Music Festivals
Growing up my teacher always had me perform in the Tidewater Music Teacher Forum’s event Levels of Progress. I would work hard to memorize two contrasting pieces of music and perform them for another teacher. Looking back I didn’t ask any questions or think about why it was important to participate. Now things have come full circle and I am the teacher helping my students prepare for this event. Now that I am on the flip side of things here are a few things I would take into consideration.
It’s a performance opportunity
Of course this is the first thing that comes to mind. Your child has a chance to display their hard work. In a setting a little less intimidating than a full recital. You play for just one teacher instead of a room full of strangers.
A fresh perspective
What is great about this opportunity is the feedback given to the student from the adjudicator! It gives the student a chance to hear the things that they are excelling at from someone besides me (their biggest cheerleader). It also gives them a chance to understand things that they might need just a little more help working on. This also gives me a chance as a teacher to see what areas I can grow in based on my students' performances.
A sense of accomplishment
I cannot tell you enough how important it was for me as a child to work towards a goal like this. Receiving acknowledgement for my hard work at the end gave me a sense of pride in myself. Your child will grow in confidence and gain the satisfaction of accomplishing a goal.
Why We Study Music Theory and Technique
Let’s be honest. Most students find scale work incredibly boring. This is why I am very intentional with the scale patterns I introduce to my students. For the students that need to know the “why” behind what we are doing.
Theory and technique are intrinsically woven when learning the piano. One of the first things I get most of my students playing is a C major pentascale. This little 5 finger pattern is so versatile in getting us playing music. It is the first step in learning finger independence and getting your fingers to move quickly. What is so great is you can create some fun melodies just based on these five notes.
Next stop on the theory/technique train is the C major chord. Depending on the size of the student’s hand at the time we experiment with playing the notes broken and blocked. Chords are the building blocks of composing music. Once we start learning chords we can start analyzing our music and venture into composing pieces of our own. One of the coolest things I like to teach my students when they are ready is the C major arpeggio. This is a fun little technique that is cool for observers because the pianist crosses one hand over the other. Not to mention they sound super cool!
Eventually, I start teaching my beginners some basic chord progressions. One that is found commonly in classical music is the I-IV-I-V7-I. This will be added to the students practice as part of their technique. They will master what it feels like to the hands, what it sounds like, and recognize it in their music. Then the student may be able to listen to one of their favorite songs and recognize some of the chord progressions. Sometimes when listening to music of different genres we think they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. I just love when my students' ears develop enough to notice there is more in common with Mozart and Billie Eilish’s music than they could ever imagine. Bringing a small(and relevant) answer to why we study theory and technique.
Does Practice Make Perfect?
Does practice make perfect?
Happy New Year Everyone! Can you believe 2023 is already here? This week’s blog topic is relevant every single year. What is the topic you ask? Practice. Many of my new piano parents ask how long should my child be practicing? And does practice actually make perfect?
As the teacher it’s not the quantity i.e. 30 minutes a day, but the quality of the practice I care about. What is quality practice you ask? Here are some examples.
Beginner students should be able to answer simple questions about their music.
What is the time signature
What are the dynamics?
Can I clap the rhythm of the entire piece?
My advice is pick one topic and focus on that during your practice session. Complete the music theory activities included in the book to reinforce those concepts. One of the biggest things I try to drill into my students. Another wonderful thing that my students can do that counts as practicing is play the games! Some of the method books have games incorporated into the topic we are currently discussing, and this is a perfect way to practice without feeling like it.
Intermediate Students
At this stage I find the direction of practice to be a little more straight forward. There are so many added elements to the music the students are learning. Continue asking yourself the same questions you did as a beginner and digger deeper into those concepts.
Concentrate on the articulation. (Legato and Staccato)Playing this well really sets the style of the music
Think about the dynamics. Shape the music with crescendos and diminuendos
Spend time working on your technique. Scales are the building blocks of music and playing them will help not only your technique but also enhance your theory knowledge
Advanced Students
When most people imagine advanced students practicing I believe they’d imagine someone slaving away at the piano for hours on end. While as an advanced student I did practice at the piano a few hours a day (never multiple hours at one time), there were important things I did away from the piano.
I listened to different artists performing my music. It is a good idea to listen to different interpretations of the music and a feel for the style. You can just listen freely or keep the score open and follow along.
Analyze the score. Take time to look at the structure of the piece. Is it Sonata Allegro, Ternary, Minuet and Trio form?
Look at the music harmonically. What key is it? Where is it heading? This becomes extremely helpful when it comes time to memorize your music.
For all of my students I do drive one specific point. Start at different sections of the music, and if you find one part is particularly tricky? Don’t keep starting over from the beginning. Start at the difficult part and work on it!
As you can see there are many different ways to practice, and not all of them include sitting at the piano. Sign-up for a lesson with me today and we can discuss even more practice techniques!
Why Online Piano Lessons?
All you need is a laptop set on a table to the side of your keyboard and you should be all set!
Are you on the fence about whether online piano lessons are right for you? Let me help you with that decision!
One of the greatest things about online lessons is you can do them right from your home. All you need is a laptop (or a tablet) set on a table to the side of your keyboard and you should be all set! No need to worry about rushing across town in the middle of rush hour to get to your lesson.
Another advantage to online lessons is it creates detailed oriented students. I find my online students can quickly find measures. Since they need to take responsibility for writing in their music, it helps those concepts to stick.
My online students are afforded all the same opportunities as those that study with me in person. We have monthly studio classes to engage in music making together. All students have the opportunity to participate in performance festivals online or even in person if they are in the local area. Most importantly all my students get to participate in a live recital!
If you are still on the fence? Go ahead and book that free consultation! I would love to get to know you and share more!
The Modern Piano Lesson
The modern piano teacher
What comes to mind when you think about piano lessons? Do you imagine a teacher sitting by your side with a ruler ready to smack your hands at every mistake? Do you imagine playing nothing but boring scales for hours on end as practice?
I am here to bust this image of piano teachers and change your perception. My number one goal as a piano teacher is to make music fun! Music after all is an extension of human expression. We should all be able to play music in this manner no matter our skill level.
In my studio we explore the different realms of music. We develop our ears by listening to music. I introduce music terminology (or the big scary word theory) to help us describe what we hear happening in the music. We do learn scales, not to be drilled, but to show you the system on which western music is founded.
To quote Maria Montessori, “Play is the work of the child.” This is something I truly believe in and why I incorporate games into lessons every chance I get! Games are a chance to reinforce the concepts we just learned and use our brains in a different way.
So this is just a small glimpse into the world of a modern piano teacher. I strive to put the “FUN” in fundamentals. In hopes of creating a new generation of musicians that can look fondly back on their childhood piano lessons.