I haven’t posted a blog roundup in quite awhile! Here are a few new blogs I have stumbled across recently:
Suzanne from the Hilton Music Studio blog shares lots of great teaching and organizational ideas. Definitely take a moment to check out her blog:
Our current Forum Q&A topic is about what items kids like to see best in incentive prize boxes! Here is a peek at what is currently in my prize box:
Introducing the addition of a new series of resources to the Color In My Piano shop…
Remember the lapbooks that I blogged about from my recent music history camp? I finally have Bach and Mozart listed in the shop! I’ve been using these composer studies with my weekly homeschool music history class too.
Each composer study costs $10 and includes teacher pages, the biography booklet (picture above on the right), and the pages for assembling the lapbook. Here’s what the inside of the Mozart lapbook looks like: Continue reading “Introducing…Mozart and Bach Lapbook & Biography Set (GIVEAWAY)”
Noteworks – (Links: Free iPhone version, full iPhone version for $4.99, Free iPad version, full 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!
“Trying to explain music is like trying to dance architecture.”
— Thelonious Monk
Every Wednesday brings Words of Wisdom here at the Color in my Piano blog in the form of a musical quote or joke, intended to bring inspiration or humor to the middle of your week. Have suggestions? Send me a message here.
*Note to Email Subscribers:* This post from Monday did not come through via email (my fault) — so I just wanted to let you know to check out the last freebie I posted on Monday by clicking here! 🙂
Time to announce the winners of the Speakbeat giveaway! These five lucky commenters have won a promo code to download the Speakbeat app for free:
Congrats! Check your inbox for an email from me. 🙂
Over the last few months, I’ve created a collection of signs to use with my Piano Readiness and Homeschool Music classes:
I use them during class when I am teaching or reviewing concepts. They can be useful for games too. For example, I like to have students hold up or point to the correct symbol while I improvise high/low or loud/soft music on the piano. I printed them on cardstock and laminated them to make them more durable.
There are other ways to use these signs: They can be printed for beginner private students to keep as a reference. Or, they can be hung up in on the wall in your studio.
You can download the pdf by visiting the Printables > Other Resources page and scrolling down to the S’s for “Signs for Beginner Piano.” I hope you can find some way to use these with your students!
A couple of weeks ago when the small bookcase next to the piano in my studio starting leaning rather precariously, I knew it was time to find a new one! Finding a bookcase that has shelves that are tall enough to hold music books is a challenge, however. The other challenge is finding something sturdy enough to support the weight of all those music books!
But I think I found the perfect solution. 🙂
My sister and brother-in-law along with my two nephews have been visiting for the last week (hence the lack of blog posts lately — sorry!). We made a trip out to IKEA yesterday, and I bought this BESTÅ shelf unit for $130:
Our last Forum Q&A topic was about keeping teenager students engaged in their piano study! Check out all the great responses to this topic by clicking here.
Our next discussion topic comes from a reader (thanks, Donna!):
What kinds of items do you have in your “music store” or incentive prize box? It seems some items are a hit with students, and other items just sit there. What are some items that have been a success with your students, particularly for the older students who are always harder to shop for? (Please also share about the requirements for your students to be able to win or buy items.)
Two years ago, I published a blog post with a few pictures of items in my prize box at that time. (Read the full details about my current incentive program here.) It’s about time I took another peek in my box to see what is in there now! I’ll try to take some photos soon — in the meantime, please take a moment to share about your students’ favorite prize items in the comment section below!
Update: Here are some photos of the items currently in my piano prize box!
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”
“Paint pictures with sound. First, find your white—the deepest, roundest sound you can play on the guitar. Then, find your black—which is the most extreme tonal difference from white you can play. Now, just pick the note where you’ve got white, pick it where you’ve got black, and then find all those colors in between. Get those colors down, and you’ll be able to express almost any emotion on the guitar.”
— Les Paul
Every Wednesday brings Words of Wisdom here at the Color in my Piano blog in the form of a musical quote or joke, intended to bring inspiration or humor to the middle of your week. Have suggestions? Send me a message here.
I’ve been enjoying the wonders of my iPod Touch 4g for nearly two years now. However, recently, my hubby and I upgraded our cell phones to the glorious iPhone 4. There isn’t really much difference between the two, other than that now I don’t have to carry both a phone and the iPod around with me everywhere (my iPod had my calendar with teaching schedule, so I tried to keep it with me always), and now I can access the internet anywhere I go.
I know many piano teachers are using iPads in their teaching. The iPhone is no different from the iPad, other than the larger screen and the fact that there are certain apps designed only to work on the iPad (because they require a larger screen). My hubby has an iPad 1, which he allows me to use occasionally. Someday, I’ll get my own iPad, but there are too many more urgent things on my studio wishlist right now! 🙂
Here are the most frequent ways I use my iPod/iPhone in my teaching: 
Continue reading “Using the iPhone/iPad in Piano Teaching”
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