Tag: piano teaching

Questions, Studio Business

Forum Q&A | What is your favorite piano brand(s)?

Joy Morin

Last week’s Forum Q&A was all about the benefits of joining a professional organization such as MTNA.  There are some very interesting comments, so please take a moment to read them by clicking here!

This week’s Forum Q&A was inspired by Leah.  😉  I will be piano shopping over the summer, and am starting to think ahead about what kind of piano I’d like to buy!  I’d love to hear about what kind of piano you have in your studio, and what piano brand(s) are your favorite.  So, please tell us:

What kind of piano do you have in your home?  Do you have more than one?  =)

What piano manufacturer/brand(s) are your favorite and why?

Do you know of any good tips about buying pianos?

It would be so fun to see photos of what kind of pianos everyone has!  Perhaps if you have a blog, you could post a picture of your piano and share a link to it in the comments below.  If you don’t have a blog, feel free to email me your picture (admin[at]colorinmypiano.com) and perhaps I could put together a photo collage of sorts and post it next week!  This will be so fun!!

Photo Credit: shawnzrossi | CC 2.0

 

Group Classes, Music Theory, Printables, Teaching Piano, Worksheets

Just Added: Introduction To The Staff Worksheet

Joy Morin

A new worksheet has just been added to the Printables > Worksheets page called:

Introduction To The Staff Worksheet

This worksheet is appropriate for beginners who are ready to be introduced to staff notation.  It is appropriate for use in both private and group settings.

Terms used in this worksheet:

  • line notes
  • space notes
  • treble clef
  • bass clef
  • middle C

Students are instructed to draw the items from the list above onto the staff provided.  This worksheet is great for use especially with visual and tactile learners, who benefit from drawing and seeing each symbol on paper.

To download the worksheet, click the link above and scroll down to the I’s.

  Introduction To The Staff Worksheet (28.6 KiB, 37,489 hits)

Enjoy!

repertoire / methods

Faber Piano Adventures 2nd Edition

Joy Morin

Have you heard the news about the new 2nd Editions of the Faber Piano Adventures?  They’ve completed a revision of the Primer and Level 1 books, and will be doing Level 2 (and beyond?) at a later date.

At the MTNA conference, I had the opportunity to look at the new books at the Hal Leonard booth in the Exhibit Hall (and even take home a free copy of the Primer Level Performance book!).

You can visit their website to read about all the updates made in the new 2nd Editions, but below are a few highlights:

  • The back of the books shows a chart that shows the books and supplemental materials available.  The front of the books also has “2nd Edition” marked clearly in the upper left hand corner.
  • Inside the front cover, there is a progress chart that clearly shows the progression and introduction of concepts for easy lesson planning.
  • The Theory book more closely follows the concepts and artwork of the Lesson Book.
  • The Theory book contains more creative activities, such as improvisation and composition activities.
  • New repertoire has been added to the Performance and Lesson Books for more variety at your recitals.
  • A new Sightreading Book has been added to the Primer Level and Level 1!  It is a thick, black and white book with short examples to sightread.  Students are instructed, “Don’t Practice This!” and to cross out the page once they’ve sightread the page for that day.
  • A new Teacher Guide is available!

The Piano Adventures method is one of my favorites to use with students (although I deliberately do my best to use a variety of methods with my students), and these updates look great to me!  What do you think?

Games, Giveaways

March 2011 Giveaway: Blank Board Game by Piano Stars

Joy Morin

Announcing a new giveaway, from the ladies from Piano Stars!  You’ve read all about Keri & Carolyn in yesterday’s interview, and now you have a chance to win one of their teaching materials: a Blank Board Game that allows you to customize the game each time you use it!

Continue reading “March 2011 Giveaway: Blank Board Game by Piano Stars” →

Games, Music Camps, Studio Business, Teacher Feature

Interview: Keri & Carolyn from Piano Stars

Joy Morin

Meet Keri and Carolyn.  They are two cousins and piano teachers out of Canada who teamed up to establish their successful piano studio, Piano Stars.  They also sell some unique and original piano teaching materials on their website (click here) and on Etsy.  When I stumbled across their Etsy shop one day, I just had to order a couple of their wonderful music spinners (pictured below)!  Once I contacted Keri and Carolyn, they kindly agreed to be interviewed and featured here at Color In My Piano.  Read on!

*  *  *  *  *

Joy: Please tell us about your piano backgrounds!

Keri & Carolyn: We both started piano lessons when we were 7, but due to our age difference Carolyn was actually my (Keri’s) piano teacher growing up! Carolyn has her ARCT in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music and I am working on my Grade 10 with the Royal Conservatory of Music.

How long have you been running your piano studio together?

We have been working together since 2003 for our summer camps, composing and creating games & teacher resources. However, we both have our own home studios for private lessons and teach about 60 students each.

Even though we teach out of our own homes we plan all of our piano events together. We have the same incentive programs and we combine our students together for recitals, halloween parties, pizza parties, pool parties, etc… Continue reading “Interview: Keri & Carolyn from Piano Stars” →

Questions, repertoire / methods, Rhythm, Teaching Piano

Q&A Forum | Rhythmic “Simplification” in Arrangements of Familiar Tunes

Joy Morin

For last week’s Forum Q&A, I broached a few questions about memorization and many of you left comments regarding whether or not to require memorization for performances within your studio — but not many of you addressed my initial question about whether you consider the skill of memorization is essential to piano playing (i.e., do you think it is necessary/required for concert pianists to play by memory?  Why or why not?).  I discussed this topic further in yesterday’s post, which you can view here.  As always, it’s never too late to add your thoughts to this ongoing discussion.  =)

Today, however, marks the introduction of a new topic for discussion:

Many popular piano methods today include (as they should) arrangements of familiar tunes for students to learn.  This is great, because many students LOVE learning how to play tunes they are familiar with!  (Side note: click here to view a post regarding some thoughts on what makes a great piano method.)  However, these arrangements sometimes present a problem:

Oftentimes in arrangements, the rhythm of the tune is altered and “simplified” in order to accomodate the rhythmic values that the student has/hasn’t learned yet.  This is all fine and dandy, but as a teacher, what do you do when a student comes back the next week playing the rhythm “wrong”?

To give one example that frequently occurs with beginner students, I’ve heard many students return playing the rhythm of “Ode to Joy” with dotted-quarter-eighth rhythms instead of playing all quarter notes (despite the fact that we sightread it together with the rhythm as written).  How do you handle this situation: do you “fix” the student’s rhythm to match what is on the page even though it goes against their intuition, or do you “let it go?”

I’m sure many of us piano teachers have been in this situation before!  Share your experiences in the comments below.

Photo Credit: Rick Harris | CC 2.0

improving as a teacher, Memorization, Performances, Questions

Forum Q&A | Memorization for Performances: Required or Optional?

Joy Morin

Last week we discussed how to teach legato pedaling to students, and we got a few great responses – click here to check them out!  As always, feel free to add your thoughts to the discussion!

This week, we are considering the topic of memorization.  I’ve seen great discussions about this topic on many websites and forums, and thought we’d explore it here too (hopefully with a different twist)!  Here goes:

First, do you consider memorization to be an integral part of piano playing?  Meaning, would you say that a concert pianist should or must perform by memory?  And do you therefore also require your students to perform by memory, or are you more flexible with your students depending on their goals?  What kind of memorization policy have you found works best for your studio?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Photo Credit: hsingy | CC 2.0

Resources, Technology

7 New and Not-So-New Blogs To Check Out

Joy Morin

I’m always on the prowl for new piano teaching blogs to follow via my Google RSS Reader.  If you’ve started a blog or have discovered a gem of a blog lately, please let me know!  Here are a few I’ve stumbled upon recently:

  1. Discoveries Piano Studio blog by Sarah Lantz | a new blog that is a joy to read. Sarah has a wonderful writing style that is both easy and enjoyable to read. Continue reading “7 New and Not-So-New Blogs To Check Out” →
improving as a teacher, Practicing, Questions

Forum Q&A | How do you teach legato pedaling?

Joy Morin

Last week, we discussed standardized testing – the advantages and disadvantages, do you require it, and why, etc..  Click here to read the comments that were left!  As always, it’s never too late to add your thoughts so feel free to jump into the conversation.

This week, we are going to talk about pedaling.  Pedaling is such an important part of learning the piano, but arguably one of the most challenging things to learn for some students. The timing for pedaling must be just right: it can’t be too early, else you’ll have a break in the sound; but it can’t be too late otherwise the previous harmonies with intermingle with the current ones.

So, here’s the question:

How do YOU teach pedaling?  Do you have any tips, analogies, or exercises you use with your students in order to teach proper legato pedaling (also sometimes called syncopated pedaling)?  How did your piano teacher you how to pedal when you were a first learning?

Share your thoughts below!  I am anxious to learn some new tips for better ways to teach pedaling!

Photo Credit: House of Sims | CC 2.0

Announcements, Resources

Music Book Covers/Protectors

Joy Morin

I recently stocked up on the vinyl urtext book protectors that Henle makes…….they are one of my FAVORITE things.  They help keep my books in good shape!

My $52.00 (yes, OUCH!) Beethoven Sonatas volumes are much happier and safer inside their own protective covers.

Although these vinyl covers are specially designed to fit Henle Urtext editions, I use them on my other books too even if they have a little extra room at the top.

See below?  My Padereswi Chopin Nocturnes score looks content too.  =)

I buy these whenever I buy new scores that cost me $15 or more.  Instead of buying them for all your scores, however, I suppose you could buy a set of 3 or 4 and move them to whatever books you are currently using the most.  The covers cost about $3.50 each.

Check them out!  You can find them on SheetMusicPlus or Prima Music.

 

 

 

Technology

Tips For Making Your Blog Reader-Friendly [Part 2]

Joy Morin

This post is a continuation of Part 1, available here.

DO offer a variety of subscription options and make it easy to follow your blog.

Sometimes new bloggers wonder why it takes so long to establish a following of readers.  I once read somewhere that it takes about a year before you will begin to recognize a committed following of readers start getting regular comments.  Don’t be discouraged – keep the posts coming!  Meanwhile, here are a few things you can do to help gain a following:  Continue reading “Tips For Making Your Blog Reader-Friendly [Part 2]” →

Technology

Tips for Making Your Blog Reader-Friendly [Part 1]

Joy Morin

With today’s advances of technology, there are many new blogs popping up about music, piano teaching, and everything else under the sun.  This is a wonderful thing!  It’s great when people can freely share their expertise, ideas, and resources with others via the web.

However, if you’d allow me, I’d like to offer some DO’s and DON’T’s about blogging.  New bloggers often make rookie mistakes, and I’d love to help you avoid them. Among these tips, you will find ways to make your blog more accessible and reader-friendly.

If you are just starting or thinking about starting your own blog, this post may be a better place to start.  Today’s post is more in depth for those who’ve already gotten their feet wet.

Without further ado, here goes…!
Continue reading “Tips for Making Your Blog Reader-Friendly [Part 1]” →