Color In My Piano » sheet music http://colorinmypiano.com ...a place to exchange ideas and resources for piano teaching Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:27:33 +0000 en hourly 1 Forum Q&A | Obtaining Student Materials & Reimbursement http://colorinmypiano.com/2011/04/27/forum-qa-obtaining-student-materials-reimbursement/ http://colorinmypiano.com/2011/04/27/forum-qa-obtaining-student-materials-reimbursement/#comments Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:15:54 +0000 joy (admin) http://colorinmypiano.com/?p=4064 I forgot to put up the week’s new Forum Q&A post yesterday, so here it is a day late!  Sorry about that…I think the term paper for my music history class is draining all my brain cells.  =D

It was so fun to read the variety of approaches teachers use when it comes to summer lessons for last week’s Forum Q&A!  I hope you had as much fun reading about them as I did.  I just added my own comment which describes a new method I’m going to try next summer (2012), so please check it out and let me know what you think.

This week, though, we are going to discuss methods of obtaining and getting reimbursed for student materials!  I’m curious to know….

First of all:  Do you tell students to go purchase the new books/materials they need, or do you go and get them yourself?

Secondly, if you purchase them yourself, how do you go about getting reimbursement?  Is the cost of books/materials covered in your tuition rate?  Or do you charge a yearly or semesterly fee to cover books and materials?  Or do you add the cost of the books to that month’s invoice for tuition?

I’m trying to decide how to go about dealing with getting books when I start my independent studio in the fall, so I’d love to hear what method works for you!

Photo Credit: woodleywonderworks | CC 2.0

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]]> http://colorinmypiano.com/2011/04/27/forum-qa-obtaining-student-materials-reimbursement/feed/ 13 2011 MTNA Conference Loot http://colorinmypiano.com/2011/04/15/2011-mtna-conference-loot/ http://colorinmypiano.com/2011/04/15/2011-mtna-conference-loot/#comments Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:17:55 +0000 joy (admin) http://colorinmypiano.com/?p=3996 I finally got around to taking a picture of the free sheet music I took home from the MTNA conference.  A few books are not pictured because I already took them with me to my office on campus, including the RCM 2008 Syllabus and RCM Teacher Handbook.  I added everything up, and I took home over $175 worth of free music!  =D


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]]> http://colorinmypiano.com/2011/04/15/2011-mtna-conference-loot/feed/ 4 11 Sheet Music Craft Ideas http://colorinmypiano.com/2010/12/21/11-sheet-music-craft-ideas/ http://colorinmypiano.com/2010/12/21/11-sheet-music-craft-ideas/#comments Tue, 21 Dec 2010 11:22:35 +0000 joy (admin) http://colorinmypiano.com/?p=3368 After posting about the sheet music ornament star last week, I was inspired to dig around the web for other music-related crafts!  There are tons of ways to recycle old sheet music (which you can often find at thrift stores, garage sales, auctions, and antique stores).  Here’s a sampling of what I found!  All links lead back to the original bloggers’/crafters’ websites.  Click the photos to view them larger.

1.   Sheet Music Garland | This fun garland is fast and easy, made by cutting out sheet music circles and sewing them together.  It’s perfect for decorating a music room, fireplace mantel, or Christmas tree.

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2.   Sheet Music Light Switch Plates | Cover your plain light switch plates with sheet music to give the room a little zing!

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3.   Advent Calendar Cones | These sheet music cones can be used to stash Advent calendar goodies.

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4.   Sheet Music Wreath | Hang this beauty on your door or above your piano.  Another example is shown here.  Also try mini ornament wreaths like the one as shown on this blog.

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5.   Sheet Music Decorating Balls | Those decorating balls are so in right now for home decorating…and now you can make your own music ones!  Put them in a bowl or on a plate and voila!

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6.   Sheet Music Lampshade | Isn’t this adorable?!  How cute would this look on a nightstand or by the piano?  See another example here.

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7.   Sheet Music Eggs | Aren’t these clever?  Like the sheet music balls mentioned above, these would look great in a glass bowl or on a plate.

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8. Sheet Music Candle | Spice up some plain candles with some sheet music and twine.  Also see here to find another example of votive candle holders, where the blogger cushioned everything so charmingly using shredded sheet music instead of tissue paper.

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9.   Origami Wreath Ornament | Learn some origami while making cute ornaments for your tree!  These would make a great gift idea for a music teacher or student.

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10. Sheet Music Bird Ornament |  This darling ornament is perfect for the Christmas tree.

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11. Sheet Music Wrapping Paper | And last of all, don’t forget to use sheet music to wrap your small presents too!  Add a ribbon and tag and you are ready to go.

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Still not inspired?  Visit Etsy.com and search for “sheet music” under the handmade items (click here) to see what other crafters are doing to recycle old sheet music!

What ways have you found to recycle old sheet music?

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]]> http://colorinmypiano.com/2010/12/21/11-sheet-music-craft-ideas/feed/ 4 List of Free Christmas Music Arrangements on the Web http://colorinmypiano.com/2010/11/09/list-of-free-christmas-music-for-students-on-the-web/ http://colorinmypiano.com/2010/11/09/list-of-free-christmas-music-for-students-on-the-web/#comments Tue, 09 Nov 2010 14:14:09 +0000 joy (admin) http://colorinmypiano.com/?p=3173 Christmas is on the way, whether you are ready or not!  My students are already starting to ask about Christmas music, so I’m doing some digging on the web to find places to print easy Christmas arrangements for free.

I also have a lending library of Christmas books that I’ve built over the years (mostly used books I find at garage sales and thrift shops), but printing music is great because they can keep it if they like.  It’s very rare that I ask students to purchase Christmas books (unless they are more advanced and play for church) because they only get used a few weeks out of the year.

Here are a few places I’ve found Christmas pdfs of sheet music for piano:

Beginners/Elementary Students

Intermediate/Advanced

  • Jenifer Cook’s Christmas arrangements at The Church Pianist Blog
  • mfiles.co.uk | These piano arrangements are very chordal (almost SATB) of familiar Christmas tunes.  There are guitar chords/TABS above the staff so you can play along with a friend if desired.
  • DeFordMusic.com | These arrangements by Sally DeFord are true arrangements and are very pianistically written.

Please let me know if you’ve found other places on the web to find free Christmas arrangements and I will add them to the list!

Photo Credit: woodleywonderworks | CC 2.0

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]]> http://colorinmypiano.com/2010/11/09/list-of-free-christmas-music-for-students-on-the-web/feed/ 5 Links page has been updated http://colorinmypiano.com/2010/02/19/links-page-has-been-updated/ http://colorinmypiano.com/2010/02/19/links-page-has-been-updated/#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:40:21 +0000 joy (admin) http://colorinmypiano.com/?p=1606 The Links page here at colorinmypiano.com has been updated!  I’ve created a new category devoted to sites with free sheet music, preferably for piano.

My personal favorite:

IMSLP / The Petruccit Library

This site contains TONS of sheet music pdfs of the great classical works!  Just this week, for example, I was looking to round out one of my student’s “musical diet” by giving her a piece from the Romantic Era.  After browsing around on the IMSLP site, I came across the Burgmüller Etudes Op. 100, which includes some lovely little pieces which were among my favorite pieces to play when I was a kid.  Examples: “Arabesque,” “Grace,” “Progress,” “Innocence,” and “Ballade.”

Do you have a favorite site where you print free sheet music?  Please let us know and I’ll add it to the list!

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]]> http://colorinmypiano.com/2010/02/19/links-page-has-been-updated/feed/ 0 Organizing your Music Books http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/12/22/organizing-your-music-books/ http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/12/22/organizing-your-music-books/#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:07:58 +0000 joy (admin) http://colorinmypiano.com/?p=1375 DSC_20090831_6801How do your organize your library of music books?  About a month ago, I purchased a new bookshelf (see photo) for my music, because most of my books were still in boxes with no place to go since our move to our new apartment.  In just a few hours, I managed to re-organize all my music books, and I’m proud to say I can actually find stuff I’m looking for when I need it!

Here’s how I organize my books:

I divide my music into two major categories:

  1. Student-level repertoire
  2. Advanced repertoire

Within the above categories, I divide my books further into the following categories:

  • Sheet music — organized by level (e.g., early elementary, late intermediate, etc.).
  • Classical music — alphabetized by composer last name.
  • Classical Anthologies — books that contain pieces by a number of different composers.  When possible, I organize these books chronologically (i.e., by music period).
  • Sacred music — books of hymn arrangements.

I also have a few other categories:

  • Method Books — such as Alfred, Faber, etc., organized by method series and then by level.
  • Technique – such as Finger Power, Dozen A Day, Hanon exercises, etc.
  • Theory — such as Notespellers, books of theory worksheets, etc.

How do you organize your music library?

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]]> http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/12/22/organizing-your-music-books/feed/ 0 Best Free Sheet Music Sites http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/11/20/best-free-sheet-music-sites/ http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/11/20/best-free-sheet-music-sites/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:58:36 +0000 joy (admin) http://colorinmypiano.com/?p=1293 Picture 3You can never have too much free music!  Head on over to musictechtips.wordpress.com and check out this post:  11 Best Free Sheet Music Sites.  It is an excellent list of sites that contain free pdfs of sheet music.  A word of caution: not all free sheet music online is copyright free.  Always be careful to observe copyright restrictions, if any.

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]]> http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/11/20/best-free-sheet-music-sites/feed/ 0 Free piano arrangements of anime music http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/10/16/free-piano-arrangements-of-anime-music/ http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/10/16/free-piano-arrangements-of-anime-music/#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:24:50 +0000 joy (admin) http://colorinmypiano.com/?p=1149 I recently received a new transfer adult student.  She’s an excellent sight-reader and a fun person to be around!  She has a great interest in anime (for those of you not familiar with anime [AH-nee-may], it is “a style of animation developed in Japan,” according to Answers.com).  Shehas been teaching me quite a bit about anime and video game music.  I think I am learning just as much from her as she is from me.  =)

Evidently, there is a wealth of free piano arrangements of anime music themes online.  The arrangements she has been working on (they are “just for fun” pieces, which accompany her classical repertoire, of course) basically sound like new age solo piano music (think Jim Brickman or George Winston).  Below, I’m passing on a few links she shared with me:

  • Check out this recording of “Sadame” for piano here, and then find the sheet music here (scroll down to the “Animes” section, and click the pdf icon for “Destiny – Sadame” ).
  • Other sites for finding free anime sheet music can be found here, here, and here.
  • It can seem overwhelming to browse through these anime sites, especially when you’re not sure what you are looking for.  For me, it’s a whole new world within the sheet music realm!  According to my student, anything from Final Fantasy, Naruto, and Inuyasha is good.

I hope you find this information helpful for any high-school or college-aged piano students you might have.  Happy browsing!

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]]> http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/10/16/free-piano-arrangements-of-anime-music/feed/ 0 Added: 4 New easy Christmas Arrangements http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/10/01/added-4-new-easy-christmas-arrangements/ http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/10/01/added-4-new-easy-christmas-arrangements/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:01:27 +0000 joy (admin) http://colorinmypiano.com/?p=1074 <div xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" about="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gtmcknight/81830779/"><a rel="cc:attributionURL" href=

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gtmcknight/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

I know, I know, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, and I’m already talking about Christmas!  But since I’ve been updating my Printables page recently anyway, I went ahead and put up some easy Christmas piano arrangments too:

(See Printables > Sheet Music)  These arrangements are suitable for beginner students who are comfortable reading on the staff and playing in the key of C.

Printing Christmas sheet music off the internet is a great alternative to asking students to buy Christmas books — after all, they only get used for about a month or two out of the whole year.  Be sure to visit Susan Paradis’ site as well, if you are looking for more Christmas arrangements (click here for a listing of Holiday Music.)  Hers are much more attractive than mine, I must admit.  I need to learn how to do more with graphics.  =]

Have you found other sites where you’ve found Christmas arrangements for students?  Please share!

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]]> http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/10/01/added-4-new-easy-christmas-arrangements/feed/ 0 Free Sheet Music @ pianostreet.com http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/09/22/free-sheet-music-pianostreet-com/ http://colorinmypiano.com/2009/09/22/free-sheet-music-pianostreet-com/#comments Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:45:48 +0000 joy (admin) http://colorinmypiano.com/?p=753 Picture 4Free sheet music is always a good thing, right?  :]

By signing up for a free Silver membership over at pianostreet.com, you’ll have access to free pdfs of classical music scores, including:

  • Bach – 15 Inventions
  • Beethoven – 32 Sonatas
  • Burgmuller – 3 pieces from 25 Easy and Progressive Studies
  • Schumann - Traumerei
  • Tchaikovsky – 2 pieces from Album for the Young
  • . . .and other random pieces by composers such as Mozart, Clementi, Listz, and Brahms — including an arrangements of Pachelbel’s Canon in D and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee.

If you upgrade to a Gold Membership, you’ll have access to even more music.  Personally, I am planning to stick with my free Silver membership.  I am thrilled to be able to print (for free!) these great classics for my students, particularly for the ones with little money to spare for piano lessons during these rough economic times.

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