Favorite Pieces
Looking through the TMTA Fall 2013 Publication, I was intrigued by the title "Top Five Teaching Pieces" compiled by Teresa Crawford. On this page, thirteen teachers across Texas had sent in their favorite teaching pieces. I loved reading through the list and hope to...
Discover Chord Play
A few months back I shared about Forrest Kinney's series Pattern Play. This is a series with ideas and inspiration for improvisation as a soloist, in a duet, or even in a trio or quartet. Forrest Kinney has a new series called "Chord Play: The Art of Arranging at...
Fruit Rhythms – Free Printables!
In pedagogy class while planning for group class one day, my professor taught us her favorite way of teaching 8th notes. She showed us simple flashcards with words for students to say and clap along. After she introduced the words alone, she put several in a row. Once...
2 Must-Have Products for your Studio
My husband worked a part-time job at the Container Store this summer, which resulted in several Container Store shopping trips because the employee discount is great! Out of these shopping trips I found two products that I love having in my studio. The first item is...
Adding Improv to Piano Lessons
One of my students is currently moving through Level 1 of Piano Adventures 2nd edition books and often in lessons, we come across one of the new improv pages. Can I just tell you how much we enjoys these activities?! The titles of the improv sessions remind students...
Ideas for Teaching Modes
Modes are sadly neglected in my piano studio far too often. We already have so much to cover for theory so I am ashamed to say very few of my students know what modes even are! A few weeks ago, I had a flash of inspiration to try introducing modes to my students as...
Summer Composition Ideas
Last week, I sent my students away with a list of new pieces and technique to learn over their short break before the summer semester begins. Now during breaks, some people think teachers just get to kick back and relax... It may be true for some people but for me,...
Summer Blockbusters in the Piano Studio
Summer seems to be the perfect time to shift the focus to pop and other "fun" music for piano students. It seems to always be a struggle to find good pop arrangements for my younger students but I've recently found some great books that I thought I'd share with you....
Discover Pattern Play
Are you familiar with Forrest Kinney's series "Pattern Play"? If you're like me, you've seen the ads in American Music Teachers, seen the books at convention, and maybe attending a publishers showcase given by Forrest Kinney. I had seen these books around, but never...
Music of Maria von Martinez
Piano teachers have many tricks up their sleeves to motivate students. One of my favorite ways to get students going is to find the perfect piece for them - something that peaks their interest and makes them WANT to learn. I still remember when I was 14 years old and...
White Key Storytime
One of my favorite activities to do with a beginner is teaching the white keys. While each method has a different pace and time for this, most students are so excited to be learning the key names and moving off the black keys! Today I wanted to share how I teach the...
Carnival of the Animals
Looking for ways to expose your students to more "classical" music? I've found Camille Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals to be a great, accessible set of music for even the youngest students. This semester in my "Music and Keyboard Explorers" classes for 3 and 4...