Tag: piano teaching

Conferences

Day 3 Highlights from NCKP 2025

Joy Morin

[Click to read Day 1 or Day 2.]

Once again, first thing in the morning I went to the exhibit hall to the make sure my Marketplace Table was arranged and ready for the day.

The conference schedule on Friday, July 25 began with a showcase session — presentations given by exhibitors. I attended the one by Hal Leonard. I always enjoy hearing the showcase sessions from the major publishers in order to hear about the latest publications. This session didn’t disappoint. I got to hear Glenda Austin’s incredibly expressive playing, highlighting her Solos for the Sanctuary series and Lyric Waltzes. Charmaine Siagian highlighted a new book called The Eugenie Rocherelle Collection in honor of Rochelle, who passed away earlier this year. Jason Sifford shared about his latest publication titled: “Play Piano Again” — an interesting book for adult students that pulls from the beloved music of John Thompson. And Brendon Fox talked about new releases in terms of classical piano publications.

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Announcements

Register Now: “Organize Your Life With Notion” Online Workshop

Joy Morin

Greetings and Happy New Year, my friends!

I’m pleased to announce that registration is now open for a three-day, online workshop about using Notion (a productivity and note-taking app) offered by Amy Chaplin and myself. In this workshop, Amy and I will teach you all about how to use Notion to create a custom digital workspace to organize your life and get work done. If you’d been around here for a while, you might have seen my past articles about Notion and how essential it has become to my workflow and life. I think it’s an amazing tool, and am pretty sure you’ll think so, too!

The dates will be on three Fridays, January 10, 17, and 24, 2024 from 1-3pm Eastern each day. Replay videos are included, and there is an optional follow-up session a few weeks after the main workshop is done.

Check out all the details and reserve your spot now HERE. (PS: Register now to take advantage of the early bird rate!) Hope to see you in the workshop on the 10th! If you’d like to be notified when we offer the workshop again in the future, join the email list HERE.

More reading:

Teacher Feature

TEACHER FEATURE: Penny Lazarus on Fundraising Practice Projects

Joy Morin

A few months ago, I was inspired to see a Facebook post by my colleague Penny Lazarus, a piano teacher in Newburyport, Massachusetts, about her studio fundraising projects. Since starting these yearly projects back in 2010, she has raised over $20,000 total to support a variety of non-profit causes across the years. Wow!

Inspired by this, I just had to reach out and ask for more details and hear the story behind this unique practice. Penny was delighted to share about what she’s been doing with her students. We had an enjoyable conversation over Zoom, and Penny also wrote wonderful responses to my written questions. The result is this Teacher Feature post, a continuation of a series I’ve published off-and-on here on my blog over the years.

Without further ado, below is my interview conversation with Penny. I hope you’ll be inspired by her projects.

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seasonal / holiday

My Favorite Collections of Christmas Carol Arrangements for Piano

Joy Morin

One of my favorite late-Fall traditions is bringing out my books of Christmas carol arrangements for piano. Over the years, I’ve built a collection for both my own playing and teaching, storing everything in a sturdy wooden crate in the basement (which my husband kindly carries up each year).

When it comes to my personal playing, I tend to gravitate towards quieter arrangements with a contemporary, New Age-inspired sound and interesting harmonies — but I appreciate having arrangements in a variety of styles. Some of the collections in my library have been my go-to books for years, while others are newer finds that quickly proved their worth.

In the following article, I will share a list my favorite Christmas carol arrangement books that are perfect for personal enjoyment, holiday gatherings, or church services. If you enjoy playing beautiful arrangements of Christmas carols at the piano, as I do, this article is for you! I hope you’ll find something of interest that will become part of your go-to holiday repertoire each year.

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Reviews

Review: MagSafe Tripod Stand for iPhone

Joy Morin

Today, I’m sharing a review of a tool I have found extremely useful as a piano teacher and blogger over the past couple of months: a MagSafe tripod for my iPhone. I have found it SO useful, in fact, that I wish I had ordered one much sooner!

Read on to learn more and/or watch my short video review below.

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Composition

NEWLY RELEASED: Composition & Improvisation Prompts for Piano, Now Available in Hardcopy

Joy Morin

I’m so pleased to announce that my Composition & Improvisation Prompts for Piano, previously available in Studio-Licensed eBook form, is now available in hardcopy!

Prompts for Piano provides a fun, easy way to guide beginner and elementary students to make their own music. Each of the 20 prompts provides inspiration and direction for the student to embark on a series of creative projects.

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Studio Business

40 Ways to Use Notion as a Music Professional

Joy Morin

If you’ve been around my blog lately, you’ve probably heard me talk about Notion — my favorite online tool ever for managing my business and life.

I’m not alone in being excited about Notion. Notion is taking the world by storm, thanks to its unique, lego-like format allowing you to create pages exactly the way you want — whether simple or complex.

As Notion’s website states: “Notion is a single space where you can think, write, and plan. Capture thoughts, manage projects, or even run an entire company — and do it exactly the way you want.”

In this article, I’ll share 40 ways music professionals can utilize Notion. Without further ado, here’s my list.

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Studio Business

Freebie: Lesson Attendance Sheet Updated for 2024-25

Joy Morin

I just updated one of the studio business forms from my Printables page for the 2023-24 school year.  It is called the Lesson Attendance & Payment Sheet PDF.  Even though I don’t personally use this sheet myself anymore (I now charge a monthly flat tuition rate), every year I receive requests from teachers asking if I would please update it for the upcoming school year. And I’m happy to do so! 

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Announcements

A Few Quick Updates

Joy Morin

Hello, readers!

  • This past weekend, I held a couple of student recitals – one in Ohio for my online students based there, and one here in Michigan for my local students. I’m happy to report all went well, and I was thrilled with how our “creativity” themed focus played out. I’m hoping to share some photos and thoughts later this week. (This was also my 4yo daughter’s FIRST recital — special for both of us!)
  • My pal, Amy Chaplin of PianoPantry.com, and I are planning to offer our online workshop on Notion again this Fall! We won’t just teach you how to use Notion; we’ll show you how WE use Notion. 🙂 The dates will be Friday and Saturday, September 20 & 21, from 10am-1pm Eastern. There will also be an optional follow-up session on Friday, October 11 from 2-3pm Eastern. We are still working on getting the registration form ready, but if you think you might be interested, please mark the dates in your calendar. [P.S.: We will also be making an appearance at the IndianaMTA State Conference in October presenting on this topic.]
  • Any last minute takers for my upcoming piano teacher retreat in Southeast Michigan? I’m considering adding-on the optional third floor of the historic house I’m renting for us. Our theme this year is CREATIVITY and I can’t wait to explore improvisation, composition, and creative living in general together. I have about a dozen teachers currently registered. The dates are Monday to Wednesday, August 12-14. Learn more here.

Happy Monday to you!

Music Learning Theory

My First Encounter with Dr. Edwin E. Gordon and his Music Learning Theory (MLT)

Joy Morin

It was September of 2008, and I was an undergraduate college student at Hope College (Holland, Michigan) at the beginning of my senior year as a piano performance major.

One day, the professor of one of my classes announced that a guest by the name of Dr. Edwin E. Gordon would be visiting campus for a few days. Dr. Gordon was to deliver a lecture, lead a Saturday workshop, and join our class to tell us about his research and theories regarding music learning.

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