noteheads with letters inside.
Opus | Comes with Sibelius software. This font is similar to the ones above. View the character map here.
Helsinki | Comes with Sibelius software. It’s similar to Opus.
Marl | Another font of music symbols, similar to Maestro. Available here.
Sonata | A font created by Adobe with a large variety of symbols. To use for commercial use, it costs about $29. There’s also Sonata Thin.
Sonora | A font of musc characters by Christian Texier. It’s similar to Maestro. Scroll up on Texier’s website page to see the variety of other advanced fonts he has created for electronic music, quarter-tone music, complex percussion music, etc..
Musical Symbols | Another musical symbols font similar to Maestro.
ShpFltNat Medium | Another musical symbols font. It includes a few symbols that other fonts are missing, like time signatures (nice looking too), crescendo, decrescendo, and scale degrees.
StaffClefPitchesEasy | Matthew Hindson has kindly made his fonts available for free! This font is different from the ones above because it is designed to show notes on the staff. You can’t make chords but you can make short examples of single-note melodies. The noteheads are all filled in with no stems.
*Rhythms | Rhythms is another font by Matthew Hindson. The notes all appear on a straight line, which is perfect for creating rhythms. Time signatures are included too. I highly recommend this font.
*MusiSync | This font is by Robert Allgeyer and is similar to Hindson’s “Rhythms” above, but it contains more symbols. It’s great for creating strings of rhythms. My only regret is that the time signature numbers were nicer-looking. View a semi-complete character map here. This font is commercial-use friendly. I highly recommend this font.
*MusiQwik and MusiQwikB | This pair of fonts is also by Robert Allgeyer. It is great for great simple melodies (no chords) on the staff. It also contains clefs, time signatures, key signatures, and a variety of other staff symbols. According to Robert, “You may use the hyphen (-) key to insert a tiny segment of staff, if alignment of the notes is important. Regular sections of staff are inserted using the equal (=) key. Be sure that word wrapping is turned off, or your staff will break in unexpected locations. This font looks best at 24 point size or larger.” MusiQwikB contains sixteenth notes. I highly recommend this font.
NoteHedz | Another font by Robert Allgeyer. It’s a simple font with the letter names A-G in the noteheads. There are quarters, eighths, and whole notes, but no way to get half notes (as far as I can tell).
Lassus | Like MusiQwik, the notes in this font appear on the staff. There are no time signatures. A partial character map can be viewed here.
Bach and Kodaly | Bach is a very advanced and powerful font, but not so easy to use. Kodaly is a simpler version of Bach, but without noteheads. I haven’t figured out how to use these fonts, but you can check out their website to learn more.
Kodaly (different from the Kodaly font above) | This is a simple font showing the notes on the staff with dotted lines underneath for naming the notes. Also includes traceable notes on the staff, and solfegietto under the staff. It is pictured on the right. There are no time signatures available.

More Resources:

StaffWriter and SingASong | These fonts are available to purchase on a CD from macmusicfonts.com. I haven’t tried them myself, but the fonts look pretty comprehensive and I’ve seen other teachers recommend it.
Here’s a huge list of paid music fonts that can be used in word processing software and are compatible for use with Finale.
A font for notating djembe music!
Paid fonts of the piano keys, for showing fingering, showing chords, or showing names of keys.
A paid font of the neumes used for notation during the 15th – 17th centuries. Very cool!

Good luck with your music font creations, and let me know what you create!

Review: The Matthew 6:33 Piano Teacher eBook (and giveaway)

joy (admin) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:09:36 +0000

Piano teacher KM Logan has sent me a copy of her ebook and asked if I’d be willing to review it, to which I happily agreed. Her ebook is called: “The Matthew 6:33 Piano Teacher: How To Teach Piano To The Glory Of God.” It is 79 pages in length and is available on her website, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

In case you are wondering, here is the verse mentioned in the ebook’s title: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” — Matthew 6:33 This ebook is written very much from a Christian perspective (which I very much appreciate), asking the reader to consider things like whether piano teaching is God’s calling for you, how God can make a difference through your teaching, and most of all, how the piano teacher can do all they do for the glory of God. Unfortunately, I’m not sure the book provides many clues for the answers to those questions, but it does ask you to consider those things.

Writing Style

Here are some comments regarding the ebook from a purely writing perspective. The tone of Logan’s writing is very conversational, which has its benefits and downsides. The writing is easy-to-read, but I feel the eBook would benefit from a more academic style of writing. For example, if I were the editor, I would eliminate all the contractions and restructure the sentences so they don’t use “you” so much (so the writing doesn’t sound as “preach-y” and direct). Also, I hope you like rhetorical questions, because the author makes use of them a great deal throughout the ebook! For example, the eBook opens with 9 questions in a row.

The book is organized into three parts: Preliminary Questions (7 chapters, each 1-2 pages in length), Business Aspects of Piano Teaching (18 chapters), and The Piano Studio (16 chapters). The chapter titles are descriptive (they are all rhetorical questions, such as “Is Teaching Piano Something I Want To Do?) and on-topic, but the book is somewhat repetitive especially in the opening chapters.

The intended audience of this ebook is somewhat unclear. I’m not sure if this ebook is intended for use in a piano pedagogy course at a Christian college (which is I think how the author uses it), or if it is for a non-music-degreed pianist who is considering the possibility of teaching piano. I am fairly sure, however, that it is not for experienced teachers who are seeking additional professional development. The scope of this book does not include pedagogy. There is no discussion of method books (other than a list of her favorites in the appendix), the history of pedagogy, pedagogical theories, music/general learning theories, or how to develop technique at the piano. The focus of the book is on the logistics of running a piano studio.

So, I think the ebook seems to be written for someone who has never considered the logistics of running a piano studio before and is looking for some guidance. It also reads mostly to females who are planning to be homemakers and teach piano on the side. If you are a experienced teacher or planning to open a music school full-time, this may not be the book for you.

Content

The ebook provides good information on:

A general overview on how filing taxes for self-employed business works.
The pros and cons of working for a music store versus teaching out of your own studio.
Advice regarding what kind of piano to buy.
Additional streams of income for the piano teacher.
The importance of having a studio recital and entering students in adjudicated events.
Considerations for teaching students with disabilities.
Modes of marketing.

Here are a few of my regrets about the ebook:

In the section “Am I Qualified?”, I wish the author had discussed the value and importance of on going professional development and described the various means of getting it. It neglects to mention the value of getting a college music degree (or at least auditing piano pedagogy courses). This would also be the time to discuss the importance and benefits of joining professional associations such as MTNA and its local affiliates, attending conferences, or becoming a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music through MTNA. (Associations and conferences aren’t mentioned until later in the ebook under “How Do I Connect With Other Music Teachers?”)
I wish the author had emphasized the principles of marketing other than low-cost marketing. Her advice on rates is: “If you need more students, charge less. If you want fewer students, charge more.” Marketing a business based on one’s rates is generally a bad idea unless your ultimate goal as a piano teacher is to offer the cheapest rates in town. A better strategy is to market your services based on your unique qualifications, reputation, and value. New teachers need to be encouraged to do this rather than just price their services low. The author does discuss the importance of a good reputation under a section about growing your business, but not in direct relation to marketing or setting rates.
Any book on piano teaching should have a section on ethics. There is a paragraph on “stealing students” from music stores, but nothing more.
In general, I wish that the book contained more pedagogical information (like how to actually teach during the lesson and plan a curriculum for a student).
I wish the title and subtitle clearly indicated the audience the book is intended for. The title and subtitle seems to claim to be written for any piano teacher to learn how to teach to the glory of God, but in reality I do not feel that the book benefits the experienced piano teacher much. It’s much more appropriate for prospective or new teachers.

Logan’s ebook can be purchased for $9.99 on her website, on Amazon, or the Barnes & Noble website. However, Logan has offered to giveaway 5 copies of her ebook! To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post. A winner will be chosen via random number generator on May 1, 2012.

[Visit Review: The Matthew 6:33 Piano Teacher eBook (and giveaway) to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Color In My Piano

Blogging Break

Related Posts:

Music Motor Match – A Rhythm Matching Game

Related Posts:

Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom

Related Posts:

Spring Recital Details

Related Posts:

Spring Recital Photo

Related Posts:

April Blog Roundup

Related Posts:

Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom

Related Posts:

Listening Sheet for Young Students

Related Posts:

Music Fonts: The Ultimate Guide

Using Music Fonts

Character Maps

Music Fonts

Related Posts:

Review: The Matthew 6:33 Piano Teacher eBook (and giveaway)

Writing Style

Content

Related Posts: