Congratulations to our three randomly-selected winners: Lavinia, Kjersten, and Faith! Winners, please watch your inbox for an email from Wendy arriving very soon.
Thank you all for entering! I hope you’ll consider browsing Wendy’s beautiful teaching resources if you haven’t already. Click here to visit her shop.
Happy teaching this week!
Hi there! Just wanted to send a quick reminder that the deadline for entering the giveaway for Wendy Chan’s Music Escapades Shoppe teaching resources is tomorrow, Sunday, August 30, 2020 at midnight (Eastern time).
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on the giveaway blog post (click here) sharing either (1) a teaching tip or resource which has been a go-to for you recently, or (2) which resource you’d love to have from Wendy’s shoppe and why.
The THREE lucky winners will be randomly chosen and notified by email on Monday. Good luck, all, and have a great weekend!
Hi there!
I’m pleased to announce that a new piano piece is now available in my shop! If you’re looking for something jazzy and fun for mid-intermediate level students, you might be interested in checking out this piece.
It’s called Where the Train Tracks End. This piece is in rondo form (ABACA) and the key of B minor. It opens with finger snaps over a descending bass line, which leads into the syncopation and laidback vibe of the main theme. The B section consists of flashy-sounding patterns that race up the piano, while the C section is upbeat with a walking bass line. There is an opportunity to improvise towards the end of the piece. This three-page piece is perfect for recitals as well as for personal pleasure.
Watch the video to take a listen!
I composed this piece a few years back as part of a “Pedagogical Commissioning Project” organized by my Ohio-based colleague, Andy Villemez. The project brings working composers in direct conversation with music teachers and their students. Each student is paired with a composer who writes a piece based on the student’s current technical and musical abilities, personality, and interests. I wrote the piece Where the Train Tracks End specifically for a student named Brielle in Durham, NC.
Interested in purchasing the sheet music? It’s available in my shop as a PDF download. There are both Single User and Studio License options available, both of which come with an MP3 audio recording. View Where the Train Tracks End in my shop here. I hope it’s a piece your students would enjoy!
Continue reading “NEW SHEET MUSIC: Where the Train Tracks End”
Years ago, I remember meeting Wendy Chan and her Music Escapades Shoppe. Well, recently I reconnected with her and learned about the relaunch of her online shop! I was pleased to chat with Wendy again and check out her resources.
When we chatted, Wendy asked if I’d be interested in reviewing any of her teaching resources. I replied that I’d definitely be interested in her Grand Staff Magnetic Dry-Erase Board. She, in turn, sent me not only that, but three of her other teaching resources as well. How generous! Pictured below are the four items she sent.
In this blog post, I will share my personal thoughts and photos about each item. Please continue reading, and be sure to learn how to get a discount code and enter the giveaway at the end of this post.
Wendy’s Grand Staff Magnetic Dry-Erase Board has been quite useful during my recent teaching, especially while teaching online right now due to Covid-19.
Just a quick post today!
I just finished updating one of the studio business forms from the Printables page for the 2020-21 school year. It is called the Record of Lesson Attendance & Payment PDF. I do not currently use this form myself anymore, but every year I receive requests from teachers asking if I would update it for the upcoming school year!
In case you haven’t seen this, here is how the form works: Write your students’ names in the first column. Each week, write the lesson date (in a month / date format) in the column for that week. This is how you can track attendance. The small circles in each cell are where you can write checkmarks indicating tuition payments. Whether you charge by-the-week or by-the-month, you can place a checkmark by each paid lesson date.
Download it below or on the Printables > Studio Business page.
P.S.: Here is a link to where I explain my more recent system for tracking payments received.
“The first essential for the child’s development is concentration. The child who concentrates is immensely happy.”
–Maria Montessori
“The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences.”
–Maria Montessori
“We discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being.”
— Maria Montessori
Just a quick post today!
First, congrats goes to Angie, Martine, and Gwenn R., the randomly chosen winners of the music mask giveaway! Winners, please check your inbox for an email from me. Thanks goes to everyone for posting your entry comments and sharing about how life is going for you in your neck of the woods during this time! I appreciate hearing from you.
Second, I wanted to let you know about a webinar series you might be interested in. Four of the piano faculty from the Gordon Institute for Music Learning are teaming up to offer a series of six webinars about Music Learning Theory and piano instruction during the week of August 10, 2020. The presenters, Krista Jadro, Janna Olson, Marilyn Lowe, and Jennifer Fisher, are making the webinars available singly and as a discounted bundle. If you aren’t available to watch the webinars as they air live, you’ll have the opportunity to watch replay videos afterwards over the next two months. Click here to check out the rest of the details. I’m excitedly looking forward to watching this webinar series.
I hope you’re all having a great week!
I just want to say thank you to those of you who have entered the giveaway so far for a chance to win a music mask sewn by my sister, Heather of HeatherMade Designs. It’s been so interesting to hear from so many of you about how you’re doing during these COVID-19 times! Click here to read the comments.
If you haven’t yet entered the giveaway, don’t delay! The giveaway closes Sunday, July 19 at midnight (Eastern time). To enter, go to this blog post and leave a comment sharing with us a bit about what life is currently like in your corner of the world during these Covid times. For example: share with us a story or tip about online teaching. Or, tell us something interesting about how you are doing and what you’re up to while living in quarantine.
The three winners will be chosen on Monday, July 20 and notified by email.
Have a great weekend, friends!
“Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.”
– Maria Montessori
I’ve been reading recently about Maria Montessori and Montessori philosophy, and am fascinated by it! She must have been quite a person, being the first female physician in Italy and founder of “Casa dei bambini” (“Children’s House”) for underprivileged children aged 3-7 in Rome in 1907. Her work has since inspired educators and school founders for decades.
Maria Montessori’s ideas resonate well with what others have to say about learning, which has been so cool to discover! Here’s a great Montessori quote that reminds us that learning is not about listening to words. Learning comes about through EXPERIENCES created in a thoughtful environment.
What are some ways YOUR students learn not through words but through experiences in their learning environment?
Hi there!
How are you all? I’ve been quiet here on the blog, but keeping myself busy as usual! Baby Aria keeps me busy, and I also have a couple of projects coming down the pipeline that you’ll hear about sooner or later. 🙂
I’m still teaching my piano lessons online during these Covid times and practicing physical distancing as appropriate. Here in Michigan, our quarantine measures have loosened somewhat compared to be before, but there are guidelines still in place to keep us safe. I know the specific guidelines vary greatly state-by-state and country-by-country according to the current risk in each area. I hope we can agree it’s important to be smart and cautious during these times.
I’d really love to hear from you all about how you are faring and what life during Covid-19 is like currently in your neck of the woods. You’ll have a chance to do so — more on that in just a moment!
But first, let me back up and introduce you to my sister, Heather. We are teaming up to offer you a giveaway.
Continue reading “GIVEAWAY: Music Note Face Masks”Your Cart is Empty
