Rhythm Search
Today I want to share a printable my students love! Rhythm Searches are my fun music version of word searches. A rhythm search is easy to use in private lessons and/or group lessons. I've made two levels to start with this month. Level 1: 4/4 time 1 measure examples...
Professionalism in the Piano Studio
At the MTNA Conference this past March, Phillip Keveren presented a showcase sharing about his newest compositiona from the past year. He started by saying "A woman came up to me and said 'You really composed a lot this last year!' And I replied. 'Well you know what,...
Advice To My Younger Self
After just over twelve years of teaching piano, I still love it. When that amazing adult student performs that piece she’s wanted to play for years. When that six year old races in to tell you about how she learned the entire piece in one week, even though it was her...
Why, What, and When You Should Play on Your Studio Recitals
I frequently see teachers ask on piano teacher forums "do you perform in your studio recitals?" This is often followed by, "do you play at the beginning or the end?" and "what kind of piece do you play?" When I was growing up I never saw my teachers perform, besides...
Creating a Music Memory Map
It's recital season and that means memory time for most students! My students memorize their recital pieces, unless they are playing a duet with me. But sometimes they need a little bit of help solidifying their memory and getting the pieces totally recital ready!...
MTNA Conference Highlights (Spring)
It is always a privilege to be able to attend the MTNA national conventions. I think I am enjoying them even more over time as I get to know more teachers across the nation. I can only imagine in 20 years how many good friends I will be reuniting with at each MTNA...
Pizza Rhythms – Free printable flashcards and worksheet
Do you have students that struggle with eighth-note rhythms? Through my years of teaching I've seen many students battle with counting eighth-notes correctly. I don't think the concept of eighth-notes is actually that difficult, but I think that maybe with simpler...
Profiles of Adult Piano Students
I first experienced the joy of teaching adult students as a graduate assistant during my Master's degree and was assigned to teach an evening "Piano for Pleasure" course. From that first class, I learned how much I enjoy teaching adults who have chosen in their own...
10 Tips for Transfer Students
With my move to Utah this year, I have a whole new set of piano students at the University I'm teaching at now. It's always a new challenge for me to have one transfer student, but this year I have had a bunch of transfer students all at once! So many learning styles...
The Case for Starting the Alphabet on A
Out of context, the title of this post may seem silly. Why would we start the alphabet on any letter other than A? But in piano pedagogy some older methods teach the music alphabet starting on C and I have encountered some transfer students who have learned the...
10 Ways to Play 5-Finger Patterns – Free Printable and Activity
I like to start teaching students 5-finger patterns pretty early in study, beginning with C and usually continuing around the circle of fifths as they are ready to learn new patterns. There are many benefits to learning 5-finger patterns and I feel that they are...
2017 at 4D Piano Teaching
Welcome to 2017! Things have been slow around here at 4D recently, but we have big things planned for the year ahead! We started this blog back in February of 2013, and it's hard to believe it's already been four years since then. We've been through seasons of...