Tag Archives: beginners

First Thoughts Regarding Faber’s “My First Piano Adventure”

By joy (admin) | Published: 9 January 2012

As big of a fan as I am of Nancy & Randall Faber’s materials for piano students, somehow I’ve never had a chance to try out their “My First Piano Adventure” books — until now.  After trying out this book with a new 5-year-old student last week, I am wondering why in the world didn’t [...]

Posted in beginners / elementary Level, by student's level, early childhood music, repertoire/methods, reviews, series | Also tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Just Added: Musical Leaves Matchup game

By joy (admin) | Published: 10 November 2011

This is a short music game I created as a way to reinforce the names of the piano keys with young beginners.  It only takes a few minutes to play, but my students seemed to enjoy it.  It gives them a break from the usual drill I do, where I have them find 3 different [...]

Posted in beginners / elementary Level, early childhood music, group keyboard classes, other resources, piano camps, printables, private lessons, seasonal/holiday, studio class / group lessons | Also tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

9 Tips for Teaching Piano To Young Ages

By joy (admin) | Published: 7 November 2011

As piano teachers, we wear many hats.  School teachers often teach only one age group, or a few age groups.  Piano teachers are usually expected to be able to teach from age 5 to 95!  But as we all know, teaching a 5-year-old is much different from teaching a 15-year-old, or a 55-year-old.  :) In [...]

Posted in beginners / elementary Level, by student's level, early childhood music, improving as a teacher, motivation, musings, private lessons, professional development | Also tagged , , | 7 Comments

Recent Purchases: Scale Blocks & A Technique Monkey

By joy (admin) | Published: 3 November 2011

I don’t know about you, but I’m always on the lookout for creative and inexpensive items for my teaching.  The dollar store is one of my favorite places to go! In the craft aisle at Dollar Tree right now, there are packages of foam cubes, as shown in the picture.  I’ve always wanted to make [...]

Posted in beginners / elementary Level, games, music theory, private lessons, resources / links, settings:, studio class / group lessons, technique, what I'm up to | Also tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Just Added: Musical Alphabet Cards

By joy (admin) | Published: 28 October 2011

There are others who have shared alphabet card printables similar to what I’m posting today, but I’m adding mine to the mix anyway.  :)  I wanted some that would work well to print onto colored cardstock paper.  Since I don’t have a color printer, this is an easy way I can still get colorful things [...]

Posted in beginners / elementary Level, early childhood music, games, group keyboard classes, music theory, other resources, piano camps, printables, private lessons, studio class / group lessons | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

2011 OhioMTA Conference (4): Piano Pedagogy 101, by Marvin Blickenstaff

By joy (admin) | Published: 18 October 2011

Here’s another session given by the well-loved pedagogue Marvin Blickenstaff from the 2011 OhioMTA Conference: Piano Pedagogy 101: Reviewing the Basics Mr. Blickenstaff introduced this session by commenting that at conferences and workshops, we often hear ideas for teaching intermediate and advanced students, but we don’t very often hear ideas for teaching beginners during that [...]

Posted in 2011 OhioMTA Conference, beginners / elementary Level, group keyboard classes, improving as a teacher, studio class / group lessons | Also tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Just Added: Rainy Rhythm Game

By joy (admin) | Published: 22 September 2011

I’ve mentioned before that during grad school, I took an Early Childhood Music course.  One of the things we discussed was using the “sound before sight” philosophy – where the student is exposed to and experiences the concepts before being taught the name or the written notation.  I’ve been doing my best to use this [...]

Posted in beginners / elementary Level, early childhood music, games, group keyboard classes, other resources, piano camps, printables, private lessons, rhythm, studio class / group lessons | Also tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Teacher Feature | Irina Gorin of Gorin’s Piano Studio

By joy (admin) | Published: 15 August 2011

Hello friends, Now that the NCKP Conference posts are all up, it’s time to return to regular posts!  Today, we have a new Teacher Feature.  Say hello to Irina! Name: Irina Gorin Studio: Gorin Piano Studio in Indiana. Facebook Page: Irina Gorin Piano Studio Please tell us about your piano and/or teaching background! I started piano [...]

Posted in interviews, uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The November Forum: Analogies for Finger/Hand Shape

By joy (admin) | Published: 1 November 2010

This month’s discussion topic: Analogies for Finger/Hand Shape at the Piano How do you teach students how their fingers/hands should look when they play?  Do you use any analogies, such as: “pretend you are holding a bubble”?  What do you find works, and what doesn’t?  Please share your tips! Leave your thoughts in the comments [...]

Posted in beginners / elementary Level, Forum Q&A's, technique | Also tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Book Review: “Returning to the Piano” by Wendy Stevens

By joy (admin) | Published: 14 October 2010

Summary Title: Returning to the Piano: A Refresher Book for Adults (click to view on Amazon) Composer/Arranger: Wendy Stevens Publisher: Hal Leonard Number of Pages: 96 Level: Elementary – Early Intermediate (pieces are in order of difficulty). Other Information: Includes a CD. Review As the title suggests, this book is intended for adult piano students [...]

Posted in repertoire/methods, reviews | Also tagged , , , , | 2 Comments
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