Category: Resources

Games, Resources

Over 20 Musical Spins on Favorite Games

Joy Morin

Last week as I was browsing through some of my favorite music blogs, it occurred to me that it would be fun to see how many different familiar games music teachers have found ways to alter into music games!  And so I’ve started compiling a list:

repertoire / methods, Resources, seasonal / holiday

List of Free Christmas Music Arrangements on the Web

Joy Morin

Christmas is on the way, whether you are ready or not!  My students are already starting to ask about Christmas music.

I have a lending library of Christmas books that I’ve built over the years (including used books I find at garage sales and thrift shops), and I also like for my students to own their own Christmas books. But sometimes, it’s helpful to be able to find simple arrangements for free, printed from online. Below, I’ll list a few places I’ve found free Christmas arrangement sheet music for piano.

By the way, I am a stickler about observing copyright especially when it comes to sheet music…and I encourage you to be the same! Composers and arrangers deserve every penny of their royalty fees, and I am proud to support my fellow artists. Let’s do our due diligence and be sure to use sheet music legally. If you are wondering whether a free arrangement you find online is legal for you to use, please confirm that (1) the tune being arranged is no longer under copyright and is therefore in the public domain (otherwise the arranger is breaking copyright by not paying royalty fees to the copyright holder), and (2) the copyright holder of the arrangement is the one providing the arrangement to you (otherwise the person providing the arrangement is breaking copyright by giving you something that is not theirs). If you’d like to learn more about copyright when it comes to music, check out this article from the U.S. Copyright Office. Continue reading “List of Free Christmas Music Arrangements on the Web” →

Motivation, Resources, Reviews

Book Review: “Red,” “Purple,” and “Blue” by Dror Perl

Joy Morin

A few weeks ago, I received a friendly email from composer Dror Perl asking if I’d be willing to write a review of his music books.  I, of course, said yes, and so Dror sent me complimentary copies of the Red and Purple books.  Here is my full review of his wonderful books!

Summary

Resources

Current Giveaways in the Blogosphere

Joy Morin

If you haven’t already seen these giveaways happening around the blogsphere, take a look below!

  • Natalie Wickham MusicMattersBlog.com is giving away six Suzuki violin cds (ends Thursday, October 14).  Click here to learn more.
  • Jenifer Cook at TheChurchPianist.com is giving away a copy of her book of intermediate level hymn arrangements, called “Showers of Blessings” (ends Friday, October 15).  Click here to learn more.

Best of luck and have a great weekend!

Announcements, improving as a teacher, Resources

Michigan Teachers: 2010 State Conference October 17-19

Joy Morin

For any fellow teachers in Michigan:

The Michigan Music Teachers Association (MMTA) State Conference is to take place Sunday, October 17 – Tuesday, October 19 at the Detroit Novi Sheraton (21111 Haggerty Rd., Novi).  Click here to for more information (including a link to the conference schedule), and click here to register.

Martha Hilley is this year’s Conference Clinician and Leon Bates is the Conference Artist.  There are many other sessions that look like very promising as well!  I am so excited for the conference to get here!

Not a member of MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) or your state association?

Just a few quick reasons to consider joining a professional organization such as MTNA:

  • Continue your professional development as a teacher by attending national and/or state conferences and local chapter meetings.
  • Network and share ideas with other teachers at conferences and local chapter meetings.
  • Become a certified music teacher (read more here).
  • Enter your students in competitions, SAT testing, and other events.
  • and more!  (Share your reasons in the comments!)

Read more about joining MTNA and your state association here.

Resources, Studio Business

Studio Business: Making a Memorable Impression

Joy Morin

Last week, I came across a very interesting article about how your business cards are a representation of your business.  The article features a number of examples of memorable and creative business cards, including the “piano repair” business cards pictured on the right.

Click here to read the article for yourself: 15+ Business Cards Visualizing the Business.

This article got me thinking:

  • How can I make my business cards (and other studio handouts/materials) more memorable?
  • What other ways could I be using my studio “brand name?”
  • How do my studio business cards and other materials represent my business?  What image are they giving to my parents and students?
Stepping up your business

Stepping up unlocks significant opportunities to scale your business, but it can also mean stepping into areas that you are not used to, and this means that you may need to get professional help. From looking to hire your first team members to preparing your business to export for the first time, there can be plenty of new experiences that lay ahead for founders that are stepping up.

Food for thought!  =)

Resources, Technology

Tutorial: Using Audacity Software in the Piano Studio

Joy Morin

Audacity is a piece of powerful sound editing software that is free to download.  It is available both for both Mac and Windows computers.

This tutorial will discuss the uses of Audacity software in the piano studio, and explain how to use Audacity to make basic edits to audio files.

NOTE: The correct site for finding and downloading the free Audacity software is audacity.soundforge.net, NOT audacity.com as one may expect.

Uses for Audacity for Piano Teachers

  • Recording students playing their pieces during the lesson for educational purposes; e.g., to prepare for an upcoming performance.
  • Recording student recitals to share with parents on a cd or on your website.
  • Making basic edits to your recordings before sharing them.
  • Assigning students to record and edit themselves in Audacity — or even assign them to create their own composition using Audacity (see the Ideas for Further Extensions section at the end of this post).
    Continue reading “Tutorial: Using Audacity Software in the Piano Studio” →
Resources, Studio Business

Piano as a way to build community

Joy Morin

Check out this fascinating news story:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6LeEKX1mLE

It’s great to see the great potential music (especially the piano) has to connect members of a community in a unique way!  This story really got me thinking: what are some ways we as teachers of music can use our skills to connect and benefit the community?  We tend to set our focus on just our studios, and admittedly we sometimes get overly competitive with other teachers in the area.  Wouldn’t it be great to join forces as teachers/musicians in a particular community and find ways serve the greater community?  (Ideas, anyone?)  =)

For more:

Visit artist Luke Jerram’s “Play Me, I’m Yours” website to view video uploads of various pianists playing on the pianos in cities all over the world.

Resources

Survey on Motivation and Piano Playing

Joy Morin

I recently received an email from a college student who is doing some research for a project about motivation and piano playing, and she could use your help!  Here’s what she has to say:

Hello everyone!  I am a student at Cape Breton University, Canada, and I am currently involved in conducting some research involving piano playing and motivation.  We have a survey that takes about 15 minutes to fill in, your participation in our study would be greatly appreciated!  Keep in mind that our survey is totally anonymous and is actually a good opportunity to engage in some self-reflection.  So if you are interested, go ahead and click the link below and it will take you directly to the survey.  Thanks so much!

http://faculty.cbu.ca/pmacintyre/musicsurveypiano.htm

Sincerely,  Gillian Potter & Dr. Peter MacIntyre

Resources, Studio Business, Technology

Free Studio Website Builder: Weebly.com

Joy Morin

Have you thought about starting a website for your studio, but felt that you didn’t have the resources or expertise to build one?  Check out Weebly.com — an attractive and easy-to-use online resource where you can create a website for free.

Personally, I currently use iWeb software (comes free on all Mac computers) to create and maintain my studio site.  However, Weebly sites are so attractive, I might make the switch someday!  I switched, and now I use Weebly for my studio website!

Some great features:

  • Extremely user-friendly. The drag-and-drop site builder is extremely easy to use, even for those who might not consider themselves to be very technologically savvy.
  • No software is needed. That means, no buying or installing software onto your computer.  Creating and maintaining your website is done completely online.
  • You can use a free ___.weebly.com domain name, or use your own domain name. Weebly is one of the few free website building sites that allow you use your own url (e.g., colorinmypiano.com) if you desire.  Just purchase one from a site such as Name.com (a year usually costs around $10).  If you don’t want to use your own domain name, for free you can just use yourname.weebly.com.
  • Attractive themes. Of all the free website building sites I’ve seen, Weebly by far creates the most attractive-looking sites.  They have tons of great customizable themes to choose from.

Here are some links to some studio websites that were created using Weebly, to get you inspired:

Good luck!  If you are successful in creating your own studio site using Weebly, be sure to share the link with us in the comments!