Giveaways, Reviews

Review & Giveaway: PractizPal

A few weeks ago, I received a PractizPal device to review.  There are five wonderful colors to choose from, and I selected “Gershwin Green.”

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The PractizPal is a clever little gadget designed to help students track their practice time.  It also has a built-in metronome and tuner.  In my mind, there are two reasons why this gadget is valuable:

Reviews, Studio Business

App Review: Moosic Studio

Splash_1024x748_logo_01I was recently contacted by Carlos Fontiveros, creator of the brand new Moosic Studio app, which is designed to help manage the business side of running a teaching studio.  You can best read about it in his own words:

Moosic Studio was created for my wife, Margaret, and her piano & voice studio.  I started off creating a solution for her to manage her business using combination of Bento and Excel on her laptop. It worked well and did the job. But she was always switching back & forth between applications entering lesson information while at the same time duplicating her lesson notes in her student’s assignment journals. On top of all this juggling, when she wanted to record audio or video of a student playing, she would have to get her audio recorder or iPhone. Witnessing this chaos for several months, came the idea for Moosic Studio on the iPad.  

Carlos kindly sent me a promo code so that I could review the app.  (As always, I was not obligated to write a positive review.  This review contains only my honest opinions!)  I don’t have my own iPad yet, but I was able to test it out on my husband’s iPad.  (Eventually, the app will work on the iPhone, too.)  The Moosic Studio app truly looks like a handy solution for the independent music teacher.  Let me tell you about it!  Continue reading “App Review: Moosic Studio”

repertoire / methods, Reviews

9 First Classical Anthologies for Piano Students

With my piano students, I love to introduce classical music as soon as possible.  It gives them a head-start in getting used to the contrapuntal reading that classical music requires, as well as the kinds of technical and musical challenges that classical music requires.  Early exposure also means that they in most cases they grow to love and appreciate the music!

Anthologies are perfect for students who are just being introduced to classical music.  They allow you to expose students a variety of styles and composers at a great value.  Even if the student does not study all of the pieces in the anthology, they can use the others for sight-reading practice or play them just-for-fun later in their piano study.

In most cases, I give my students their first classical anthology soon after they complete the Primer and Level 1 of their method book.  I have tried out a variety of different anthologies in order to determine which ones work best for students at that early level.  It is nice to have a few options to chose from, so that your students are not all playing the same repertoire.

Below is a list of some excellent anthologies I have evaluated for their suitability as an early elementary level student’s first introduction to classical music.  I’ve also included comments about each book’s value, length, variety of selections, clarity of the score, quality of the editing, etc.  I hope you can find my list and comments useful!

Preparatory Piano Literature, from the Developing Artist Original Keyboard Classics series, ed. by Nancy Faber, Randall Faber, and Jeanne Hansen (Hal Leonard).

Contains 12 selections, and comes with a CD.  The scores are clean and clear, and the editing is good.  This is an excellent book to use as a student’s first classical anthology.  It includes two pieces with teacher duets, which is a nice bonus.  My students have enjoyed learning those duets, and I’ve often had older siblings accompany them instead of me.

After completing this books, students can continue to books 1, 2, 3, and 4 — or jump over into the set of Piano Sonatina books, Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4.  I love the 20th/21st century selections included in the Piano Literature books (there is not much in the Prep level, but there is more in the upper levels) — in particular, I love Hansi Alt’s “On the Ocean Floor” from Level 1.   Continue reading “9 First Classical Anthologies for Piano Students”

Giveaways, Reviews, Rhythm, Technology

Review & Giveaway: Rhythm Cat app

Rhythm Cat — Cost: Free version (15 levels) is FREE;  Rhythm Cat Pro is $2.99.  The pro version is available currently for iPhone/iPod Touch — and the pro version for iPad is coming out soon!

This app is a fun and effective way to improve rhythm skills.  Let me tell you why!

On each level, the player is presented with a rhythm example.

After hitting the Play button, a soundtrack begins. After 1-2-3-4 is shown, the player must tap the rhythm of the example shown using the large green button.  Here is what the very first rhythm example looks like:   Continue reading “Review & Giveaway: Rhythm Cat app”

Reviews

Review: Sheet Music by Elena Cobb

Elena Cobb is a piano teacher and composer in the UK (but originally from Russia) who writes music in various popular musical styles, including blues, Latin, and jazz.  She has music books available intended for both young students and intermediate to advanced students.  You can read more about Elena’s teaching approach and goals behind her pedagogical music here.

Elena asked me to review a couple of her books, which you can read about below!  Continue reading “Review: Sheet Music by Elena Cobb”

Reviews, Technology

iTalk app Review

iTalk app | Cost: Free (with ads) or Premium version: $1.99 (no ads), for iPhone and iPad.

This app is the perfect solution when recording audio of your or your students’ playing.  In many cases, I record video of my students playing during piano lessons; but sometimes I want only audio, so that I can get better quality or so I can more easily email it.

The iPhone/iPad comes pre-installed with a Voice Memos app, so you might be wondering about the advantages of iTalk.  There are two:

  1. Higher audio quality (AIFF files), and
  2. Convenience (transferring/syncing files).

The quality of the sound recording is far better using iTalk versus the Voice Memos app.  When you open the iTalk app, it allows you to name the recording and then select between Good, Better, or Best recording quality (11.025, 22.05, or 44.10 kHz sample rates).  On the iPhone 4 (and probably 5), there is an auto-noise cancellation feature (so you won’t get as much room noise).  Pushing the big red button starts the recording.  After recording, you can browse your list of recordings, play them back, or email a file.  Continue reading “iTalk app Review”

Music Theory, Reviews, Technology

Review: NoteWorks iPad app & Giveaway

Noteworks – (Links: Free iPhone versionfull iPhone version for $4.99, Free iPad versionfull iPad version for $4.99)  

This app is designed for students to practice identifying notes on the staff and finding the corresponding piano keys.  Noteworks features an adorable little “Munchy” who eats the notes when the student identifies the notes correctly!

Continue reading “Review: NoteWorks iPad app & Giveaway”

Giveaways, Reviews, Rhythm, Technology

Review & Giveaway: SpeakBeat app

SpeakBeat – Cost: $1.99.  View it in the iTunes store here.

SpeakBeat is a metronome app, but with a twist: it “speaks” the beats!  Just choose the time signature and choose whether you’d like sub beats counted (the “and’s,” “one-and-a’s,” and the “one-e-and-a’s”) or not.   The tempo can be adjusted from 20-240 bpm.  There are also 8 different voices to choose from in the settings: a variety of male and female voices, as well as a few fun ones like Darth Vader and Kermit the Frog!  The app’s interface is easy to navigate and quite nice-looking.

We all know the value of having students count aloud as they play, right?  Counting aloud does more than self-correct the student’s rhythm — it also teaches students to be play in awareness of the meter.  (See more about my thoughts regarding teaching rhythm here.)   Continue reading “Review & Giveaway: SpeakBeat app”

Music History, Reviews

Review: How To Listen To Great Music by Robert Greenberg

I was kindly sent a copy of a book by Robert Greenberg to review called “How to Listen to Great Music: A Guide to Its History, Culture, and Heart.”  The book has about 330 pages and is organized into 33 chapters.

The content of this book is mostly about its subtitle than about its title.  It reads like a history book — which is, of course, important to understanding “how to listen to great music.”

I often find history books (music or otherwise) dry and uninteresting; however, Greenberg’s book is more than tolerable — it is a very enjoyable read!  From my years as a college student, I remember that my music history textbooks from college that it was easy to get bogged down in the details and fail to recognize over-arching themes and changes across the centuries.  Greenberg, however, got it right!  He has a knack for indentifying and bringing out those bigger themes to give the reader a better understanding of the historical and musical developments across the time periods.  Continue reading “Review: How To Listen To Great Music by Robert Greenberg”

Music Camps, Reviews

Review: Road Trip USA! Camp by Sheryl Welles

My friend Sheryl Welles has just put her RoadTrip USA! camp lesson plans up for sale on her website!  She very kindly sent me a copy to review, and so I’m going to tell you all about it.  🙂

RoadTrip USA! is a 159-page pdf that contains detailed descriptions with photos of the games and activities Sheryl does for her camp.  Sheryl also includes detailed lists for the supplies you will need each day, as well as some advice about registration forms and setting tuition.

So, what is the camp like?  Each day, campers travel to a different part of the United States to listen to different styles of music, learn about composers, and reinforce basic musical concepts, like rhythm and note reading.  The five destinations are Washington D.C., New Orleans, the Wild West, New York City, and Hawaii.  The activities throughout the day are themed around that day’s destination.  I love the great variety of activities (indoors, outdoors, movement, listening, etc!) Sheryl uses for this camp, and your students will love it too!  If you haven’t seen Sheryl’s blog before, I highly recommend you check out some of her posts about her music camps. Continue reading “Review: Road Trip USA! Camp by Sheryl Welles”

Reviews

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

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.   Continue reading “Review: The Matthew 6:33 Piano Teacher eBook (and giveaway)”