piano teaching – Page 19 – Color In My Piano

My husband and I have just returned from a lovely, week-long vacation to Puerto Rico! It was such a blast. This was the first major vacation we have ever taken together. We enjoyed the culture, food, beach, and history of the island. The warm weather was such a welcome break from the freezing temperatures here in Ohio. 🙂 But I’m happy to be back!

As promised, here is the promo code for the February 20% off sale, in celebration of the 5-year blogiversary of ColorInMyPiano. You will need to enter the following code during check-out in order to receive the sale price. This sale won’t be back until next year, so plan ahead for your summer camps! Copy the code below and then click here to visit the shop.

FEBFUN

The code will expire at the end of the month.

In other news: This week, I will be presenting at the MusicEdConnect.com online conference. Have you registered? My session, called “Building Musicianship Through Games & Activities,” will occur Thursday at 12:30pm EST. Hope to see you then!

On Friday, I will be traveling to Akron, Ohio to give a presentation for the Summit County OhioMTA chapter of MTNA. This presentation will be on the same topic — using games to develop complete musicianship in students. If any of you live near Akron and are interested in attending or are already planning to attend, let me know! You can send me an email message here.

Looking forward to a great week!

Upcoming February Fun

21 January 201425 February 2014 Joy Morin

Guess what! February 28 marks the 5 year anniversary of this blog. How awesome is that?!

In celebration of the upcoming blogiversary, I wanted to announce that I will be holding a sale for the month of February: 20% off the items in the shop (ends February 28, 2014)! Stay tuned for the details. Perhaps you will want to start planning ahead for your summer camps so you can purchase some material while it is on sale. 🙂

February also brings Valentine’s Day. I thought I’d remind you that I have a couple of free piano-related Valentine printables available.

This is the valentine I designed last year. It is quick and easy to cut these out for your piano students. Click here to learn more.

DSC_20130208_105049

The valentine pictured below requires a little more assembly, but they are very cute. 🙂 Click here to learn more.

Studio Business

Chair for Piano Teaching

20 January 2014 Joy Morin

Since moving to my current town, I have been using a hard wooden chair (a $5 find at Goodwill) when I teach piano lessons.

Two-and-a-half-years later, I decided it was high time I bought something more comfortable. On wheels. And less creaky. 🙂

The space next to the piano is tight, so I knew I needed a compact chair. A friend who also teaches piano in my town found this great little chair at IKEA and I ended up buying the same one. But not before trying out all of the other wheeled chairs at IKEA. 🙂 This one is a gem:

Don’t you just love finding just the right things for your everyday use? This chair is comfortable and perfect for my small space.

Check it out at IKEA: Gregor swivel chair.

Studio Business, Technology

In Snowy Weather…Teaching Via FaceTime/Skype

7 January 201415 March 2020 Joy Morin

This is what it looks like outside our house today:

Much of the U.S. is currently experiencing a “polar vortex.” Here in Ohio, there is around 8 inches of snow on the ground and the wind chill has been around -35 degrees Fahrenheit during the daytime. Local schools and universities have cancelled classes yesterday and today. Our county has declared a Level 3 Snow Emergency, which means people are not allowed to travel on the roads unless it is an emergency (or else risk a fine or arrest).

What to do about piano lessons? Continue reading “In Snowy Weather…Teaching Via FaceTime/Skype” →

Announcements, Professional Development

New Year’s Thoughts for Piano Teachers

3 January 20143 January 2014 Joy Morin

I am not usually a person to make New Year’s resolutions, but for me the New Year is definitely a time of reflection on the past year and future.

Looking Back

Here are some big things that happened in 2013 that I’m especially thankful for:

I’m thankful for a full studio of 35 students! It took 2.5 years to fill my schedule after moving to our current town.
I’m thankful that my husband, Paul, finished his second Master’s degree in May and that he found a great job the following month. Hooray for financial stability and health insurance! It couldn’t have come at a better time because my health insurance under my parents also expired in June.

Looking Forward

A few times this week, this article discussing the distinction between goal-setting and habit-setting came through my facebook newsfeed. The article suggests that success is found in creating a system or process for reaching goal, rather than in setting the goal itself. This may seem obvious, but sometimes we make the mistake of setting a goal without thinking about what it will really take to make the goal happen.

I’d like to go a step further and suggest that in order to increase the chances of success, the goal being set should be process-oriented. Continue reading “New Year’s Thoughts for Piano Teachers” →

Motivation

Christmas Paper Chain Fun

13 December 201317 November 2014 Joy Morin

I saw this wonderful idea in one of the wonderful facebook groups for piano teachers (this one). I am not sure who to credit with the original idea — I suppose it has been done many times by teachers in the past.

The idea is that when a student learns a Christmas piece, they get to add a paper strip to the chain.

I just started the chain this week with my students. I love how this is a collaborative (instead of competitive) project that allows the entire studio to participate. Our chain already reaches across the entryway of my studio!

It will be fun to see how long the chain gets by the time Christmas is over!

Giveaways

Clavier Companion Magazine’s Recent Redesign (Giveaway)

10 December 2013 Joy Morin

Clavier Companion is my favorite magazine ever, hands down. Each magazine features a great variety of articles about pianists, piano teaching, new resources, the latest trends, and much more. I have been a subscriber for a couple of years and I love receiving the issues in the mail!

The November/December issue of Clavier Companion introduced a fresh new look and design.

Continue reading “Clavier Companion Magazine’s Recent Redesign (Giveaway)” →

Announcements, repertoire / methods, Technique

The Technique Exercises of the Piano Safari method

5 November 201326 February 2022 Joy Morin

On Friday, my local MTNA chapter held a workshop given by Katherine Fisher and Dr. Julie Knerr, co-authors of the Piano Safari method. Piano Safari has been on my radar for quite some time, although I have not yet used the method books with a student. I have, however, been experimenting with the technique exercises they have developed.

Continue reading “The Technique Exercises of the Piano Safari method” →

General

Freebie: Piano Finger Bling worksheets

31 October 20136 November 2019 Joy Morin

Today, I have a couple of fun freebies for you. 🙂

First, here is a printable worksheet for beginner piano students. Their task is to label each hand as RH or LH and then label the finger with the ring as #1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. My beginners love completing this quick worksheet!

As I was making this worksheet, it occurred to me that it would be fun to get a plastic diamond ring to use when quizzing students on their finger numbers. Fun little props can add a lot of fun to drills. 🙂

Then, I decided to make a digital version of this worksheet to use on my iPad with the GoodNotes app. Students can draw on each page in order to label the hand and finger. It’s a quick little activity that can be completed during the lesson.

To download the printable worksheet, visit the Printables > Worksheets page and scroll down to “Piano Finger Bling worksheet.”

Piano Finger Bling worksheet (204.0 KiB, 16,442 hits)

To download the digital PDF worksheet, visit the Printables > For iPad page and look for “Piano Finger Bling.”

Piano Finger Bling (794.3 KiB, 5,259 hits)

Enjoy!

Composition, Teaching Piano

Now Available: Composition & Improvisation Prompts for Piano eBook

21 October 201321 April 2020 Joy Morin

Last week, I wrote a blog post here describing how I help my students compose their own pieces. Today, I am officially announcing the release of a new e-book resource called: Composition & Improvisation Prompts for Piano!

Prompts for Piano - ebook cover 950x629

Continue reading “Now Available: Composition & Improvisation Prompts for Piano eBook” →

Technique

Freebie: 2008 Technical Requirements Charts for RCM/MDP Practical Exams

20 September 201319 July 2022 Joy Morin

UPDATE: Please visit this post for the latest 2022 RCM Piano Syllabus version.

Today, I’m sharing a project that I have been working on extensively for the past three weeks. I am very excited to have this project complete and be able to share it with you!

For the last two years, I have entered a couple of students in the Royal Conservatory’s Music Development Program (previously known as The Achievement Program and the National Music Certificate Program in the U.S.). It is an excellent program that I hope to continue to use with my students. Preparing for the practical exams has been a positive experience for my students.

As a newcomer to the MDP, I found it challenging to keep track of the technical requirements with my students. I found myself pulling out the MDP Piano Syllabus at every single lesson in order to clarify something or check if we were doing things right. And writing out the technical requirements on my students’ assignment sheets each week was time consuming, especially since I expected my students to review each previous weeks’ material. Continue reading “Freebie: 2008 Technical Requirements Charts for RCM/MDP Practical Exams” →

Tag: piano teaching

February Discount and MusicEdConnect Conference