Hello readers,
Guess what! This Saturday, February 28, 2021, marks the twelve-year anniversary of Color In My Piano! Can you believe this blog has been around for TWELVE years now?
In this post, I will share a bit about ColorInMyPiano’s history, my own story, a celebratory sale, and finally a giveaway. (Have you ever wondered how ColorInMyPiano got its name? You’ll find out if you keep reading!)
Continue reading “Celebrating 12 Years of Blogging (and a Special GIVEAWAY!)”
“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.”
Chinese proverb
With whom does the responsibility for learning lie: the teacher, or the student?
The answer: probably both. The question presents a false dichotomy. (As my pastor growing up used to say: When you ask the wrong question, you get the wrong answer.)
The reality is that both parties share some responsibility in the process of education.
But teachers, let’s focus on ourselves for a moment: How can we open the door for our students? But further, what can we do to help empower our students to enter by themselves?
And now considering our teacher selves as the lifelong learners we are, and putting ourselves in the shoes of the students in our care: How can we help ourselves enter the doorways of learning?
“Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.”
Abigail Adams
Learning requires a little skin in the game. It’s not likely to happen just by chance. Learning comes around thanks to passion for the subject matter and a zeal for learning. Plus, a healthy amount of some good ole’ elbow grease.
How do you help YOUR students fully apply and invest themselves in learning?
Office supplies are always a teacher’s joy! I thought it would be fun to put together a post compiling my go-to pens, pencils, and other office items. Below, you’ll find a handy list with photos and links of the supplies I like to have near my fingertips while teaching piano lessons. (I’m currently still teaching my lessons online for now due to Covid-19 pandemic, but I keep these items on hand regardless and I bet you might like them, too!)
Please enjoy, and share your own favorite office supplies in the comments at the end of this post!
Continue reading “My 6 Favorite Office Supply Items as a Piano Teacher”
“Man can learn nothing except by going from the known to the unknown.”
Claude Bernard
Learning requires moving into the great unknown. It might be scary at times, but without making the risk we don’t have much to gain.
What’s an example of a time when YOU’ve made a move into the unknown?
Do you listen to podcasts? I enjoy listening to podcasts as well as audiobooks while driving, exercising, getting ready in the morning, or getting things done around the house. It’s like listening to the radio, except you have more control over exactly what you’re listening to!
There’s been a number of new podcasts for piano teachers popping up recently, which is exciting to see. In this blog post, I’ll share a list of some of the best podcasts, both new and not, for piano teachers.
Continue reading “12 Podcasts for Piano Teachers in 2021”
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
Benjamin Franklin
Learning is truly an investment. It’s a sacrifice made in the hope that we will reap the benefits of knowledge many times over.
There are so many different ways to spend our time, energy, and resources. But in my experience, investing in knowledge tends to pay off and prove worthwhile to my quality of life…especially when it’s something I’m deeply interested in!
Do you agree? What have YOU invested to learn recently?
After getting my first taste of a national conference as a college student, I made a commitment early on in my career to always ensure I was making enough income to be able to afford professional development opportunities like these. There’s nothing like investing in yourself — you’re your greatest asset! Experiences like conferences can reap long-lasting benefits for improving your teaching, improving your business, and keeping yourself fresh and motivated in your career as a piano teacher.
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic might still be putting a “pause” in larges in-person events, but we can still connect virtually! I am pretty excited about TWO upcoming music teacher conferences that are going virtual for 2021.
Continue reading “MTNA and NCKP: Two Virtual Conferences You Won’t Want to Miss in 2021!”
“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
Aristotle
We aren’t teaching just young fingers, young bodies, young minds. We’re teaching young hearts. <3
So, let’s teach with heart!
After moving from Northwest Ohio to Southeast Michigan in December of 2020, I had promised to give you a tour of my new studio space. Somehow, a year has already passed…but I’m finally delivering on that promise! Below is a photo tour as well as a video tour (scroll down to the end). I think it’s always fun to see other teachers’ piano studios, so I hope you’ll enjoy!
Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one’s self esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily.”
Muriel Spark
Learning is risky.
It means our self esteem might take a blow. It means our attempts might look inept. It means we might realize just how much we don’t know.
Young children don’t have this problem. They are accustomed to having to learn new things all the time. And as the quote points out, they have little awareness of their own self-importance. As a result, they generally aren’t shy about jumping in to try something new!
Maybe we can “stay young” and learn from kids. We can choose to not allow our pride to get hurt when we are in those awkward learning stages. Maybe we can try to recover quickly, laugh it off, and not allow those moments to get to us.
How can we help our students, as they grow up, stay open to risky learning experiences?
Because learning is worth the risk.
Hello, teachers!
As promised, here is a video tutorial about how I edited my students’ videos for our most recent virtual recital project, Countdown to the New Year. In particular, this video tutorial focuses on how to use Canva.com to design animated opening/ending screens and then how to use Adobe Premiere Rush to complete the video editing. I hope you’ll pick up some useful tips, no matter what video editing software you prefer!
This tutorial video ended up being 35 minutes long — much longer than I expected. But I hope you’ll find the tutorial thorough and complete, and the pacing of the video to feel just right.
Questions? Any steps I should clarify? Or do you have additional tips to share? Leave a comment and let me know!
Thanks for watching, and I hope this helps with your future virtual recitals or other video projects!
Related: If you are getting ready to do a virtual recital project with your students for the first time, you may want to also read this blog post: My Students’ 2020 Virtual Recital: How-To Steps and How It Turned Out.
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