Musical Notes

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.

Records now in MP3 form

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?

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?

Create your own flashcards!

I love to put together games and activities for my students.  It really helps the learning process and gives all my "hands-on" learners a fun way to learn and reinforce terms, notes, etc.  I recently ran across this website and love it!  Brainflips allows you (or your students) to create your own music flashcards on-line or use flashcards already created!  There a several of them already available for your use.  

The nice thing is, they can be viewed in 3 different ways - Introduction Mode - for introducting information, Traditional Mode - where you can see the question and then flip the card for the answer, or Response Mode - where you can manually type in the answer once you see the question.  In other words, you can increase the difficulty level.

It's all free and storage isn't a problem since they are all kept on-line for you!  Give it a try.  Put together your own flashcards and send your students there to try them out.

Love the idea!

Synthesia

Here's a fun game I discovered the other day...http://www.synthesiagame.com/.  It's a wonderful visual way to play the piano.  It is similar to Guitar Hero - only with a keyboard.  I downloaded it and tried it.  What fun!  There are LOADS of songs to choose from and you can practice at your own tempo, even one hand at a time. You can also use it with an attached keyboard or with your mouse.

Any of your students that love computer games will love this!  I plan to show it to my students this week at our group lesson.  Give it try!  But beware...it may be addicting!

Fall Happenings

Like most of you, I've been super busy getting ready for the fall start-up.  I've finished setting up my computer lab and just need to complete the structured plans for my students.  Once that's done, I'll be setting up a spreadsheet with the plan for each student so that they can have everything right there for easy access.  After that's all complete, we're ready to launch!

I've also worked on some organization.  With all the games, manipulatives and activities I've accumulated, it was getting hard to find what I wanted, so I picked up some drawer units from Target and labeled them "Note Identification", "Rhythm", "Terminology", "Technique-Scales", "Stickers" , etc. 

Here's a look at a couple of the drawers and what I store in them.

I've also picked up a few little "friends" to use with my beginning students as they navigate the keys.  I've used regular game pieces in the past, but these were calling out to come home with me.  My summer students have loved them, so I suspect my new and returning students will as well.

I'm also running two of my camps  - Mystery Music Camp and the Pre-Piano Camp - through my local town's Park & Rec program this fall.  Each camp will run once a week for 6 weeks.  I'm hoping that I'll acquire a few more students as I did over the summer. 

I've also put together my incentive program.  I'm using Jen's Musikopoly program so I spent time getting everything copied and put together.  The kids are REALLY excited about this program!  I'll be introducing  it this coming week in lessons.  I've also completed their notebooks with all of their lesson plans for the year hoping this will help us stay more focused this year.  I still have a few more things to get ready for my older students, but those should all be done within the next day or two.

I hope you're all ready to go and are excited about a new year!  I know I am!  I love what I do and enjoy the time I spend with each of my students!

Computer Lab

This year, one of my goals has been to set up a computer lab.  I wanted to use a separate computer and keep my recently purchased one strictly for the business and my use so I put a bit money into a used one rather than buying another new one (which I couldn't afford right now!).  I've done a bit of research into it and have to admit that I am not very "hardware" saavy, so I'm starting with a basic set up - a separate computer with some on-line games as well as some software that I will purchase.  I have a midi and Finale, and plan to use that set-up for a couple of my more advanced students. 

Right now I'm in the midst of putting together a letter to my parents, figuring out how much extra to charge and organizing a lesson plan for each student.  I would LOVE suggestions from any of you who may already have this set up.  My plan is to have one student taking a lesson while another is working at the computer.  I'm trying to figure out how much is fair to charge and what programs would be the most effective to start with.  Any help that any of you can offer would be greatly appreciated. 

Music Ace Maestro!

If you haven't alrady seen this post on Natatlie's site, you should head on over! Harmonic Vision is offering a FREE copy valued at $127.95!! I've been looking at this software for awhile and would love to have it in my studio!

Just leave a post on Natalie's blog and you have a chance to win as well!

Computer Trouble

I'm so sorry for the lack of posts lately! My computer died on me and I'm in the process of looking to buy a new one. As soon as that happens, I'll be sure to catch up on my postings. I hope you are all enjoying the month of May!