Notable Music Studio

Rhythm Roll!

2012-02-08T12:20:00.000-05:00

I wanted a different way to drill rhythm and since I have so many "active" games for doing this, I wanted to come up with a calmer version. I also wanted to use my new Googly-eye dice, so I put together what I'm calling...Rhythm Roll!

The game is a "bingo" style game requiring the player to get 5 across diagonally, horizontially or vertically. And...this game takes a bit of strategy!

In addition to the game boards (there are 6), the game requires 1 standard die (or fun googly eye die!), 2 rhythm dice and tokens. The rhythm dice have a whole note, half note, dotted half note, quarter note, two connected eighth notes, and a quarter rest on each. I bought mine, but you certainly could easily make them.
At the beginning of a turn, the player must decide whether to use the google die or one or two of the rhythm dice. In order to cover the numbers on the game board, they must roll one or two rhythm dice, add up the total beats and then place a token on the matching number. If they are looking to cover a lower number, they may want to choose only one die, whereas a higher number, such as 8, may require rolling both.

The standard die or googly-eye die is used to cover the note values. If they roll a six, the player can cover the note values that add up to 6 beats.
Once a player is close to 5 across, it will certainly narrow down their decision as to which die to use!

This is sure to be a hit! If you would like to use this game in your studio, you can download the game board and instructions here!

Enjoy!

Panda Trek!

2012-02-06T19:08:00.000-05:00

One of the skills that I knew I needed to work on more with my students was to have them actually "write" some of the terms we often talk about. We practice drawing clefs and writing time signatures, but though we talk about tempos, can they spell them? How often do I ask them to draw a fermata or a repeat sign?

Well, I wanted to fix that problem and thought it would be fun to practice all those terms using a game! To go along with our World Music theme and to add a game to the day we study the continent of Asia in one of my camps this summer, I entitled it Panda Trek!

This is sort of a "hide and seek" type game. Each student is given a game board which consists of a grid with the numbers 1-24. The game cards with the card number on the back side give them a challenge to complete and corresponds with the same number on the game board. They might have to draw a sharp or flat, draw a rest or note, or spell out a tempo such as andante or allegro.

The object is to find all 24 game cards and complete each square on the game board. This game is for elementary level students although if using at a group lesson, it would be easy to put more advanced students together with younger students and let them work in teams so advanced students get an opportunity to help "teach" the younger ones.

If you would like to use Panda Trek in your own studio, feel free to go here and scroll down to the bottom of the page to print it out! The file includes the game board, instructions and the game cards. Pages 2-5 are the game cards and are designed to be printed with pages 7-10 as the back side of the game cards. I laminated my game boards so that I could reuse them, but it's certainly not necessary.

If nothing else, I hope this game spurs some creative ideas in your own teaching!

Snow"fall"

2012-01-29T19:10:00.000-05:00

January brought us our first snowfall of the year, but it also became my first (and hopefully ONLY) injury of the year. After I finished shoveling my front steps and sidewalk, I slipped and fell, very painfully dislocating my right shoulder! It took 2 doctors 3 attempts and 4 hours to get it back in place! Not something I EVER want to experience again. (Gives me a good excuse to never shovel again, right?)

Consequently, I'm confined to a sling that immobilizes my arm for the next 3 weeks. I have a wonderful team of musicians at church who have graciously stepped in to fill some of my responsibilities (Thanks Val, Kyle & Joy!) and last week I cancelled all my lessons to give myself a week to recoup.

My lessons will be more guiding and lots of left hand only demonstrating, but I have such great students and parents that I have no doubt that we can make this work.

Blogging may be sporatic for the next few weeks since pecking with my left hand (I'm right-handed!) is a slow process, but I have some new games and activities I've been working on and want to share with you so stay tuned!

Googly Eyes!

2012-01-18T22:29:00.000-05:00

Inspired by a pin I saw on Pinterest, I put together these cute dice to add a fun twist to some of our games!

Googly eye dice!

They are so adorable and the kids love them! They roll well too, despite the fact that the eyes are not flush to the foam.

With so many colors and sizes for both the dice (these are 2" squares) and eyes, there is really no limit to the fun you can have!

All you need is a couple of foam dice, googly eyes (21 per die) and some glue. I used E-6000 glue since it's VERY adhesive to almost any surface. With all the rolling around these dice are going to do, I wanted the eyes to stay in place!

I used a regular die as an example to get each side correct and easily put them together in less than 15 minutes!

Now doesn't this add a unique element to make learning just a bit more fun?

Terminology Crossword Puzzle

2012-01-17T20:44:00.000-05:00

Even though it's January, I've started making plans for my summer camps this summer. Each year I put together at least one new camp so in addition to planning it out, I have activities and games to make. One idea that I thought I would do this year was make an outdoor crossword board. I wanted it to be oversized and to quiz some of the common terminology we are working on in lessons.

So, here's what I did...

I went to my local hardware store and purchased a piece of plywood 2' x 2', 4 one foot squares of ceramic tile and a container or pre-mixed grout. The grout was the most expensive at about $8.00 for the container. All in all the entire amount was less than $20.

Now keep in mind, I have never tiled before, but I've seen a few home improvement shows, so I was pretty sure I could handle this! After applying grout over the entire piece of plywood, I laid the tile down evenly and let it dry for about 36 hours.
The grout suggested 24-48 and 36 seemed a good compromise!

Then I started applying the grout between the small tiles. I thought I would be smart and put grout in a baggie, cut a small piece off the corner and squeeze small even lines where all the grout should go. It worked great....for about 4 small squares! Then it started oozing out all over my hand and made quite a mess! Well, deciding that if it was going to be a mess, I might as well make it a controlled mess so I used my fingers! It worked great!

I applied grout to about 1/2 a square and then used a wet sponge to wipe the excess off the top. Leaving it too long without wiping it may result in dried grout all over the top. NOT what I wanted to happen!

Here's a look at the result! Once it was dry...about 4 hours later...I made sure it was completely clean and then I added number stickers to match the "plan" I had put together for the words and clues.

As you can see, I laid it out on paper making sure to use only 12 squares each way. In fact, as I was putting it together, one of my students came to a lesson and his mom spent the lesson time helping me put it together! Thanks, Beth!

Once that was complete I needed to make the letters. Since I have a die-cut machine, I was able to quickly whip up all the letters I needed as well as a few extras in case a letter should get lost.

Here's a look at the way the crossword puzzle will look once it's completed. I think it came out great and I know the kids will have a great time trying to figure out the words that go with the clues! It is slightly heavy, but it stores easily standing up. All of the letters fit easily in a snack-size baggie. I didn't add anything to the edges but may ask my husband to add wood. For now though, it will work just fine!

Now on to the next project!!

Compositions are on the Rise!

2012-01-05T22:15:00.000-05:00

I've been encouraging quite a bit of creative composing over the last month and it has yielded some amazing results! Several of my students have risen to the challenge and have been working on and completed some fantastic pieces.

This brother and sister team decided to take one of the songs they were working on out of their lesson book and add a duet part. I think it seemed more fun for them to play together rather than always having me play with them! It was wonderful! So very creative and so enjoyable for me to see them work together as a team!

Here is the result of a written composition by a 5-year old! She is currently working through the second book of Pianimals so she plays by reading letters only at this point. Because of all the theory I've been working on with her, she knows that eventually she will read notes rather than letters. Here is her version of "My Country Tis of Thee"! Totally adorable!

She sat down to play it for me and although it didn't sound like the version we all know, she play very distinctly, one note at a time! She told me that the very long note at the beginning of the piece meant that she should hold that note longer! Works for me!

She was very proud of herself and was thrilled when I made a copy to keep. She was also very proud of the way she played and very excitedly told me, "I'm remembering my curly fingers!" (code for rounded hand shape!). LOL! Don't you just LOVE this job?!

I hope you are encouraging composition in your studio as well. I find that my students get very excited to work on their own pieces and the more they do it, the more they come to love it. It's especially exciting for them to take it to another level and perform and record them!

A Week of Fun Activites

2011-12-21T19:43:00.000-05:00

I'm so sorry to be absent for so long! It's been a very busy 3 weeks between my studio recital, directing our church musical and dealing with a bit of broncitis...not to mention getting my home ready for Christmas! I'm finally in a more relaxed week, with just teaching lessons and doing lots of baking!

As far as the studio goes, I've had lots of VERY distracted kids over the last 2 weeks...as I'm sure most of you are experiencing as well! Sitting at the piano for the full lesson...even 10 minutes has been a challenge! So, I've tried to keep lessons low key with a focus on games and musical activities. Here are a few pictures of some of the games we did:

A fun game of Musical Sorry between siblings! This is a game to test and reinforce intervals. You can find all the details about the game I adapted and the cards I put together here.

A fun game of Dominotes! This is a wonderful game to test rhythm and my 5 year old scored 100%. I was so proud of her! Played like the game of regular dominoes, you match up note values. I used a simpler version with my student and she really excelled at it.

And of course, I had to pull out the Keyboard Snowflakes for a few scavenger hunts for my younger students!

All in all, it's been a productive week. As long as they are moving around or doing something fun, we've been able to reinforce learning! I hope you are finding ways to keep your students focused as well!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:53:00.001-05:00

Meet the Composers!

2011-11-22T19:25:00.000-05:00

My last homeschool class was such a success, that I was asked to squeeze in one more 4 week class before the end of the year. This time 15 kids registered! We had a fun and exciting time today at our first class! I wanted to spin off the class we just had, but make it independent since I knew I would have some students who weren't at the last class. So I put together a class I called, "Meet the Composers!".

Today we started with a look at Frederick Chopin. I love the series, "Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers". The kids really seem to respond to them. They are colorful, have funny little jokes throughout and really help make what could be "dry" facts come alive!

My friend, Becky (who I've mentioned many times on this blog) helps me with all of these classes as well as the camps. She is a wonderful reader so I had her start out reading the book on Chopin.

Since Chopin was a child prodigy, we talked about what that meant and then I showed the kids a YouTube video of Umi Garrett playing Chopin's, "Fantasie Impromptu". They were pretty amazed!

Part of what I wanted to accomplish with this class was to help them realize that any of us can be a composer - that you don't have to be dead, old or wear funny wigs!

With that in mind, I did a fun game with them to work on rhythm and then I handed out a bunch of small cards with the letters of the alphabet on them. After they got in groups of two or three, I had them put the two octave sets in order. Then I had them connect them all together and showed them how the music alphabet kept going! They really liked this simple activity. I also played all the notes on the piano starting with the low A all the way to high C and named them outloud as I played just to reinforce that after A-G came A-G again.

Now came the fun part! Let's compose our own song together!

I had each student randomly pick 2 musical alphabet cards and give them to me. I lined them up in a long line across the floor. I then pulled out a diatonic set of boomwhackers and handbells and gave one or the other to each student.

After a bit of practice with them, we played our "composed" song. They were very excited to know that it was the first time their "song" had ever been played! They decided to name it the "Boom-a-Bell Song"! Cute, huh?

Well, we didn't stop there! We then decided to play it backwards! Of course, then they had to name it the "Bell-a-Boom Song"! So funny! And so clever! They laughed, giggled and got SO excited to do this activity! After a few run throughs, I touched a bit on what harmony meant and rearranged the cards so they played two notes together. I was very impressed at how quickly they caught on and how well they played. We also played ALL the notes together (shaking the bells and rapidly whacking the boomwhackers on the floor) for the last note! Of course that part was their favorite!

This was the last activity we did in the class, so they all left VERY excited! I plan to build on this composing activitiy as we practice more over the next 3 weeks!

The 12 Days of Christmas - Notable Music Studio Style!

2011-11-15T21:19:00.000-05:00

My studio Christmas recital is December 2nd and we are in the process of all the planning and practicing as I'm sure many of you are as well. It's always my goal to create an atmosphere of quality musicianship, but I also want it to be fun. I want students as well as parents to enjoy the evening together. So...this year as part of my recent group workshop, the students and I worked on a little "surprise" for their parents!

I put together a Notable Music Studio version of the Christmas song, "The 12 Days of Christmas" and the kids worked together to figure out who would do what part. We had SO much fun practicing and they're really excited to share it with their parents in a couple of weeks.

Here's our version:
On the first day of Christmas, Miss Sheryl gave to me...The One Minute Club for Note ID
On the second day....2 rhythm sticks
On the third day....3 guitars strumming (3 young guitar students I teach will strum together!)
On the fourth day...4 beats a measure
On the fifth day....5 BA-CH Bucks!
On the sixth day...6 Continents to Conquer
On the seventh day...7 Music letters
On the eighth day...8 notes an octave
On the ninth day...9 flashcard drills
On the tenth day...10 flashy fingers
On the eleventh day...11 finger puppets
On the twelth day...12 Major scales!

Of course, we'll have lots of visual aids to go along with the song and occasionally, we added a few extra "expressions" that work with it! When we originally starting practicing, I gave them some things to hold up/use but as we went along, they came up with some really great ideas to work into it as well! So fun and SO creative on their part!

Doing something like this is unique and fun, but it also gives my students something fun to look forward to! It really helps to offset some of those nerves! Are you planning something unique or fun for your recital this year?

Do You Have THIS Resource at Your Fingertips?

2011-11-13T19:26:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday, I had my second group workshop for this year. We did a few fun things to get started, but then I had a guest speaker - actually it was the dad of one of my students! To go along with the Mission:Music theme, I planned to talk about world music at each of my group lessons this year. This particular dad had grown up in Brasil and travels there at least twice a year. For about 30 minutes he talked with kids about Brazil and Brazilian music. They loved it! He even brought a couple of brasilian instruments to show them and let them play.

Unfortunately, I was so engrossed it was he was saying that I forgot to take pictures!! (I've GOT to work on that problem!)! I already have another parent lined up for our group lesson in January. She is a professor of Japanese History at the University of Connecticut so we'll be getting lots of information about Japan and Japanese music!

Having said that, I would encourage you to "know" your parents! Is there a way that you can use them to create a fun learning experience for your students? Send out a questionnaire or just spend a bit of time talking to them. You may find a wonderful, FREE resource right at your fingertips! My experience has been that my parents are happy to help in any way possible, and it's nice for your students to be able to learn from a new face and voice in your own studio!

Great Articles to Read

2011-11-08T20:58:00.000-05:00

In my latest peruse through the internet, I found a fabulous site - Pianocareer.com. The author, Ilinca Vartic is a Russian pianist and teacher. I read through her recent posting on the use of the piano pedals and then watched the videos. She is wonderfully articulate and does a beautiful job of explaining the techniques and the mechanics of the pedal. I immediately thought the videos would be a great addition to a group class for intermediate and advanced students.

She also has several other articles that I briefly looked and also seem well done. I'm looking forward to checking her site more closely. As an added bonus, if you subsribe to her site, she will send you a free download - "A New Perspective on Piano Phrasing: How to Transform a Boring Performance Into a Captivating One in 3 Creative Steps"!

If you haven't seen it yet, I would encourage you to head on over and take a look!

The Piano - From the Inside Out

2011-11-02T13:16:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was the last day of my recent homeschool class and we ended with a "bang". Naturally since I teach piano, I wanted to highlight it! I arranged for my piano technician to come and talk to the kids and take the piano apart for them.

We even invited their parents to join us! The first thing Amy did was to ask the kids what types of materials they thought were used to make a piano.
They came up with all kinds of suggestions - many of them quite accurate!

It's even amazing to me how many materials including how many different metals are used. Amy even gave them a tactile approach.

She showed them the differents felts, leathers, hammers, and working mechanics. She even let showed them a pedal!

All of the pieces you see here were passed around for them to touch and see up close. They loved this!

After these were all passed around, Amy pulled out a working model to show them how all of the pieces worked together.

This model enabled them to see everything up-close and watch the mechanics as a key was played. A far different view from just looking inside the piano - especially if you have an upright!

From there, Amy proceeded to pull the action out of my piano.

Now THIS got their attention! There were lots of "Wows" and loads of excitement. They had been asking questions all along, but this invoked tons of questions!

This was a great way to end a 6-week long class! Amy did a fabulous job and was great with the kids - very patient and exciting to listen to!

As a fun way to follow up on this, I had them watch a YouTube video where our friends, "Tom and Jerry" also showed us the inside of the piano.

VERY fun! Lots of laughs. This video would be fun at a group lesson where you talk about the piano - even if you don't have a technician do what Amy did.

Incentive Program

2011-10-19T17:50:00.001-04:00

After last year's very successful "RoadTrip USA" camp where we studied American composers and American music styles, I decided the next camp I would put together would be a trip around the world. I thought it might be fun to visit France, Austria, and Japan (to name a few!). Unlike previous years, I decided I wanted to try to tie in my incentive program with the camp. I really liked the idea of culminating the year-long incentive with a super fun week of fun activities and additional learning. As I was working through it in my head, along came Jennifer Fink and her great incentive program "Mission:Music!" .

I wasn't about to re-invent the wheel when Jennifer had done such an amazing job of putting this together! I did add my own twist to it so it worked for my kids and we've been "traveling" together since last month. Here are a couple of things I did:

First I picked up this adorable box shaped like a world traveler suitcase. I stumbled on it at a Michael's Craft Store - 1/2 price!

Here's what it looks like inside...a great place to store all the supplies for the program.

I also added a "Practice Passport" where the kids can put in their practice times and have their parents sign off on it.

I wanted to make the studio a bit more festive so while I was thinking about what to do, I saw this post and decided to make these fun pennants!

I had also found some great die-cuts of countries at a scrapbook store so I picked them up thinking I would come up with some way to use them this year. I decided to hang them up with the pennants and used tiny little clips to hold them on.

One of the other things I did was to make a poster that I have on an easel in the studio. All of the kids can see it and can tell whose got their name up and keep track of where they've been on their trip around the world!

I've already started working on ideas for the camp so it's been a pretty exciting month and a half. The kids are really loving the challenges and watching how everyone else is doing as they work on it.

A Gentle, Faithful Servant

2011-10-13T21:09:00.000-04:00

In January, I was contacted by a gentleman asking if I would teach him to play piano. He said that he attended a small church and that each week they had to sing acapella since there was no one in the church who could play the piano. He wanted to learn to play so that he could be the one to play for them. He's 72 years old.

I have to admit, I was happy to teach him, but really skeptical that he would accomplish his goal. Almost from the beginning, I took a different approach. Rather than work through a method book, I have been working with him using books with simplified hymns. He has been practicing them VERY faithfully. As we've been going through lessons, it has become clear to me that he can't really read. I don't believe he ever finished school. Last week, he excitedly said to me, "I can read music!" It just about brought me to tears.

Today when he had lessons, he told me that his church is having a Saturady night where they get together, have food and sing hymns. He wanted to play one of his hymns for them so I asked him to pick the one he was considering. He played "Father of Our Fathers" and he played it so well and with such beautiful musicality, it almost brought me to tears AGAIN. (I really am not usually like this!) He's already well on his way to accomplishing his goal. And I'm well on the way to realizing not to doubt the spirit of determination!

He told me his church has been praying God would send a piano player. I believe God is answering their prayers through this gentle, faithful servant and I'm humbled to be a part of it.

Red Light, Green Light...with a musical twist!

2011-10-04T20:29:00.000-04:00

I had lots of "wiggly" homeschoolers in the "Meet the Orchestra" class today, so I knew we needed to do an activity or two outside. It was supposed to rain all day so I'd planned for a completely indoor class. With a bit of quick thinking and a few note value cards, I adapted the game of Red Light, Green Light. When I asked the kids if they'd like to play a musical version, they were super excited!

Unfortunately, when I pulled my camera out to take pictures, it said "low battery" and of course, I had none on hand! (Ugh!) So, you'll have to use your imagination! Here's how I played it with the kids...They all stood in a line and I shuffled through cards, that contained a whole note, dotted half note, half note & quarter note. When they were ready, I picked a card and yelled out the note and the number of beats. They could only take steps forward that matched the number of beats in the note - If I said dotted half note, they were able to take 3 steps forward. Obviously, they tried to take BIG steps.

At first I had to remind them of the number of beats, but eventually I had them figure it out. If they went too many steps they had to go back to the beginning line. Every now and then I would yell "the entire song" which meant they could just run...UNTIL I yelled "Fermata!". Then they had to freeze!! They LOVED it. We played a few rounds and then went back inside. Wouldn't you know though, through the rest of the class, anytime I said "fermata!", they would freeze and be perfectly quiet!

Really wishing I had come up with this idea the first week...

LIVE Music Rocks!

2011-09-27T20:46:00.000-04:00

Never under estimate the power of LIVE music! My friend Joy brought her bassoon to my homeschool music class today and I think I could have sat down and watched her conduct the entire thing! The kids LOVED it! I almost hated to pull them away so that we could do the rest of the activities for the day!

Joy started out by taking her bassoon out of the bag piece by piece explaining what each piece was called and showing the kids how to put it all together. She talked about the reed and how it vibrated and after playing silly things on the reed only, she played them the bassoon part from the Sorceror's Apprentice!

The kids loved it so much that I asked her to play it again! Talk about a way to captivate!

From there, Joy talked about how an orchestra tunes to the oboe. As a fun way to help the kids visualize this, we had a tuner handy. We asked one of the kids to hold it facing everyone and as Joy played a note, the kids had to use their arms to point left or right to let her know if she was playing sharp or flat!

They really loved this and watched those red/green lights carefullly! After that, she played them the part of the grandfather from Peter and the Wolf and then we showed them a portion of the cartoon on YouTube. They wanted to watch the entire video but due to time constraints that wasn't possible. I gave the link to their parents at the end of class so they could watch it at home.

At this point, it was hard to convince them that we had "other" fun things to do! Joy did a great job and I could tell they were all itching to try a bassoon.

I realize that I'm a piano teacher, but I also strongly believe my role is to foster a love for all types of music - even if it means teaching them to love bassoon!

New Faber Resources

2011-09-22T08:25:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had the great privilege to attend a workshop presented by Randall Faber. This was my first opportunity to not only hear him speak, but to also hear him play. What talent!

Besides sharing about all of the updates in their 2nd addition of many of their method books, he shared some great pedagogy tips. I loved his attitude toward teaching - engaging the student and trying to increase their curiosity!

In addition to all the great tips we received, it was also an opportunity to see some new resources available. One is a new sighting reading book that goes along with the primer level. What a great addition! The sight-reading book is designed to encourage students to play one each day of practice - with the focus on playing, not practicing! It has wonderful, playful artwork and I'm confident this is a book I will make use of often!

There was also another amazing resource - The Teachers Guide to the Primer Level. This amazing book takes the teacher through every piece in the lesson book - page by page. It provides sections labeled, "Let's Get Started" - tips to introduce the new pages, "Explore and create" - ideas to encourage creativity using the piece, "partner pages" - ways to use the theory, technique & artistry, performance and sightreading books to compliment the lesson book, and "pedagogy pointers" - what the piece is designed to do and suggestions to enhance your teaching! The guide also includes a DVD with teaching examples for every page!!

It is well done and is nicely put together in a spiral bound format. A great addition to any music studio! The pedagogy tips alone are worth the price of this book! If you use the Piano Adventures method books, I would strongly suggest you check out both of these!

Offering Music Classes

2011-09-16T17:36:00.000-04:00

Wow! I didn't realize how hectic my week was going to be! I started lessons again this week and as you know, that means geiting used to new students and everyone's new schedule! I thought I was prepared only to realize that I have to make a few adjustments in my planning!

I also started a weekly homeschool music class.   I was contacted over the summer to see if I would put together a 6 week class for a group of 13 homeschoolers. Even though the grade levels vary from Kindergarten to 6th grade, the class is working out surprisingly well. I adapted a camp I did last year and they are loving it! The kids were all very attentive and excited. With that in mind, I thought I would share why I believe this is a good investment and would recommend it for any independent teacher.

1. It's an additional source of income.
I charged for the class and added a materials fee to cover the expense of booklets I put together for the kids. I did some quick research to find out what other programs in the area were charging groups like this for their classes (art, nature, etc.) and charged the same. Within less than a week I had these 13 kids signed up AND all of them paid for the class UP FRONT! Be sure to insist on this so that you aren't stuck paying for materials you won't be reimbursed for. I also made sure they understood that it was a non-refundable fee which is common for every other business offering special classes.
2. It's a way to fill timeslots earlier in the day.
I have found that generally homeschooling parents like to do lessons in the morning and then take their kids to special classes right after lunch. As you know, most students are looking for "after school" lessons so filling the time before school ends is an easy fit.
3. It's a way to build your reputation.
I was thrilled to hear that my reputation as a teacher was extremely positive on this homeschool forum. Of the eight families represented, seven of them were new to me so the additional goal is to give these seven families the best experience I can. Hopefully when they are looking to do music classes in the future, I'm the first contact. Another way to ensure this...offer the coordinator of the event something free. I let the coordinator of this homeschool class bring one of her children for free. She was thrilled! It's a great way to add more "buzz" about who you are and what you offer.
4. It's a great marketing tool.
Remember that every family/person that you interact with is a potential student. If you can get them coming to you on a weekly basis, they get to know you, your teaching style and the quality you offer. One parent has already contacted me about putting her two children in lessons...after only one week of class!   Believe me, if you offer a quality program, you'll gained several marketers - free of charge! It's also a way to "interview" the child and her parents. You see them in action for 6 weeks and you'll probably have a good idea what to expect from the child AND the parents!
5. It's a way to keep you thinking creatively.
It takes time to put together the material, but besides benefiting the "attendees" of the class, your students will gain from it as well. All that creativity easily transfers to your own workshops and weekly lessons.   When you put together a game/activity for a homeschool class, you've just added to your arsenal of games/activites for your studio. A win-win!

I'm thrilled with the results and hope you consider trying something similar. If you do, please let me know how it works for you!

So good to be back!

2011-09-08T15:45:00.000-04:00

After a difficult week and a half, I'm back! Hurricane Irene came and went and left a lot of damage in our area. I lost power 10 days ago and just recently got it back. It has been frustrating since this week was supposed to kick-off for my fall lessons and also the start of a homeschool music class that I had put together. Everything had to be pushed back a week. Thankfully I have a wonderful set of parents that have been very understanding. Other than losing power and having to clean up a lot of branches that blew down, we didn't sustain any major damage. I am very thankful for that! Thank you all for your prayers.

Now that I have power back, I'm rapidly printing and putting together everything I need for my first group workshop. This workshop will include lots of games/activities to remind them of all of those things they may have forgotten over the last month or two and I'll introduce our incentive program for the year. I'll share more details after the fact!

It's nice to be able to see what each of you are doing as well! I so appreciate electric power!!!

Irene

2011-08-27T20:17:00.000-04:00

Bracing for Irene due to arrive tomorrow...would appreciate your prayers!

A Little of This, A Little of That

2011-08-25T22:25:00.000-04:00

I'm still busy getting lots done, but thought I would share a few purchases I recently made for the studio.

Meet Ricky, The Rhythm Raccoon! I've been wanting to include a puppet in the studio for awhile, but until recently, I wasn't able to find "just the right one"! Isn't he adorable? I plan to use him with my younger students as we work on some rhythm activities together.

His little paws are already quite good at clapping! Based on a couple of other stuffed animals I have in the studio, Ricky is sure to be a big hit!

I recently found this stamp at a craft store.

It works perfectly to add to a visual picture of scales, key names, fingering, etc. similar to these wonderful ones created by Susan Paradis. Since I'm a stamper at heart, it works well for me to use this stamp with my students' assignment pages.

Really loving this find!

One of the things that really frustrates me when doing lessons, is all the writing I have to do. Between student assignment pages and my personal notes, it was getting difficult to hold everything! And near the end of the year, despite my attempts to count correctly, some student assignment binders would be out of assignment pages so I'd have to stop and make copies during a lesson!

My solution! Or at least I hope it is! This clipboard opens up so that there is storage inside. My plan is to have blank assignment pages inside and fill those out to add the student binders each week rather than try to juggle their binders. I also will keep sheets for my own notes - all in one place. This way I'm only holding one thing rather than trying to juggle my stuff and theirs!

I've already been using it for my own organization and I think it's going to work well for me. I know there is lots of technology out there that people are looking into and trying, but for me, this is a great fit. At least for now...
What new "toys" are you using this year?

Studio Reorganization

2011-08-17T19:06:00.000-04:00

Like many of you, I'm always looking for ways to improve storage in my studio. This summer, I did a large overhaul in the studio. One of the biggest reasons was to add more room for group lessons and activities and to have a space for movement (especially with my younger students). To make room for that space, I had to streamline my storage. Here is the result:

I mentioned these cubes in a previous post and finally took the step and added them to the studio. I actually went to my craft room and "stole" them to use in the studio (and yes, now I have to deal with the mess in the craft room, LOL!)

I really LOVE the result. Most of the drawers are 13" square so they are nice and roomy to hold games, rhythm sticks, or whatever I need. I have labels that include note id, rhythm, terminology, scales, intervals, ear training, etc. Everything is well organized and easy to find, visually pleasing and completely out of the way! I was even able to store my handbells in one drawer using drawer dividers!

The next thing I did was to remove my desk or should I say, my table. It took up a large amount of space and I found that it was more of a dumping ground then a work space. Since I have a laptop, I can easily work at my dining room table or even on the couch. I don't miss it at all.

I put my printer on a small cupboard which nicely holds the printer paper and all that colored cardstock we use so much, added a rug and as you can see (sorry, not the best lighting in this picture!) now I have lots more room!

I am really happy with the results. It also feels so much cleaner and looks much more professional.

One other thing I did was to eliminate the rolling plastic cubbies I previously had near the piano. Everything is now in those great cubes! Because I still needed a surface in that area, I moved my small bookcase over there.

The rolling carts were always moving around and things would fall down between or behind them. Now everything feels and looks so much more organized.

Now that I've mostly finished cleaning and organizing, I'm starting to put together my incentive program, all the student binders and get ready for our kick-off group lesson next month! I hope your plans are going well and that perhaps I helped give you a few ideas that will make your studio work more efficiently for you!

A Tabletop Resource!

2011-08-16T22:40:00.000-04:00

Recently I bought this fabulous resource and I have been thrilled with it!

This tabletop pocket chart worked wonderfully at my latest Discovery Camp, as you can tell by the cards I made to go it in. Because the pockets are in rows, I added cards to a row (or two) each day we had camp to remind them of the concept we were learning. Each day I was able to review them with a wonderful visual resource! This picture shows day 2 of camp after we had learned the letters of the musical alphabet and our finger numbers.

I'm excited to use this resource in group workshops as well. Once you determine your plans, it's easy to make your own cards/visuals! I can envision using it with a composer study - add the name of the composer to the top and then add cards with his/her compositions or composer facts. If you study a composer a month, this would be a great reminder for your students to look at each week.

Other ideas include using it to work on composition skills, using it to work with your incentive program, building rhythm cards, or even using it for studio anouncements. The really nice thing is that it's really versitle! And when you're not using it, it folds down flat, making it easy to store!

Digital Pianos

2011-08-13T11:45:00.000-04:00

It's a busy time of the year for many of us...getting ready for the fall start up. Here in Connecticut we start back up in September, so I've been buying music, working on my incentive program, cleaning the studio - actually rearranging it a bit and putting together lesson plans. One of the things I've really been looking into to purchase for the studio is a digital piano. I've been looking around a bit and researching, but thought since so many of you have them, I would ask your advice!

I would love to use it to do recordings as well as orchestrations and as a second piano in the studio. There are also so many amazing apps out there that work with a digital piano and an ipad that I would love to explore. So, would you be so kind as to help me out and let me know what your experience has been and what you would suggest I purchase? Also, if you know of the best place to purchase one, I would love that information as well.

Thank you!

Piano Discovery Camp

2011-08-03T22:40:00.000-04:00

I thought I would just share a few pictures of Piano Discovery Camp. That camp (and the last of 3) finished up last week. I had 8 campers this time and it was a wonderful group of 7 girls and 1 boy. Although I have a definite plan for each day, I always start out the day with a coloring or craft activity so that kids who come early have something to do until everyone arrives.

On this particular day, they were coloring a picture of a little girl playing a piano (part of a nice set of pictures supplied by my piano technician).

This particular camp is only 1 hour per day, but I try to pack in loads of activities because the attention span of 4-5 years old can be pretty short! Like so many of my camps, I always include activities for rhythm, terminology and in this case, fingering and the musical alphabet.

One of the ways I reinforced note values was through a bit of a relay since active learning works so well!

I found these fun buckets that stack within themselves and are perfectly numbered 1-4 so I picked up a couple of sets. I made some note value cards (quarter note, half note, dotted half note and whole note) and gave each of the campers a set.

I stood near the buckets and called out a note name. They had to run down and put the right card in the right bucket. They loved the game so I switched it up a bit and had them play the "teacher" to see if I could do it also!

And yes...I managed to pass!

I always include physical activites since it keeps them attentive and I find they learn quicker when they're moving.

This picture shows an activity we did on the first day. I simply made large (8 1/2" x 11") sheets each with a letter of the alphabet in different colors. We practiced saying the musical alphabet together and then I scattered the letters and had them put them together in order and then in reverse.

They really loved this game and it sure was simple to put together!

Of course, we also had lots of time at the piano and with 8 kids I had to be a bit creative! Thankfully I had help at this camp, so my friend, Becky kept them going on different activies while I took each child to the piano. Besides making sure they were grasping what we were working on, I also use that time to evaluate whether I think they are ready for regular lessons.

If you don't already put on a pre-piano camp. I hope you consider putting in the time. They are so fun to do! And spending time with these adorable little ones is so worth it. They love the attention, love music and really learn quickly.

And when they tell you they "LOOOOVE music camp"..., it makes it all worth it!

Just a little more...

2011-07-21T23:47:00.000-04:00

Just a few more pictures about what we've done this week. Tuesday was Wild West Day so we celebrated western style. Here's a quick look at some of the activities we did throughout the day.

After hunting for all that gold, I had them build measures that we clapped together. Then they got the opportunity to try to stump me by building a group of measures they thought would be really complicated for me to clap! They really had a good time with this entire activity! Who knew a pile of painted stones could be so much fun?!

With the help of my amazing husband, we also put together a really cool, western obstacle course. After given them a term name or definition, each camper had to navigate the course to grab the correct term and then navigate back through the course to hand the term to me.

They loved this as well and kept asking to do it over and over again. Of course, we timed their run so they were trying to be the one who could do it the fastest. That was fine with me because they were still doing loads of learning!

I think crawling through the tire was the favorite spot!

Of course, we had to do a little line dancing! The kids did great at this and they really had fun! In fact a couple of them went home and tried to teach it to their parents!

Our American composer for the day was Aaron Copland. We listened to his life story and then listened to "Rodeo" while watching an actual rodeo on YouTube.

Of course, we also listened to some folk songs and then learned to play the spoons and the washboard while listening to "Oh Susanna". They did extremely well at this and really kept a nice steady beat! They surprised even me!

I had found a photo cutout so we took pictures of the kids, put them in homemade rustic frames for the kids to take home to show their parents.

Overall, another fun day at the Notable Music Studio! Tomorrow we head to Hawaii and all that water...

RoadTrip USA!

2011-07-20T20:30:00.000-04:00

Today was day three of RoadTrip USA! and I have to say that other than the heat, this has been the best week and best camp I think I have ever done! We are having an absolute blast so I just had to share this day with you!

Today was "New Orleans" day so I set up the day to be carnival style. Here's how we went through the day...We started out singing our theme song, a fun song my friend, Joy put together to the tune of "Yankee Doodle", then we went inside and made our masks.

I bought inexpensive plastic masks and a small bag of feathers. Add some Sharpies and some tacky gems I had in my craft room and they went to town!

They were very creative and it was a fun activity to do together.

Here's the group with 2 of my helpers standing on either side!

From there, we listened to the story of Duke Ellington.

This is my friend and very creative right arm, Becky. She has been reading one of these books each day to the kids. She is an excellent reader and although the books are exceptional good, her reading skills have kept them captivated!

From there, we went outside and tried (emphasis on "tried"!) to learn to swing dance!

This was the hardest of all the movements we have worked on this week. Unfortunately the heat was also working against us, but the kids really tried hard and I was proud of all of them!

Then started the carnival! The kids were each given 10 tickets and had 6 areas of music themed adventures to try. They paid 1 ticket to do the event. If they won, they received anywhere from 2-4 tickets back and were able to use them at the end to buy popsicles, bead strands or something from the prize box. Here's a look at the areas we used...

A shooting gallery! Those are soda cans marked with the letters of the alphabet. They were shown a note on the magnetic staff and had to "shoot" the right can with a water gun, trying to knock it over! They did a few of these in order to win extra tickets!

This is a toss game. The balls are all labeled with a letter from A-G. They each had 15 tries to get all 7 letters of the musical alphabet in one of the 2 hula hoops. They loved this game!

This area was all about terminology. They had to look at cards with terminology symbols on them. If they guessed 5 correctly, they got to throw a wet sponge at one of the leaders. This was one of my great teen helpers! Thanks, Mackenzie!!

Every carnival needs a duck pond and ours was no expection...I called it "Notable Floatables"! Each floating critter had a letter name on the bottom. Once they picked up a critter in the pond, they had to place the correct note on the magnetic staff board. We also did a few fun games at this area using intervals.

We had two areas that worked on rhythm. One was the bean bag toss aka "Red Beans and Rice" toss game and...

a ring toss game! In both the bean bag toss boards and this one, they had to try and build measures of beats!

The kids spent about an hour and a half on the carnival and then we got together again and did a fun activity to drill terminology using the parachute!

Overall it was a fabulous day! Several kids told me it was an "awesome" day! I was thrilled because they really seem to be retaining all the information we've been working on with them!

Tomorrow we travel to New York City!

Just like when you have company!

2011-07-15T17:04:00.000-04:00

I was recently discussing accidentals with one of my students. She's 8 years old. I was explaining that an accidental stays the same through the entire measure and then changes back when the measure is completed at the barline. This was her response:

"...Just like when you have company! Everything changes while they're at your house, but changes back to normal when they leave!"

What a great explanation! I'd say she understood completely, wouldn't you?

More Camp Happenings!

2011-07-13T17:41:00.000-04:00

Since I have so many campers that have no prior musical experience, I wanted to introduce the musical alphabet in a fun way. So, I pulled out my parachute and labeled 14 stickers with the letters of the musical alphabet! I put a sticker on each of the campers and the two teens I roped into helping this week so I had 14 players. Perfect for 7 letters of the musical alphabet times 2! I was careful to put two campers with the same letter on them across from each other.

Everyone held a handle on the parachute and we practiced counting with steady beat while we lifted the parachute up and down. Then, I randomly called a letter of the musical alphabet. The two players with that letter, ran under the parachute as it went up and tried to reach the other side before we brought the parachute back down towards the ground.

The kids loved it! It was a great way to reinforce steady beat and the musical alphabet. I tried tricking them by naming some random letters such as "H" and "Q" but they were quick to let me know I had it ALL WRONG!

We also played, "Tic-Tac-Terminology!" If they could answer a terminology question correctly they they were able to chose a spot to sit on the tic-tac-tarp! Of course, it was a wet tarp and periodically it had to be "cooled down"! As soon as one team got 3 in a row, they won!

Tomorrow they will have the opportunity to be quizzed on an individual basis to try and earn individual medals. It should be another fun day at Music Olympics!

Camp Happenings!

2011-07-12T21:20:00.001-04:00

I'm right in the middle of the first of 3 summer camps - Music Olympics. We've been having a blast! It's been really sunny, but also really hot and humid! On the first day, we made use of this area for lots of hydrating!

Since we all melted on the first day, I changed up the camp a bit last night to use games that included lots of water! And of course, there's always the hose for a quick cool off! All the kids know to wear a bathing suit this week!

We've been taking loads of pictures which I'll put together after the camp, but for now, I thought I would show you a couple of fun things we've been doing...

There are 12 kids attending this week and most of them have minimal or no music experience, so I did a quick game to reinforce the musical alphabet. This was actually one of the most hilarious races I've done yet. I was laughing so hard, I could barely take pictures! I pulled out the flags that I used in another camp (found here) and staked one set out for both teams. Then, I supplied them with an extra large pool noodle. That's it for supplies! The first team member had to put the pool noodle between his legs, run down to the flags and pick up the "A" flag. Then run back, drop the flag and pick up another team member! Now they both had to run down with the noodle between their legs and grab the second flag or the "B". As the game progressed, they picked up flags and picked up team members! It was SO funny to watch!

We actually had so much fun with this race, that we did it twice - once to pick up the notes in order and once to pick them up in reverse order...and of course we had to race down backwards to pick them up in reverse!

As a way to help eliminate the heat, I made these fun sponges last night:

There are super easy to make. There are actually lots of sites showing you how, such as this one. They're inexpensive to make and really quick to put together. I used them to drill note values. Each team member was shown a note and had to tell me the name of the note/rest and how many beats it represented. If they got it right, they got to grab a sponge (loaded with water, or course) and throw it at a leader. You can imagine the motivation to get the answer right!

Of course, the leaders got to retaliate...and we were the only ones allowed to use the hose...

Gold Rush! (with a music twist!)

2011-07-06T07:22:00.000-04:00

We will be visiting the Wild West one day on our trip around the United States! And you just can't go without experiencing a gold rush! And of course, we're planning one with a musical twist!

It's a pretty inexpensive activity too! If you would like to try it, here's all you have to do: Gather up some stones from your yard and spray paint with a can of metallic gold paint! Once they are completely dry, grab a permanent marker and draw a note (quarter notes, half notes, etc.) on one side of each one. That's it! Here's a quick look at my paint job!

To play, simply hide (maybe in plain sight...) the stones around your play area. Give the kids a time limit and let them search! Show them rhythm cards to see who can be the first to find "gold" that builds that card. You can even tell them to find gold that equals a certain number of measures in a given time signature. Once that activity is done, we'll lay the rhythm cards in a grid and do activities together where the campers work to clap the rhythms correctly.

Oh, and while your out West...play some fun folk songs! Fun, Fun!

Road Signs!

2011-07-05T09:05:00.000-04:00

It's only 6 days until Music Olympics! and only 13 days until RoadTrip USA! Yesterday I spent the day putting lots the details together for RoadTrip USA! (Music Olympics is completely done.) and thought I would show you these station signs I made:

Each day on our "trip" we will visit the rhythm station, the note identification station, the musical terms station, the road tunes station and the movement station.

Here is the sign for the rhythm station:

Notice the musical terms on the stoplight? I thought that would be a fun reminder!

I used foam core boards (20"x30" cut in half so they are now 15" x 20"), lots of cardstock and my Silhouette die cutting machine! My craft room is now a disaster, but I got them done! :)

Here is the Note Identification Sign:

At this station, we will do loads of activities and games to learn and reinforce notes on the staff. Of course, those activities and games will have the "flavor" of the area we visit!

And the station sign for Musical Terms:

Musical terms and symbols will take on a whole new meaning when we visit this area!

Road Tunes...

It's all about ear training at this station! We will be doing lots of listening and lots of learning about American composers!

And the sign for the Movement Station:

Here will we learn a bit about different styles of dance or movement that fit the musical styles of the area such as line dancing in the Wild West or a hula dance in Hawaii!

Each one of these signs will be set up outside (as weather permits!) so that as we venture on our trip, we have destinations to stop at.

There will even be a traffic officer in the area! He will be watching for speeding campers and those that fail to observe the rules of the road! Yes, we even give out tickets at camp! After all...this is a road trip and we must observe the law!

It's getting pretting exciting around here!

I Love New York!

2011-06-30T20:46:00.000-04:00

Living just a couple of hours from New York City, I knew without a doubt, it was a place we had to include in our stops during RoadTrip USA! Of course, no visit to the great city is complete without at least one ride in a city cab! It's quite an experience!

So put together some rhythm exercises, a board featuring the streets of New York and a taxi or two and you have a really fun way to learn!

Of course, New York City also requires a visit to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I've put together our own visit by way of the Liberty Staff Scramble as a way to review notes on the staff. We'll also be visiting Times Square, or should I say...Times"Signature" Square to test our terminology knowledge!

If you make your own visit, you may even find us on Broadway! Aren't summer camps the best?!

The Busy Activities of Summer Camps

2011-06-26T21:47:00.001-04:00

With the recital and evaluations behind me, it's on to Summer Camps! I've actually been working on my newest camp, RoadTrip USA! for the last few months, but now that I'm down to the last 3 weeks, I'm knee deep in supplies and planning! I'm actually just about done and thought I'd give you a sneak peek at some of the activities we're doing.

Every road trip needs some documentation, so my amazing friend, Becky helped me put together these adorable travel logs for each of the campers:

I'm working on stickers they can add for each of the "destinations" they visit during the week. They will also be writing bits about each of the composers we study! Super cute!

Of course a road trip across the USA absolutely MUST include a stop at our nation's capital! And while we're in D.C., we're going to do some fun patriotic activites - - -

So I gave my friend, Becky a sketch of a game board I needed in order to drill the campers on their musical terminology. Keeping in mind that Congress makes our nation's laws, we're playing a game that drills the "laws" of music!

This is what she made for me. Isn't it awesome!? She's amazing!

All of the numbered squares are actually pockets which will contain musical terms - everything from volume dynamics, tempos and general symbols. A camper calls out a number and after seeing or hearing the clue, tries to come up with the correct answer. If they do, they get to keep the card in an effort to add the card to their team's pile. If they miss it, the other team gets the opportunity to give the correct answer and secure the card. The team with the most cards wins!

We'll be having a bit of a discussion about laws, why they are important, and why musical "laws" help us to become better musicians.

Of course, this game is only one of many activities we'll be doing throughout the week. It's a busy time, but I'm having so much fun putting everything together and I'm very appreciative to Becky for helping me out!

I hope your summer plans/camps are shaping up as well!

Student Evaluations

2011-06-23T20:27:00.000-04:00

This week, instead of typical lessons, I've been doing student evaluations. This is a time when I sit with each of my students and at least one of their parents to talk about how we're ALL doing. Since we're just coming together after the recital, everyone is usually pretty excited. Depending upon the age of the student, I have them first complete an evaluation on themselves or I do it with them (meaning I ask them the questions and record their answers). Then we discuss their evaluation together before I give them my assessment.

I was really surprised at how well it went this time and how closely my students were quick to be honest and open about their efforts (good or bad). I was especially impressed with my youngest students because they really thought about the answers and were really sharp in their assessments of themselves. I have pretty amazing students!

It was great to have an opportunity to talk about our future goals and any changes we think will be helpful. It also allows me time to get quality input from parents. They enjoy the time as well and have expressed how much they appreciate it.

Do you put together evalutions? If so, is there any results from particular parts of your evaluations that have changed the way you do lessons? What kind of questions do you ask? I would love to hear your feedback!

Marketing with Facebook

2011-06-21T14:27:00.000-04:00

I'm not a technically saavy person. Period. Everything I know on the computer is self-taught since personal computers were "non-existent" when I went to school. But, I certainly recognize how important new technology is to my business. So...I depend upon my kids to help me out and a lot of other people who take pity on me!

I've been watching the Facebook craze and will admit that I have a Facebook page. BUT...I'm terrible about keeping up with it because it seems so time consuming. I even set up a page for the studio, but wasn't sure that I even did it correctly! I recently stumbled upon this article and thought I would pass it on to all of you. It's loaded with all kinds of information - literally everything you ever need to know about Facebook and how to use it to market your studio.

When I have more time (after camps!), I hope I can read through it all and make changes to what I've done. If you are using it now or know what you're doing, please stop over! I would love to meet you! But please, be patient and don't laugh because...I'm not even sure I can remember my password!!

Recital Details

2011-06-14T22:39:00.000-04:00

I've been very busy the last week with the all my "year-end activities" as I'm sure many of you have been. Just this week I had to finishing grading projects and complete grades for the Christian school I teach at, finishing getting ready for our year-end concert at church and complete all the details for the studio recital this Friday. Pheww...I'm ready for a long nap!

Since the recital is so much on my mind as I'm sure it is or has been for many of you, I thought I would share how I get ready. Here's a checklist of sorts...

1. The date - I schedule both my Christmas recital and my spring recital when I set up my studio calendar in August. This means that I have already made arrangements with the church for those dates. By setting them up ahead of time, it also gives parents the ability to plan in advance and mark their own calendars.

2. The facility - This is easy for me, but for some of you this may take a bit more planning. I would strongly suggest that you arrange this as early as possible.

3. The sound system - I would strongly suggest you try to have a sound system available to you. It certainly makes it easier when you can use a microphone rather than trying to talk loud enough to a larger crowd. Since I know how to run our system, I don't usually require a soundman, but if you don't have the ability or you want to also record, you'll need to arrangement for that person.

4. Music Selections- If you want to plan a theme recital you'll want to plan it at least 3 months ahead of time. This will allow you to pick out music for your students and give them plenty of time to master each piece. If you require your students to memorize their music, they will need extra time for this as well. I gradually increase the amount of practice and lesson time to these songs as the recital gets closer. During the last couple of weeks, we mainly devote the entire time to just recital pieces. It's important that each of them have the best experience possible when they perform.

5. The Program - I always print up a program for my recitals. I have them almost complete about 2 weeks before the program and then use as a guide during the last couple of weeks of lessons. There always seems to be last minute changes, so I'm glad to have one to use to make those changes quickly during a lesson. For example, I found out that a parent of one of my student would be slightly late to a recital. I was able to quickly move the student further down in the program so that the parent would be sure to see their child play.

6. Awards - My spring recitals are also award nights. This is the time I award students for their hard work all year. This year I'm giving out awards for completing the incentive program, practice awards, composition awards, improvisation awards, Note ID awards and technique awards. I also have an award for my 4 year old - the "fun"damental award to honor her hard work learning the basics through games and activities. Depending upon what you choose to do, you may need some lead time to order trophies or to print out certificates. This year I will be giving out trophies, certificates and ribbons.

7. Reception - I always have a reception after the recital which gives both the parents and my students an opportunity to get better acquainted. My parents all bring a treat to share and I provide drinks and paper goods. I also have a wonderful friend who helps me decorate, makes the coffee and punch and helps out wherever she can. I also have some wonderful parents who could easily fill this role although, because my friend attends church with me, she knows where to find anything/everything we need!

8. Photography - This is always a great thing! If you have someone who can take pictures for you, make use of them! In fact, consider a professional. You may even be able to get a photographer as a way to build their business. They take pictures and offer them to parents. You provide a service and the photographer gains some customers.

9. Guest Artists - As musicians, we know lots of other musicians. Invite one to perform at your recital! This year I have a friend who will be playing bassoon and I will accompany her. It's a great way to show your students the results of hard work, but it's also a way to share other talents and instruments with your students.

10. Encourage your students - Recitals can be scary and we can all relate! Spend lots of time in the weeks before encouraging your students and making sure they are solid on their music. In fact, help them to have fun with the entire process. We practice what to do several times leading up to the night - both in silly ways and serious ways. On the night of the rehearsal, I usually take them all to another area of the church and do a silly, fun activity with them to try and help calm their nerves. They also know that I'll be right there if they need help during a performance. After the recital, I'm also quick to let each of them know how very proud of them I am - regardless of how it went.

I really excited for our spring recital!

Composition Craze!

2011-06-08T23:15:00.000-04:00

There's a lot of blog postings about student compositions such as a post here by Anne Crosby Gaudet (fabulous!) and this one by Jennifer Fink (also fabulous!). I'm not as techno-saavy as Anne (and I certainly wish I was!), so Jennifer's ideas have great appeal (since they are easier for me to actually accomplish!)!! I actually have two of my teenage students who have been working on compositions. They have put them in Finale and will be playing them in our studio recital next Friday night! I'm super proud of both of them.

Another fun thing I am doing with one of my students at the recital is a bit of improvisation. I'm planning to read the book, The Song of Middle C by Alison McGhee while one of my students improvises in the background! He and I have had fun figuring out how to dramatize page by page! This is a silly book about a little girl who is playing in her first recital and all the nerves that go with it. We thought it would be a fun recital "opener"!

I love to add a bit of wimsy! I know many of you have already had your recitals but I wondered what fun things you may have incorporated this year. It's certainly is helpful to learn from each other. I LOVE all the blogging friends I have made!

Adding a Musical Twist

2011-06-02T09:56:00.000-04:00

After yesterday's post, Wendy Stevens of the fabulous, Compose Create asked me to give some examples of games from the book, Great Games! that I converted to music games. I'm still deciding which ones to use in one of my camps, but here are a couple of ideas you could use in group lessons or your fall kickoff:

1. Matching Animals - this is an indoor game that uses a deck of cards. Each player chooses an animal to be identified by for the first round. The complete deck of cards is dealt out (face down) evenly to all players. The game begins by having players take turns turning over a card so that all the players can see it. The object is to make a match (two 10's, two Q's, etc.) and be able to yell out the animal name of the person who played the original card (not the player who just laid it down) in order to keep the match. Players are given points for the number of matches they collect in a round. The round ends when all the cards are used.

To add a musical twist: Use flashcards instead of a regular deck and make pairs (two G's, two A's, etc.). Instead of animal names, try using composer names - For example, if you are studying Baroque composers with your students, give them names like Bach, Scarlatti, Purcell & Handel. I'll bet they'll remember those composer names better! You can also try matching rhythms or matching musical terms with their definitions.

2. Quarter Team Toss - Requires quarters and some bowls. Divide players into teams of two. Gather 3 regular bowls (preferably non-breakable) and 6 quarters for each team. Place the bowls a determined distance from a designated toss line. Teams earn points by tossing quarters that land in one of the bowls. Greater points are given for the middle bowl.

To add a musical twist: Ok...that's a fairly simple game, but how about if we added a bit of a challenge? Add a few more bowls, label them quarter note, half note, dotted half note, etc., hand your students a pile of pennies (after all...who can afford quarters right now??) and have them build measures. Give your students a time signature, say 4/4, and have them try to be the first to build a determined number of measures. Or...set a timer and have them add up the beats to see who can get the most before the time runs out. This is always a great way to reinforce note values!

3. Over-Under Showdown -Requires two balls (or balloons) and can be done outdoors or indoors depending upon the type of balls you choose and the amount of space you have. Divide students into two equal teams and give each team a ball. The teams line up in a single file line about 2' from each other. The first player faces forward and hands the ball to the player behind him by passing the ball over his head. The 2nd player then passes the ball to the player behind him by passing it through his legs. The 3rd player - over his head...etc. Once the last player gets the ball, he runs to the front of the line and play continues until the player that started the relay gets back to the front of the line. The team that finishes first wins.

To add a musical twist: How about working on our tempos? And let's not worry about making it a race. Keep the same method, but call out "Andante", "Allegro", "Presto", etc. and of course, you just have to throw in a ritardando or two! Or maybe change it up by calling out "crescendo" so they have to spread out from the front to the back and then randomly yell "decrescendo" so they then have to tighten their distance back up! You could also do the entire game to music and have them pass the balls on the beat!

OK...I could keep going, but I do have lots of lessons today. I hope this gives you some ideas and maybe helps you to know if this book would be a good resource for your studio. Have a great day!

A Plethera of Games

2011-05-31T22:13:00.003-04:00

As I've been planning for upcoming music camps this summer, one of the resources that has been a big help to me has been this book:

Although it is not a game book specific to music, it is loaded with games that, with a bit of imagination, can be easily adapted. I've had so much fun reading through it - imagining ways we can review notes on the staff, rhythm and musical terms while playing games, running relays or playing cooperative activities.

One big plus about the book is that it features no or low cost preparation using things you would normally have around your house. It features games for 2 people up to huge groups so many of the games would work in your studio one-on-one with a student as well.

It's laid out by family/group games and children's games both which are divided into indoor and outdoor games. A great resource for your studio and especially great if you plan camps or group lessons!

Sound and Lighting!

2011-05-25T14:40:00.002-04:00

I love working with teenagers, but sometimes it can be challenging to find ways to get them really excited about learning music. I recently started teaching an adult who plays beautifully but struggled to read music and wanted to improve his playing. We've had a great time together and I soon discovered that he was in charge of all the lighting and sound for all of the shows that come through Foxwoods Casino (it's about 15 minutes from my house). I'm not a casino fan, but having this casino and Mohegan Sun (about 30 minutes from my house) nearby, has brought in a lot of huge musical talent to the area. In addition to having the casinos, they also bring in big name artists to perform concerts. I've had really talented musicians just moments away!

Because this student was in charge of all the lighting and sound, I asked him if he would be willing to show me and some of my high school students "how it all happens". He was thrilled to do it, so this weekend we are planning to go over to MGM to see the set up, walk the catwalk and learn how all of it happens! (Now, lest you think I am taking kids to a casino, please note that it is a separate area from the actual casino! They will be nowhere near the gambling!) In addition, he has invited us to come back and see it all happen during a concert.

We all know that lighting and sound play a very important role in concerts, so this is an amazing opportunity for them to get a backstage look at how it all works. I'm hoping they will not only appreciate these aspects more, but I also hope it opens their eyes to other possibilities in music.

Rhythm-Note Race

2011-05-23T12:27:00.000-04:00

Recently I was reinforcing basic rhythm and note identification with my 4-6 graders in the local Christian school I teach at once a week so I put together a game that incidently I will also be using in my studio's group lesson this week.

Inspired by Natalie of Music Matters Blog (Thank you, Natalie!), a couple of years ago I made this treble clef game board. Because it has two different colored circles throughout, I grabbed some flashcards -both rhythms and notes on the staff (Thank you Wendy!), a die, some game pieces and some game tokens and instantly had a way to drill them.

They worked in teams and each had a colored game piece. Each team would roll the die and move their game piece that number of spaces. Depending upon whether the circle was blue or yellow determined their "challenge". If it was blue, they had to name the note on the staff (randomly chosen). If they landed on a yellow square, they had to tap out a chosen rhythm. If they were successful, they were allowed to stay on that circle. If they didn't get it right, they had to go back to the circle they were on before the roll. Obviously the first to make it to the end won! What was also nice was that we had been practicing drawing the treble clef, so they knew exactly which way to follow the circles. An added bonus!

This was such a big hit that the kids were all asking me to play it again next week! This game board is a big hit in my studio as well so I'm sure this game will be just as fun and challenging for my studio students!

Jazzed Up!

2011-05-20T22:10:00.000-04:00

I recently picked up the music book, "Jazzed up! Classics" by Kevin Olson.

I LOVE IT! Of course, I love just about anything done by Kevin Olson. This book is a real gem. Now if you are a classical music purist, this may not be for you, but I found it delightful. Kevin took 7 classical pieces and well, "jazzed them up!". Some of them are in jazz style while others have a more rock or pop sound. They are extremely well done and I found them truly fun to play. They are written for the late intermediate student, but are still fun for the advanced player.

I especially loved "Lula-blue" - a jazzed up version of Brahms' Lullaby. It is sweet and tender. A couple of others I really enjoyed are "Springtime Boogie" - a swing version of Vivaldi's "Spring" from The Four Seasons - and "A Joyful Ode" - a nice arrangement of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy". Each piece in the book is well done and very creative.

This book would make a nice addition to your studio and could easily work as an example of improvisation with your students! It may even encourage them to give it a try!

I finally did it!

2011-05-16T12:26:00.000-04:00

Well, after much thought, research and saving, I finally bought an iPad for the studio!

I couldn't be more thrilled and excited! I've already used it several times in lessons and my students are almost as excited as I am! I have downloaded several free apps including flashcards (it's a whole lot more fun for students to do flashcards with them on an ipad than the handcut paper ones although they have their place too!)

It's easy to transport so instead of taking a notebook, pen, etc. with me everywhere to jot down ideas, planning for camps, etc., I just whip out the ipad! I didn't buy the fancy new version - ipad2. For what I wanted it for, it wasn't worth the expense. The original ipad works fabulous for me and was substantially less expensive.

So, I thought I would ask those of you who have one what your favorite apps are and why. How do you use the ipad in your studio and what apps seem to work the best for you? Has it changed the way you teach and if so, how?

I would love some feedback!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T22:52:00.000-04:00

It is has been a very busy and sad couple of weeks for our family. Our dear friends lost their son this past week. He was 20. He was a good friend to my youngest son, Kevin and we all adored him. I feel for my friend, spending Mother's Day without her son.

It makes me so thankful for my own sons - two young men who are truly amazing, thoughtful young men who love God and love their family. They make me proud!

My wish for you is that you appreciate the amazing people in your own life and that you always remember to let them know how much they are loved!

More music posts to come this week!

Technology and Music Lessons

2011-04-26T16:50:00.000-04:00

I didn't grow up in the age of computers and the internet. Believe it or not, growing up my television would flash "in color" at the beginning of a show instead of "in HD"! I was first introduced to a computer at my job...after college...when "floppy discs" were common! So, all of this technology that is rapidly evolving was never part of my pedagogy training. I have had to learn most of it on my own!

I recently picked up the book, YouTube in Music Education by Thomas Rudolph & James Frankel and found this to be an extremely helpful and informative book. Now, lest you think that I'm entirely ignorant, I have used YouTube many times, but I wanted to make sure that I was "getting it all". I also have this great need to be completely informed. I think it's really important that I stay on top of what my students are interacting with daily. I also want to offer them the best music education I can with the most current technology and training. It can be overwhelming at times, but it's also really exciting at how much opportunity students have today.

I thought I would share thoughts on this book from my perspective. The book touches on topics like how to create a YouTube account, how to creat playlists, participate in groups, subscribe to channels, playback, sound quality and display, copyright laws, how to produce your own videos (a great chapter!) and has over 100 teaching strategy ideas for using YouTube in Music Education. The teaching strategy ideas alone are worth the price of the book! For me, it was a wealth of great information. In those areas that I was unclear on, I now have a resource that will save me loads of time! I also now feel confident to integrate simple productions with my students and basically use YouTube in ways the rest of you probably are already doing!

So, if like me, any of you may be a bit intimidated by the whole thing or you just want to have a great resource, I would highly recommend the book. And just to show that I have some knowledge...here's a fun video I love...

Summer Break Ideas

2011-04-20T19:58:00.000-04:00

In addition to planning summer camps, the studio recital coming up in June, and my end-of-year evaluations, I'm working on putting together ideas for summer lessons. There is a lot of planning for us to do, isn't there? I teach during July, but take August off for vacation and for planning for the new year, so I want my students to be as motivated as possible during the "lazy days of summer".

So, I thought I would take a quick survey to see what the rest of you might have done or plan to do this summer. Would you please share?

Do you put together packets for your students? If so, would you share what those packets include?

Do you plan an incentive program over the summer? If so, what type of incentive have you found works the best?

Do you purchase additional music for your students to work on over the summer? If so, would you share what repetoire you find works the best for independent learning?

I thought I would compile the information here on my blog so that everyone has a list in one place. Just post what you are doing and I'll put together the information for all to see!

Thank you!

The Value of a Registered Piano Technician

2011-04-13T22:56:00.000-04:00

I can't express enough how important it has been for me to develop a personal relationship with my piano technician. I don't mean a piano tuner although my piano technician does tune my piano, but an actual registered piano technician. What's the difference? The Pianos Technicians Guild grants the Registered Piano Technician (RPT) credential after a series of rigorous examinations that test skills in piano tuning, regulation and repair. It's like having an actual mechanic rather than just someone who only changes oil!

I met my piano technician several years ago and quickly discovered that both her AND her husband (also a registered piano technician) work together so I gained two for the price of one! They are wonderful, well trained and well-informed in their skill and I consider them to be the best in our area. In fact, when I was looking for a new piano, they were invaluable with their advice and even looked at various pianos for me to help me make a well-informed choice.

I worked to build a great relationship with them, inviting them to dinner and proposing we work together to help them build their business while they helped me to build mine. I came prepared with some ideas and they quickly saw the benefit. It has turned out to be one of the most effective ways that I have gotten new students and also a way that I provide value to my students.

Primarily, I put their business information in my studio policy as my "technicians of choice" and when I sit down with prospective students I make sure to mention that section and provide them with a business card. When I ran my Mystery Music Camps, one of the days included a study of the piano. My piano technician came (free of charge!) to the camp, took the piano apart and showed the kids how it worked. When I sent notes home with parents that day, I was sure to feature information about her and the contribution she made to the camp. Almost every one of my students now uses them and like me, are extremely happy!  I get asked about a "good tuner" in the area quite frequently, sometimes at the strangest times!  I carry my piano technicians business cards with me and pass them out whenever I can.

In return, they also recommend me exclusively. They are constantly asked about a "good" teacher they might know and yes, they carry my cards too!  The key is that we have both worked hard to build professional, well-respected businesses so it's easy for us to feel comfortable with the referral.

I would encourage you first of all to make sure you are using a RPT rather than just a tuner so that you are properly caring for that the huge investment you use to make your living and secondly, I would encourage you to consider building a personal relationship that helps both of you build your business.

It's been well-worth the investment for me and....I've also gained some great friends!

Kindermusik versus Musikgarten

2011-04-11T21:04:00.000-04:00

As we all know, mornings can be "off" time from teaching since most of our students come to lessons after school. I have found that even homeschoolers prefer afternoons so that they can keep their morning routine. That leaves us with lots of free mornings.

I've been looking into early childhood programs such as Kindermusik and Musikgarten and wondered if any of you use either program or have reasons why you might choose one over the other. I have found that either program is a quite a bit of an expense upfront, so I would like to get as much information as possible to determine if it's worth it or not.

Maybe you've even had some students who have gone through the program. I would be interested to know how parents felt about the program(s). I would appreciate any feedback you can provide.

Summer Plans

2011-04-07T07:41:00.002-04:00

I realize it's only April, but as I said in an earlier post, I'm already working on my summer camp schedule and all the details. This year I am once again running three camps. Two of the camps - Piano Discovery Camp and Music Olympics - will run again this year and I am also finishing up plans for a new one - RoadTrip USA! As I put plans for camps together, I'm also investing time creating games and activities that I can pull out for other events, such as group lessons. This makes future planning much easier!

Piano Discovery Camp - a camp to introduce 4-5 year olds to the piano. The week is filled with fun activities and games designed to teach very basic music knowledge and even a couple of songs on the piano.

Music Olympics - a general music camp designed to teach and reinforce notes on the staff, rhythm, terminology and introduce handbells. The campers compete individually and as a team to try and earn medals.

RoadTrip USA! - a musical journey across America celebrating American music styles and American composers. Each day of camp will celebrate a part of our great country and its diversity of music - everything from hoedowns to swing dancing! We'll also learn the story behind our national anthem! This is one trip I'm looking forward to taking!

This should be a very fun summer! My studio parents now have the list of dates for the camps and I'm getting ready to send out a mass e-mail to all my studio contacts. It may seem early, but parents are already talking about summer plans and I want to make sure my studio camps are on the top of the list! Not only does running camps help to financially supplement the slower summer months, but it's also a great marketing tool! This past year I gained 6 new students as a result! Lets call that "reverse marketing"!

I would love to hear what you're planning to do this summer!

Pianimals

2011-03-28T21:48:00.003-04:00

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Pianimals for young children! I have used both My First Piano Adventures and Pianimals and have found that Pianimals works wonderful for younger children.

Pianimals was developed using the concept that "children who know their finger numbers and learn where to place them on the keys can almost immediately play familiar songs". This method puts strong emphasis on finger numbers and learning one concept at a time. Once children know their finger numbers and where to place their hands on the piano, they can easily play familiar songs. I've also found that after using "Pianimals", it is easy to transition to Piano Adventures (which is normally my method of choice) and soon after teach notes on the staff.

To give you an example, I have a 4 year old that I started in My First Piano Adventures. While she knew all the notes on the keyboard, knew her terminology and was doing fantastic with rhythm, she was resistant to work on songs at the piano. So, I switched her over to Pianimals. What a difference it made!

She loves to play now! She is so much more successful using this approach and she doesn't need nearly as much help. She just came to her first group lesson and played for the other kids WITHOUT a problem! I was so proud of her! It was a huge step! Her mom told me that it has made a huge difference in her practicing at home.

I've been very impressed with the success rate this method has with younger, pre-reading children! If you haven't tried this method, I highly recommend it!

Camp Themes

2011-03-24T22:21:00.000-04:00

It may seem far away, but summer is coming and so are my studio camps! Running camps in the summer is one of my favorite things! I love to see the kids get excited to be with friends and to work together to practice and learn musical concepts. And since I am a big kid at heart...

I recently came across a website that had loads of camp ideas and included a list of 100 Summer Camp Themes. A great list! So if you're thinking about having a camp or camps and need some ideas, this is a great place to start. The site also has some other camp ideas which might trigger some creative ideas!

If you've never done a camp, you should consider it. It's a lot of work, but it's well worth it! I'm planning on running 3 camps this year - 2 camps that I've done in the past and a new one I'm working on right now. I'll be sure to share more on this as it gets closer to summer! In the meantime, I hope you're own planning goes well and that you'll check back and share what you're doing!

Movie and a Snack!

2011-03-23T12:45:00.000-04:00

Today I am having a group lesson for my elementary level students. We will be doing different games and activities that focus on notes on the staff, rhythm and terminology. We're also going to have snacks and a movie...a music-related movie! I am using one of the DVDs from The Composer's Specials Series - Bach's Fight for Freedom.

Although the fun story line is fictional, the basic information about Bach is factual. It's a fun way to present a composer - especially since it's supposed to be a snowy, rainy, cold day! There is also a teacher guide that uses listening maps and reproducible worksheets to prompt discussion about each of the DVDs. So, I plan to pop some popcorn, pass out drinks and get cozy as a part of our lesson together.

Needing a Bit of a "Nudge"

2011-03-21T06:57:00.000-04:00

I don't know if I'm the only one experiencing this, but I have recently had several students who are having problems practicing! By that I mean...they don't want to! I attribute a lot of it to the time of year - It's been a VERY long winter and they are ready for spring, as am I! - but also know that it's making a frustrating time for parents and their home life. Soooo..., at this weeks group lesson I am working on an additional incentive program to try and add a bit more fun and a bit of "motivation" to practice.

I am considering starting a grid type chart for each student. For each week or for each day they practice well and don't give their parents a hard time about it (obviously parents will have to sign off on this!), they earn a sticker in the chart. The program would last until June (about 8-9 weeks) and those who managed to get a predetermined amount of stars would earn a special "Practice trophy" at the June recital. I also thought about adding a bit of competition...to see who can put in the most practice days between now and June.

Before I finalize it, I wanted to ask all of you if you are having the same problem and if you have any suggestions for ways to add a bit of "enthusiasm" at this time of year. Would this idea appeal to your student? Would you do it another way? I would appreciate any ideas you have or things you have used that worked well.

Dry-Erase Savings!

2011-03-20T18:21:00.001-04:00

I recently read a blog entry by Anne at Pianoantics about the Crayola Dry Erase Activity Center and thought it had great possibilities.

I laminate almost everything and by laminate, I mean apply contact paper by hand. I've become a "professional" at it, but it does get costly. I've justified it since reprinting things can be even more costly. But if there is a way to save money, I'm all for it!

So, today after church I stopped by our local Michaels to check it out. Not only did it look like it would work well, but it's on sale this week for 50% off! So for a mere $7.49 I was willing to try it! I bought it and checked it out when I got home. I am thrilled with it! It is well made and works fabulously. By simply slipping in a worksheet or composing sheet or even a game, you instantly have a dry erase board to work with!

I sure wish I had seen this sooner! I would have saved quite a bit of money! Thank you for letting us know about it, Anne!

Birthday Wreath

2011-03-16T21:52:00.000-04:00

My sweet friend Rachel made one of these balloon wreaths and inspired me to make one for my studio. I kept thinking that it would make a fun birthday wreath where I could attach my students names or pictures during the month of their birthday. Wouldn't they love to come in the door with this on it?

It is made with a straw wreath and balloons are attached all over it with greening pins (found in the flower section at a craft store). Not only is it adorable, but it was fun to make. And what child doesn't love balloons?

It's really a fun addition. I bought the wreath and the greening pins at Michaels and the balloons at the local dollar store. Like Rachel, I needed about 250 balloons and greening pins to make it nice and full. I used a 14" straw wreath.

Now all I need to do is attach my student's name or picture during their month. I plan to put it up at next week's group lesson with all of the January through March birthdays and then keep it going throughout the year!

Super cute!

Shamrock Spinner

2011-03-15T12:25:00.000-04:00

I am planning to celebrate St.Patricks Day with games and activities at next week's group lesson, but I thought I should do something little this week since this week is the actual holiday.

So...I made what I call the Shamrock Spinner. I simply bought this large foam shamrock (it's about 12" across), labeled the leaves as you see here and added a spinner.

At each lesson, I am allowing the students a spin to find out which 5 minute activity or game we will play at their lesson. The stem became "your choice" just for added fun.

If you've never attached a spinner, here are some quick instructions. It's extremely easy!

You need a spinner, which can be found at most craft stores, a bead or charm that has a hole in the middle (It doesn't matter what it looks like - this one is heart shaped and I just cut off the loop at the top with metal cutters) and a brad long enough to go through the spinner, the bead and the board (or in this case, the shamrock), and be able to turn the ends slightly on the back.

The charm or bead adds the necessary height so that the spinner spins freely. I also bend the two ends of the spinner up slightly to give it added movement. That's it! Pretty easy, right?

I hope you are having a great week with your students.

Another New Blog!

2011-03-13T21:10:00.000-04:00

If you have visited Anne's Piano Discoveries site, you've already know what wonderful resources she has put together including teaching tools, an online piano method, and theory tutorials. Well, she has just also launched her first blog, Pianoantics! You can access it right on her website.

Though she is just getting started, there are already some wonderful ideas! Love the ladybugs! I hope you will check it out and perhaps even leave her an encouraging comment. Great job, Anne!

St.Patrick's Day Printables

2011-03-09T22:24:00.000-05:00

With St. Patrick's Day next week, I thought I would share with you that I found this site that put together 10 links with some really cute FREE printables if you like to give out treats during this holiday.

There are bag toppers, gift tags, cards, cupcake toppers, etc. Just a bit of something fun that is all ready for your printer! It's nice that others are willing to share and it's nice to be able to add a fun touch to your weekly lessons without much work or expense!

Book Review

2011-03-08T08:01:00.000-05:00

Part of my job at church is to head up the praise and worship team. It's one of my favorite ministries at the church and I work with some amazing, wonderful people. One of the valuable resources I tapped into when I first started this ministry was this book:

If you are considering a praise team/band and are a bit unsure of what to do or how to make it more effective, this is a great resource. It is loaded with information on everything from rehearsals to spicing up your arrangements. It also includes some great information on modulating between songs. This would be a great resource if you are trying to help some of your students work toward being in a band. It has loads of information applicable to that setting as well.

A great book that I highly recommend.

A Storage Suggestion

2011-03-07T17:48:00.000-05:00

I'm a crafter at heart. It seems that if you can make something with your hands, I'm in! Over the years, I have done crochet, knitted, embroidered, sewed, rubber stamped, quilted, quilled, watercolored, etc. In fact, I have a room in my home devoted to my love of crafting and spending time in there is one of my favorite things. One of the storage methods I use in this room are these wonderful stackable cubes:

I LOVE these. They are so well designed and since the cubes are purchased separately, you can put the them together any way that works for you. I've been thinking strongly about using these in my studio.

The cubes with the shelves are the perfect size for storing music. You can turn them horizontally or vertically and the edges can easily be labeled (using a labeler) by level or type. The three drawer cubes would be perfect to store games and activites - again easily labeled by activity (rhythm, note id, etc.) If you conduct summer camps, these would also work well for storing all of the items you need for each camp. If you have a group lesson coming up, you could use one to hold everything you need as you put items together and avoid having "piles" of stuff sitting around (which is my problem!). There are more cube options then you see in this picture and having used these in my craft room, I can envision loads of ways to use them in the studio.

I buy them at Michaels and usually buy them at a 40-50% discount by simply printing coupons off the internet and buying them one or two at a time. They do come unassembled, but I have found them easy to put together and well worth the investment. I also love how organized and orderly they look - which would add to the professional image I want my studio to have.

So if you're looking for a storage option, I would highly recommend these. If I do decide to go with this option and start using them in my studio, I will take pictures so that you can see!

A Unit on Rhythm

2011-03-03T21:36:00.000-05:00

One of the additional "jobs" I do is teach music one morning a week at a local Christian school. I teach grades 4-5, grade 6, middle school and high school. Right now I'm doing a unit on rhythm with the middle school and high school students and I thought I would share a few of things we're doing. A couple of weeks ago we watched the movie, "Stomp Out Loud". If you haven't already seen it, it is well worth the time and investment. It not only shows rhythm through the use of common items, but it's a wonderful example of collaborative playing.

To spin off that idea, I am teaching the students this rhythm exercise:

The reason I love this, is that it requires rhythm, steady beat and group participation. Not to mention that it's pure fun! I also think I might incorporate this in a group lesson with my teenage piano students. I think it would be a great way to enhance duet playing and reinforce steady beat.

Musical Notes

2011-03-02T23:23:00.000-05:00

I discovered a fun game to test note identification. This is an on-line game - great for your computer lab, regular lessons or an assignment for students at home. Students match the note on the staff to a one octave keyboard by simply clicking the correct key as the notes on the staff scroll by. Points continue to add up if they correctly identify the note and click the correct key before the note on the staff drops off the screen. It also automatically continues up a level as the student continually gives correct answers. The game ends when too many of the notes on the staff drop off the screen - I believe they can get 4-5 wrong before it ends.

This looks like a great resource and another option to drill those notes on the staff. It also incorporates sharps and flats as the levels increase so this is a good way to improve quick recognition of those half steps. The only downside for me was that the keyboard is only one octave and the staff uses the full range of both treble and bass so the topography of a full range piano isn't an option, but I think if your student is experienced enough, this game is still a viable tool in your studio.

Give it a try and see if it might be helpful. Do you have other free on-line games you use in your studio? I would love to hear what works for your students.

Rhythm Relay

2011-02-25T14:06:00.000-05:00

As a fun group activity that would help my students build measures and reinforce full counts, I put together a relay simply using white boards and markers. We talked about all of the note values to make sure that everyone was secure in knowledge and then we broke up into 2 teams.

I gave both teams a time signature and then they raced to build a full measure using different notes. Each team member had to be creative and put together different notes from their other team members so it got a bit challenging as they went along. In other words, they couldn't all just put one whole note down!

It was super fun and it really helped students who were less knowledge to more fully grasp the concept. Not to mention that it got competitive (in a healthy way, of course)!

A very simple exercise but it yielded big results. The kids really loved it so it will be something I will certainly do again!

Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend!

Pitch As It Relates to String Length

2011-02-24T00:06:00.000-05:00

I have a really fun activity I do with kids when I do a group lesson on Instruments of the Orchestra. I recently did this at a local Christian school I teach at once a week for the 4th and 5th graders and the 6th raders and they LOVED it! When I focus on the brass instruments, I ask them to tell me the order of each instrument (trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba) from highest pitch to lowest pitch. I usually get a variety of responses so I tell them we are going to "figure it out together" with a fun activity. By using tape (masking or painters tape) or string, we measure out each instrument as if it were uncoiled. Before we do this, I ask them to look at the instrument and tell me how long they think each one is. I usually write down their answers, tell them the correct answer and then we measure it out together (also a good math lesson as we use a yard stick and have to figure out how many yards sticks we need to measure based on the number of total feet!).

Once they see the instruments measured out next to each other, we have a great discussion about how the length helps us determine the high or low of the pitch - which instrument is highest to which one is lowest. This translates nicely into a discussion of the strings on the piano and their pitch - why some strings are longer and thicker than others.

It really is a fun exercise and the kids stay very engaged as we work on it! It's also helps them remember it because it touches all the learning styles - audible, visual and kinesthetic.

Shamrock Measures

2011-02-18T07:13:00.002-05:00

Ok...they say that admitting you have a problem is the first step to solving it...I guess I am obsessed with foam shapes! I couldn't help myself when I saw these little shamrock pieces at Michaels. The bag came with 150 pieces in a bag and yes, I added notes and rests to everyone of them! It actually went quickly - I just worked on it while watching the news one night and simply used a ballpoint pen. I chose 10 different symbols - whote note, half note, dotted half note, quarter note, eighth note, 2 eighth notes together, whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, eighth rest - so I just made 15 of each. Very simple!

I had planned to have a group lesson in February, but because I got sick, I am rescheduling if for March. So, we just have to have something related to St. Patrick's Day, right? Here's how I plan to use them. I'm going to turn them all over (notes & rests facedown) on the table and give my students a specific time signature and the number of measures they need to build (For example, 3/4 time and 3 measures). Each player starts by picking 10 shamrocks out of the pile and placing them face up in front of them. Each player takes a turn trying to build measures with the shamrocks they have. If they use 4 shamrocks to build a measure, but cannot build anymore, their turn is over. They take 4 more shamrocks from the pile and then the next player goes. The first player who can build the specified number of measures correctly, wins. This will also give us a good opportunity to talk about full measures and making sure that we give each note and rest it's full beat.

I plan to use some painted letters I already had to remind students of the time signature. It should be a fun game and the shamrocks are just the right size for little fingers!

Easy storage as well! The cost? About $1.30 (yes...I had a coupon!)!

Amazing Music Activities

2011-02-17T09:20:00.000-05:00

I recently ordered this book from Amazon.com and I am very pleased with it.

The book is full of worksheets and activities covering concepts in basic music, ear training, music styles and famous composers. Along with the composer biographies, there are piano parts for each composer highlighting some of their pieces. These would make great sight-reading exercises.

All of the pages are reproducible and the book is spiral bound making for easy copying. There are riddles, match-ups, puzzles, stories that require naming the notes on the staff to complete some of the words, crosswords,etc.

In the back of the book there are also piano exercises in all of the different styles of music discussed. Again, greatsight-reading exercies to match examples of minuets, waltzes, polkas, marches, ragtime, blues, jazz ballads, etc. for individual or group lessons.

The book is a bit pricey at $29.95, but I think you will find it well worth the expense - not only for the reproducible pages, but for the quality of the material.

ID Match-Up

2011-02-16T07:11:00.000-05:00

I have another game for you today - ID Match-Up! I created this game for some of my students to help them more quickly recognize the staff notes with the keys on the piano. It also helps them to quickly recognize where the same letter name is on the staff.

This game is designed for 2 players - making it easy for you and a student or 2 siblings or even 2 students you may have back-to-back. And the best part...it should only take about 3 minutes to play!

The deck is shuffled and divided in half. There are 76 total cards - 28 keyboard cards and 48 staff cards. I only included notes on the staff - no ledger lines. Each player takes 3 cards off the top of their deck as the hand they start with. At "Go" each player simutaneously turns over the top card of their draw pile. Each player then tries to match the note of either their deck or the other player's deck with a note out of their hand. The first player to get rid of all of the cards in their hand and in their deck wins!

I also made sets of cards in 2 colors - Blue and Green thinking that as an optional way to use the game with younger students, I can also have them match cards by color or by note name - just to keep the game moving.

If you are interested in using this game in your studio, you can find the cards available for download on my website here.

I would love to hear how your students enjoy the game, so please feel free to check back and let me know!

Marimba Ponies

2011-02-15T07:36:00.000-05:00

Maybe many of you have already seen this, but I just came across this YouTube video and loved it! It reminded me to always keep in mind that kids have more ability then we sometimes give them credit for - we just need to make opportunities available to them and not hold back because we think they're too young or too immature to handle it (Just look at the little guy who can barely see over the top!)! Amazing!

Records now in MP3 form

2011-02-14T15:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately - I've been sick the past week so I've only been doing what's absolutely necessary! Hopefully I'll have more energy soon!

I recently found a wonderful resource of old records (anyone remember those?) that date back to the 1950's and 1960's. The resource is Arts Reformation and it has a bunch of wonderful records that have been turned into MP3s and ready for your listening! You can also view the actual original covers of the records such as this one.

This particular record, for example. plays the music of the composer while telling his life story. They were wonderfully done and I love having the opportunity to use them now in my studio! This record in particular would work well at a group lesson or a camp dedicated to composers.

There are many more including titles such as, "A Child's Introduction to the Orchestra", "A Child's Instroduction to the Nutcracker Suite", Introductions to Jazz and Folk Songs, as well as many familiar Fairy Tales. It's a wonderful resource. I hope you take the time to listen to some of them.

It will take you back...

A Want or A Need?

2011-02-07T20:18:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting one of these:

It's not in the budget right now, but I still love to dream so I've taken a look at all of the music apps available (I want to be ready, just in case, right?). There are SO many and I was excited to see loads of options.

We all know that "page turning" can be tough for pianists! With a little help from a product called, Music Reader, that just may be a thing of the past. Designed to work with tablet PCs like the ipad, it boasts that page turning is a thing of the past! (Wouldn't you agree that now my desire for an ipad has turned from a want to a need?) It also claims to hold your entire music library. Can you imagine the storage space we could save?

I'm curious to know if any of you have an ipad and if you use one in your studio or as an alternative to music books. And if you have seen Music Reader, do you consider it a viable option?

Ethan

2011-02-02T20:56:00.000-05:00

With Storm Ethan, came this little guy...

He was the second of twins born right in the middle of the ice storm last night, but unfortunately got stuck in the birth canal and had a very traumatic entrance into the world. My husband found the mother laying down and in a very bad way. He helped the process and brought this little guy inside the house. He looked close to death so I spent the day today (no lessons due to the storm) keeping him warm and bottle feeding him back to health.

You would never know to look at him in this picture that he had been through so much. He's a little fighter! Consequently, we named him Ethan! Right now he is back with his mama (who is doing well)and brother and hopefully she will begin to take care of them both. They are absolutely adorable!

This, of course, is why I didn't have a musically related post today. Maybe tomorrow...I hope you survived the storm and stayed warm and dry. Personally, I am VERY ready for Spring!

Musical Charms

2011-02-01T08:35:00.002-05:00

I stumbled on the site, Fitness Finders and found these wonderful and inexpensive charms.

My first thought was how wonderful they would work with an incentive program or some sort of reward system where my students try to collect all of the colors.
If they were put on a metal jump ring, they could easily attach to the 3-ring binders I use for student notebooks.

If you use recorders in your studio, you can also attach them to the recorders using a 1" metal ring as your students master levels. They would look so cute hanging on the end!

I'm sure you can think of lots of ways to use them! This site has all kinds of adorable charms! I also looked at a few that were "award" related - thumbs up charms, star charms, smiley faces, etc. Wouldn't it be fun to give each student a metal ring at the beginning of the year where they collect music charms as well as other charms for specific acheivements or levels of accomplishments? For example, a charm for learning all of the 5 finger major scales, another charm of a different color for the minor scales, maybe a charm for completing a composer study, or for naming all the notes on the staff under one minute, etc.

So cute! I know how much kids love to collect things so I think they would be extremely excited. It could lead to a very motivating year!

AND...they are Made in America and offer free samples!

Loads of Resources!

2011-01-31T07:28:00.000-05:00

If you've never taken a look at Squidoo, you may want to jump over to this page and take a look at the information I found on Music Lapbooks. There are loads of wonderful links to help you as you plan for group lessons, composer studies, or just want some information to help you share the study of the symphony orchestra. Much of the information generates wonderful ideas for your summer camps if you are starting to think in that direction!

There are entire unit studies on composers already put together for you such as this one done for Handel. All of the links, worksheets, etc. are all right there...just point, click and print! If you are looking for something in particular, just type it in the search. It will bring up more information than you can imagine!

Disclaimer: Beware! Once you get started, plan to be "surfing" for awhile as there are loads of wonderful links to follow with lots of great stuff!

Handbell Ear Training

2011-01-28T08:47:00.000-05:00

My students are very drawn to the handbells I have in my studio. They are always wanting to play them and of course, LOVE the colors!

I use them frequently at group lessons and during camps, but I wanted to try and use them more and possibly incorporate them in regular weekly lessons. The biggest problem, as you can imagine, was adding another thing to a very tight lesson time.

So, I tried something quick. I had my 4 year old student pick a couple of bells in her favorite colors - red and purple - and asked her to play them and then try to find which key on the piano matched the note she heard. It was a bit of an impromptu ear training session!

It required quite a bit of my help, but she started to catch on.

I wanted to try something easier for her, so I had her play both bells, one at a time, and try to figure out which pitch was higher. She was much more successful at that! In fact, we did that one quite a few times!

It took less than 5 minutes, which is good for lesson planning (and for the attention span of 4 year olds!), it added another way to work on ear training, and the handbells will get used more. A win-win in my book!

And just look at that smile...she loved it!

Musical Hearts!

2011-01-27T08:14:00.001-05:00

The gift that keeps on giving...

Another 18" last night...sigh...

Now on to more fun and less exhausting things:

Knowing that Valentine's Day was coming, I was trying to think of some fun activities for lessons as well as the group lesson I have planned for the following week. Once again I picked up some foam shapes (I really don't have an obsession with them! They just seem to work well and stand up to lots of abuse!). Hearts!

I took a sharpie and put challenges on one side of the heart. Name the key, Name this note and find it on the piano, Name this interval, Name this term, Name this note, and Clap this rhythm! This game is obviously for my group of beginners.

There are 35 hearts to a package and I only bought one package at Michaels, but I'm considering buying another. They are pretty inexpensive - $3.00 or so when you use a coupon found on-line for 40-50% off!

Now that they are all labeled, here's how I plan to use them:
I'm going to lay them all out in a path upside down as you see pictured here and the path doesn't have an end or a beginning. It can be in a circle, oval, trail around the piano, whatever...

Each student will stand on one heart of their choosing (without shoes on!). I will start to play a tune on the piano and they will walk from heart to heart to the beat of the music. When I stop playing, they stop on the closest heart and try to complete the hidden challenge. Each person takes a turn. If they complete it correctly, they can stay in the game. If not, they are eliminated and can watch or help by playing the piano for the next round.

The game is played until there is one person left standing or until the time limit you set for this activity is complete. I thought (after I finished writing on all of the hearts!) that I should have put a goofy piano or silly looking note on one and that would be the "old maid" of the set and the heart to be avoided! If I decide to get another set, I'll add that in.

On an individual basis, my students are happy if I hide them around the studio! When they find one and can correctly answer the challenge, they can keep the heart. If they don't, I get the heart! Whoever has the most hearts at the end of the game wins! This should help keep them moving, reinforce all those concepts and help with steady beat as they walk to the music!

"Succeeding at the Piano"

2011-01-26T08:34:00.000-05:00

I belong to the FJH Music Company Club and receive quarterly packets of music to preview. As a part of these packets, I've received copies of the new method books by Helen Marlais - "Succeeding at the Piano".

I've looked them over and like what I see, but I've been hesitant to actual start a student in this method. Why? My method of choice has always been Faber's Piano Adventures. It's what I'm used to, what I really feel comfortable with, what I like and I'm just not sure I want to make the change. But...I want to be open to the idea, so I'm wondering if any of you have made such a switch and wonder how you feel about it.
Do you like this method better? I would love some feedback from those of you who are using it or have tried it! Is it a method that stands well on it's own or should it be used to supplement another method? Do you recommend it and if so, why?

I welcome your thoughts and ideas!

Simple, But Effective!

2011-01-25T07:37:00.001-05:00

I have a fairly new and young student - she's 4 - and I've been working with her to help her learn the notes on the keys. The challenge for me has been to repeat the same concept in different ways so that she doesn't lose interest. Last summer when I was at my local teacher's store, I picked up these fun pointers knowing that the kids would love using them in some way. I pulled them out and had Reese use them to point to the keyboard flashcards as I called out a letter name. The cards were randomly laid out on the table.

She did a great job identifying the keys and had a great time with this activity. She loved using the pointer as do many of my students. What I liked was that I could reinforce the same concept in a fun and different way so it kept my student engaged.

Thanks to Mariel of Fenwick Piano Studio for these wonderfully visual keyboard flashcards. This turned out to be an easy activity to pull out. It was simple, but effective!

A Fun Resource

2011-01-24T07:25:00.001-05:00

I recently came across this website which is loaded with all kinds of printables, games, crafts, puzzles, kids jokes, etc. A great storehouse of ideas and creative worksheets all ready to print out! If you type the word "music" into the google search at the top of the page, you will find some fun music related items, but the entire site is also loaded with ideas and printables for holidays (Valentine's Day is just around the corner!) and for themed events. If you are planning a studio theme or just like to decorate or put together a bulletin board, this is a great site to check out. There are over 50 themes with all kinds of games, activities, puzzles, worksheets, and ideas.

I saw some adorable valentine bookmarks with kids jokes on them - A really fun idea to give to your students around Valentines Day or go to the Kid's jokes section and print out some kid's valentines jokes for some fun during lessons!

Just another resource for your studio! I hope you can find lots of great ideas to use with your students!

Musicality 101

2011-01-20T08:59:00.000-05:00

One of my students recently worked on this piece, "Rainbows are Beautiful" by Pat Heldman Johnson. It was absolutely wonderful and since she was a beginning student, it gave us a great opportunity to work on and discuss "musicality". We spent a bit longer on this piece so that we could work on the dynamics and expression, but in the end it was well worth it! She did a wonderful job and she was able to connect the difference between playing a song and "playing" a song even at 7 years of age.

It has also opened up many opportunities since to discuss "how" we play - that getting the notes and rhythm correct are not all we need to do! If you are interested, you can purchase this piece here.

Are there other pieces that you would recommend? Are there other pieces that your kids LOVE to play and that have made an impact on their playing? I would love to hear your suggestions!

Studio Awards

2011-01-18T06:34:00.000-05:00

I recently read an article by Philip Johnston of The Practice Spot regarding studio awards and it inspired me to put together awards for my students as an added motivation to their weekly lessons. I've been doing an incentive program with them which has been working fabulously, but some of them have worked very hard and will probably complete it within the next couple of months so I wanted to try and put together something to keep them motivated all the way up to our June recital and be something I could use as an ongoing program in the studio.

As I thought about it, I wanted awards to be possible for everyone so I've put together awards for areas such as Note/Keyboard ID, Rhythm, Scales, Theory, Key Signatures, Composition, Practice time, Repetoire, etc. Each student can pick one or more area of study and work on it. In addition, each area of study has several levels allowing a student to acheive the first level (or first award) and continue to acheive a higher level depending upon how hard they want to work! I'm happy to give out loads of awards if it means they are working toward becoming better musicians!

For example, a student may decide to work toward awards for scales. If they learn and can play all of the 5-finger major scales, score 100% on a major scale challenge, and can play the cadences for those scales, they earn an award for the first level. If they continue on and complete the 5-finger minor scales as well, score 100% on a minor scale challenge and can play the cadences for those scales, they earn an award for the second level, etc. The key is to make sure they are solid in each level before I allow them to earn the award and move to the next level.

I do want the final level to be a big trophy, giving all of them something to really work for. The program will continue each year so I want that final award in each area to be a "coveted" award. Those students who acheive the final award in all areas will be given the "Fantastic, Well-Rounded Musician" award (or some such name!) - the highest award of the studio (and an award that will take them years of hard work to complete)!

I will also be adding awards as I go through the year - impromptu awards that fit the year of study or fit areas we are working on as a group or an individual. Or if I have a student who finally accomplishes something he has been working really hard to do, I can make up my own award! It's all up to me! Just another reason I love what I do!

Crazy 8ths

2011-01-17T07:57:00.000-05:00

A couple of years ago, I picked up a game, Crazy 8ths for the studio and I've been really happy with the purchase. Over the years, I have used this set of games many times and it has become a studio favorite. Of course it helps that when my students play against me, I never seem to win (hmmm...).

There are several different games to play with this set of cards so it's easy to pick out a game that works for an individual student or a group of students. The actual game of Crazy 8ths is my personal favorite since it helps reinforce note names in various places on the grand staff.

The pictures on the cards lend themselves to a younger group of students, but some of my teens have played the game and don't seem to mind or even notice. The cards include a repeat sign letting the player have an extra turn, a quarter rest sign which forces the next player to lose a turn and a triplet card requiring the next player to draw three cards if they don't have a triplet card of their own. This game is especially fun with a group of kids because there is also a "musical chair" card that when it is played requires everyone to change their seat and play with someone else's cards. That really adds to the fun!

Weather Policy

2011-01-14T11:04:00.000-05:00

This has been a busy week for me. It started out with my mom having hip replacement surgery on Monday (which went well!) and continued with a HUGE snowstorm! I spent much of Wednesday and Thursday shoveling out of almost 20" of snow (some parts of Connecticut got 30"!)! And...we're expecting more this Saturday and another storm next Wednesday! WHITE is the new color, by the way!

With all of that said and done, my week has also been filled with rescheduling lessons. I very quickly realized that my studio policy does not address the weather issue. Snow is not uncommon here in the Northeast, but it's rare that here in Connecticut we get so much all at once. Because I don't have a full studio right now, I was able to plan ahead, contact parents and reschedule most lessons to earlier in the week but some of my students were not able to reschedule at all.

So, I'm working on putting together a policy that addresses the issue. One that is fair to my students but also fair to me. There is only so much time that I have so rescheduling may not always work. I'm curious to know what some of you do. If you live in an area that gets hit with extreme weather, do you have a policy that addresses those missed lessons? I would love to hear how you handle this type of issue.

Organization Revisited

2011-01-07T08:31:00.001-05:00

One of the other things I have been trying to get done since the start of my Christmas break is to organize my games and activities. It was becoming difficult to find or even remember what I had since there were so many of them. Inspired by Natalie's fun book, "5 for Fun" (which is fabulous, by the way!) , I pulled out all of my games and activities, snapped a quick picture of them and have been putting them together in a three ring binder, organized by areas of learning such as Note ID, Rhythm, etc.

As I was pulling them out, I realized I had many games and activities I didn't remember I had! I had previously put them all in an Excel spreadsheet, which did work fairly well, but often I would look at the name of the game and completely forget what it was or I would have trouble remembering all the pieces I needed for a game unless they were all together (which can sometimes be a storage nightmare!). By putting everything together, snapping a quick picture and putting a quick, organized page together, I think it will work very well.

Thank you, Natalie for such a brillant idea and for all of your hard work putting together "5 for Fun"! I have really enjoyed it!

Making a list...checking it twice...or more!

2011-01-04T08:40:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed family, friends and some rest over your short breaks! I had lots of things I planned to get done and realized all too quickly those plans were unrealistic! I didn't get much done, but I did manage to put together a couple of ideas for my studio. Here is one of them...

I put together these simple sheets to add to the front of each student's notebook. I try to be very encouraging to each of my students and try to point out something great they've done each week. I know that it's hard for me to remember what it was like to first learn to play an instrument and how each and every simple accomplishment should be a big deal. So each time one of my student does something - finally remembers where to find middle C, completes their first 5-finger scale, gets their fingering correct through an entire piece, learns all their notes on the staff or finally remembers the correct rhythm on that passage we've been working on for the past 3 weeks...I want to make a BIG deal out of it. Hence, this little piece of paper to track it all!

By recording it in one place, it also becomes a way for my studenst to see how far they've come and hopefully be a constant encouragement. When they feel discouraged because they are having difficulty with some aspect of their playing, we can simply pull out this sheet and see just how far they've come!

I'm also hoping it might spur on a bit of extra practicing in hopes that their list becomes VERY long! I'm very happy to add lots of extra sheets in their notebooks!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T08:11:00.000-05:00

I hope you each enjoy a very blessed Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior!

The Winners!

2010-12-22T12:44:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the two winners of EarTrainingPro!

They are...Faye who said...
"Great product. This would be wonderful to use when teaching one sibling and putting another sibling on my computer"!

and Janet who said...
"My favorite Christmas memory with my students was the year that I took them to play at the skilled nursing facility where I was doing my music therapy internship. They did a beautiful job and the residents who were able clapped and cheered. After the performance the center brought out ice cream for everyone and the students spontaneously began helping serve. Some of the students and their parents even fed the residents who needed assistance. It was a great afternoon of sharing and love."

Congratulations to you both! I know that you will find lots of great ways to use this product in your studios! Please simply send me your full name and e-mail address and I'll forward the information you need to get started!

Think Outside the Box!

2010-12-21T17:56:00.000-05:00

I'm always on the look out for unique ideas to incorporate into my studio to keep things "fresh and fun". I want my students to look forward to coming and wonder what unexpected things I'm up to! Recently my sister and I took my parents up to Vermont for a couple of days to a few spots they really enjoy. While at one of these places, I spotted this HUGE pencil and thought about all of the fun I could have with it in the studio.

I laid it on the piano to give you an idea of the size! Both the lead and the eraser really work and have added a WOW! factor to our lessons. Every student has asked the same question - "How do you sharpen it?"

Letting students mark off music after they have completed a song is one way I've been using it and they all look forward to having a chance with it so I'm hoping it helps provide an added amount of incentive. Are there fun and unique things you use to keep lessons "fresh and fun"?

A Quick Reminder

2010-12-21T09:07:00.000-05:00

I know it's a busy time of the year and everyone has lots to do this week, but I wanted to remind you that the giveaway for EarTrainingPro is tomorrow at 12:00 noon Eastern time! Be sure to see the details here for your chance to win this opportunity for your studio!

Christmas Giveaway!

2010-12-17T08:18:00.000-05:00

I was recently contacted by EarTrainingPro, an online ear training program, asking me to review the program and make suggestions. I found the program to be a wonderful tool for use in my studio - another great option for my computer lab. The program has drills for intervals, chords, relative pitch, scales, etc.

I have also been given the opportunity to offer 2 of you the use of the program for FREE! (A nice little Christmas gift for your studio!) Simply leave me a comment telling me your favorite teaching memory during Christmas time and you will have the chance to win. If you also reference this giveaway on your blog, you can add another comment letting me know that you did, giving yourself a second opportunity to win!

The 2 winners will be announced next Wednesday, December 23rd at noon (East Coast Time!).

Fun Activities!

2010-12-15T21:41:00.000-05:00

During such a busy time of the year, I'm extra thankful for my fellow piano teachers who come up with great ideas! Thank you to Joy who came up with the idea for making these gems! My youngest student - a 4 year old made great use of them today! (And yes, she did them herself...AND got them all right!)

I also used them for a waiting room activity for my newer students by also making use of Susan Paradis' fun Ornament Bingo. Rather than play it as a game, I just had them work at getting the right gem on each keyboard ornament. They really liked this activity and it kept them quiet for just the right amount of time!

I also made these Musical Alphabet Ornaments with the intention of using them for my magnetic staff boards. I thought it would be a fun Christmas twist rather than using the plain black notes I usually use.

You can read the original post I did on the magnetic staff boards here. What fun activities have you been doing lately?

Recital Success!

2010-12-09T22:48:00.000-05:00

I apologize for my lack of postings recently, but I've had a super busy 2 weeks and have our church musical this weekend, so my time has been very limited. I haven't even had time to put up my own Christmas tree! But I did want to share that our recital went beautifully last Friday night! I'm planning to post some pictures soon, but thought I would first share a few thoughts about the night.

1. My students did a wonderful job and even though some of them were very nervous, they all played well and felt good about it afterwards! I had them get to the church one half hour early and actually took them all down to my choir rehearsal room and did some silly things with them to try and calm the nerves (This helped a lot!). We then practiced singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" so that we could sing it to their parents at the end of the recital.

2. During the recital, I talked about each of my students before they played. Part of what I shared with them was the length of time each student had been taking lessons. Many of my parents commented on this, letting me know how much they appreciated the information because it helped them to enjoy each student more as they played.

3. Each student felt a great sense of pride at their accomplishment. Because so many of them were playing in a recital for the very first time, it was important to me that they feel really good about the experience. We worked on each song in lessons for quite a few weeks, but I also allowed them to be part of the repertoire selection process. I worked with each student to pick pieces they felt good about playing as well as ones that I thought would highlight their abilities. Because my students had some say, they were also willing to take ownership in the results. They were really excited to perform and it showed!

4. I fully remember my own experiences/nervousness before the many recitals I participated in. While performing isn't for everyone, it does teach valuable lessons to anyone. I was always required to memorize my music for recitals and because that was (and still is) a difficult thing for me, my anxiety level was very high leading up to each recital. Looking back, I can say that it challenged me, but I also know that my performances would have been substantially better had I been allowed to use the music. My goal with this recital was to show my students that performing can be fun and that they each had the ability to do it well. Memorization was optional for them. I realize that some may disagree with me on this, but for my students this choice proved to be the right one. They all performed extremely well and I was very proud of each of them!

If you are planning a recital this month, I hope it's a wonderful success as well!

A Music Suggestion

2010-12-01T08:48:00.000-05:00

If you or any of your students love all of those Jane Austen movies, such as Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion and Emma, I would suggest picking up this book:

I'm a "sap" when it comes to these movies and really love the music in them. This piano collection has quite a few of the beautiful pieces and would fit nicely in the intermediate level. I can think of several young girls of mine who would love to play these songs! It would add a nice change from scales and method books and get them excited to play something they really love!

Now if only I had a harpsichord...

A Fun Week!

2010-11-30T09:28:00.000-05:00

Because the studio recital is this Friday night, I wanted to do something fun this week in lessons. Everyone is excited, but there is also some performance anxiety, so I wanted to make this week a fun week and try to capitalize on the excitement rather than focus on their nervousness. With that in mind, I am planning some fun "Christmas activities" to do in individual lessons or to do with a couple of them that come back-to-back for lessons. In addition to going over their recital pieces, I'm also planning...

a game of Musical Christmas Lights designed by Susan Paradis which is going to work great for my beginning students. They love to play "bingo" type games and using fun glass pieces to cover the lights will be a hit!

For my pre-reading students I picked up these foam snowflakes, adapted them with keyboards to help reinforce key names, and plan to hide them around the studio.

I had done something similar at my fall workshop and the kids have been asking me to do it again! I picked snowflakes so that I can use them in other ways all winter long. Fun! Fun!

For my intermediate students, I am planning to use some familiar Christmas songs to test their aural rhythm skills. They will have each measure of a familiar song printed out and will have to think about the rhythm while trying to put the measures in the proper order. This is a bit of a change since I usually have them look at a rhythm and tap it out.

You can find these rhythms already done for you on D'Net's site here. Just print, laminate and have fun!

Any fun Christmas activities you are planning?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T07:57:00.000-05:00

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends. There is so much to be thankful for!

I'm so thankful for all of you - amazing teachers who want to make a difference in the lives of their students. Teachers who want to improve their skills and find find fun, creative ways to introduce children to the wonderful gift of music!

May you all be very blessed and surrounded by family and friends and lots of great food! And may you reflect on all the many blessings God grants us everyday!

Recital "Dress Rehearsal"

2010-11-23T08:10:00.000-05:00

Performing can be pretty scary and although I have very excited students, some of them are also a bit nervous - especially those who haven't done this before. I've been talking a lot about it in lessons and answering lots of questions! As a way to help them out, I set up a "dress rehearsal" a.k.a "group lesson" for this week.

Since Wednesday is a half day at school here in Connecticut, I scheduled the group lesson for the early afternoon. The plan?...to play through our recital pieces for each other, practice our bows and recital etiquette, and try to get rid of some of the nervous jitters!

I found fun clappers similar to these at a local Christmas Tree Shop and thought the kids would have a great time using them to encourage each other. I have some fun games planned, and also planned to show them this silly,short video to remind them to practice hard before the big day...

It should be a fun afternoon! And hopefully the result will be that everyone is a bit more comfortable playing in public!

Christmas Recital

2010-11-22T07:52:00.001-05:00

My studio is in the midst of Christmas "excitement". Our Christmas recital is scheduled for the evening of December 3rd and everyone is practicing hard! Because I also have lots of responsibilities at my church at this time of year, I need to have the studio recital earlier in the month. I also find that it's a good time for parents because it happens before many other Christmas activities are scheduled.

I have lots of beginning students so this year the recital includes some Christmas and Non-Christmas songs. As you know, songs for beginning students are pretty short...30 seconds or so?? Even if each beginning student played through a song twice, it would be a pretty short! When parents come to watch their children, I want them to be able to enjoy their child's playing for longer than a minute! So each student will be playing 3 songs - 2 non-seasonal songs that we have been working on in lessons and one Christmas song. Of those 3 songs, one will be a duet with me or another student to also celebrate the "Year of Collaborative Music".

The order for the evening will include each student performing 2 non-seasonal songs, one right after the other and then when everyone is done with those, they will each go back up to the piano and perform their Christmas selection so that we end with the Christmas spirit! I will also introduce each student and share a bit about them and the songs they will be playing.

And of course...what's a recital without a reception with goodies?! My parents are all bringing desserts to share and I'll be providing drinks. (Have I mentioned that I have THE best parents of any piano teacher?) One big advantage for me is that I have use of my church for the recital. I use the sanctuary for the performances and a connected area that includes a little kitchenette for the reception. It works out super well. I'm also using siblings of some of my students to be "ushers" and pass out programs. They often come to lessons and wait with their moms so I've gotten to know some of them quite well. They're excited to do this "grown-up" job!

This year I'm going to be recording performances so that each student will have a copy to remember the evening (and for some - to remember their first recital!). One of my friends from church who works with the sound system (and does an incredible job!) told me he would come to the recital and take care of everything! He's also a photographer so he's planning to take all the pictures for me! I am very blessed to have him!

I am directing our Christmas musical at church the following weekend so all the decorations are going up the week before the recital! The room will be surrounded with Christmas beauty! I'm very thankful I won't have to decorate twice!

Well, that's a look at what I'm doing...what are you planning this year?

Free Piano Hymn Arrangements!

2010-11-19T17:18:00.000-05:00

I recently came across the website, Koerts Music which has some really wonderful free arrangements of hymns and even an arrangement of "Joy to the World". I printed a couple of them, sat down at the piano to play through them and then went back and printed them all!

Each arrangement is really enjoyable to play and I can think of several ways to use them in Sunday morning services both for my students and for myself. I would say they fall under, "Late Intermediate or Early Advanced". I encourage you to take a look and try them for yourself!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Teaching Well-Rounded Musicians

2010-11-17T22:58:00.000-05:00

Laura Lowe of The Piano Studio has done a couple of posts lately discussing choral accompanying for the pianist. As the Music Director at my local church, I want to give a HUGE CHEER! I have been leading our adult choir for over 25 years and I can tell you that most of those years I have had to play as well as direct because there is no other pianist who can handle the accompanying. There's been a number of reasons for it but primarily it comes down to a lack of understanding of what it takes and the skill to be able to do the job. They are good pianists - that is not the issue - yet, I spend much of the rehearsal time leading from the piano bench!

Here is a quote from Laura's post:

"Of all the things I do as a musician, church choral accompanying has been the most financially lucrative and emotionally satisfying of my activities short of teaching. Ironically, not one minute of my formal piano instruction was ever devoted to this craft which requires an additional set of skills beyond those of performing well as a soloist."

I couldn't agree more and unfortunately I find her words accurate for most students today. I certainly don't teach all of the children and teens taking lessons in my church, but I spend a lot of time explaining and demonstrating accompanying skills to them. They are not learning this aspect of playing anywhere else. This is a large gap in music education and I would love to encourage you to consider adding this aspect to your teaching. Laura has done a great job of putting together information about the importance of teaching this skill in lessons and key points to be able to master it. If you haven't read either post, it is well worth your time!

The other gap I see is a lack of ability to read lead sheets. I also lead our church praise team so being able to read lead sheets is a critical skill. I've starting adding teens once a month to the group and working with those that play piano. Most have never read a lead sheet and don't know how. Again, they are not learning this skill in lessons.

I don't want any of my students to master their technique and not be able to accompany a soloist. I don't want any of my students to be able to sight read well, but not be able to understand chord structure well enough to play in a praise team or band.

Consider what you might be able to offer your students to help them become more rounded musicians. And if possible...offer them opportunities to practice those skills.