Pasta and Piano

I just found this so adorable I had to share! While teaching yesterday afternoon, I was talking with one of my students about the tempo marking of a piece he was working on. I asked him what the tempo marking meant to him, and after studying it for a moment, he turned to me and said:

"It means a little bit faster than al dente."

It took me a moment to realize that he was referring to andante, but after that we both had a good laugh about making his tempo sound like 'pasta' and what that could mean!

Any of your students come up with their own alternate definitions recently? This is part of what makes teaching so much fun for me!

Inspiring Video Clip: Music Prodigy Derek Paravicini

A MTA colleague of mine shared this video with me, and I found it so inspiring I wanted to pass it on! Derek's story is truly amazing and inspiring, and reminded me to never underestimate the possibilities!

http://youtu.be/Ak2jxmhCH1M

Take a few moments to watch this video- hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

New! Teacher Resources Page

It's finally up! I hinted last week that I might be compiling a teacher resources page to put up on my blog. As a teacher, I am always looking for good sites that offer free resources as well as items that I need for various musical projects at inexpensive prices. I've come across a few really wonderful resources over the past few years of teaching, and wanted to share them for the benefit of other teachers.

I don't want my list to stay it's current length though! It's my goal to continue to grow the list as I discover new resources- whether through my own research or from the input of other teachers. So...please check out the list and let me know if there are any sites I might have missed!

I hope you enjoy this new blog resource :)

Another Budding Composer?

I have been blessed with an incredible studio of musicians of all different ages and skill levels. But no matter their age or ability, they all have a special place in my heart and I am always so proud of them when they take extra initiative and surprise me with their efforts.

Like when a student who'd only had 4 lessons showed up for his 5th lesson today with this:

During his lesson last week, the topic of composition happened to come up, and this student seemed intrigued by the idea that he could actually write his own song. However, I hadn't realized how much he had taken the idea to heart until he came back with his own composition meticulously transcribed.

He had written an entire piece using only quarter, half, and whole notes (the only rhythms he knows at this point), a wide variety of dynamics, AND his own lyrics (with a little help from his mom!).

And what's more...he performed his piece with perfect attention to every detail he'd added.

Here he is proudly holding his work of creativity.

These little unexpected surprises are what make teaching so worthwhile for me and give me the endurance to make it through the lessons that aren't quite so positive.

Have any of your students surprised you lately?

Another Great Resource for [Almost] Everything Musical

I have to confess- I LOVE getting magazines in the mail! And when I received a catalog from Music Treasures Company earlier this week, I couldn't wait to look through it to see just what they had to offer.

I was completely blown away by the variety of items they offered, and at pretty reasonable prices too! Not to mention a clearance section (always where I look first ;) ). From apparel to accessories and fun gifts, certificates and trophies to classroom and studio decor, they have a little bit of everything.

So I'm curious. Have any other teachers out there heard of this company or had experience with their service and products? What other companies have you ordered from in the past? Do you have and standard go-to places that offer hands down the best selection and deals?

I'm thinking of adding a page to my blog with a list of great resources like this, so any additional companies you can recommend would be great!

Crazy About Scales!

As a musician, one of my favorite ways to start a practice session is with scales. As practice time is often limited, I don't always take the time to do so, but when I do I have SO MUCH FUN!

I don't know when my little love affair with scales started, but I think it was sometime in college when my teacher showed me all the many ways I could get creative with scales and arpeggios. Up to that point, scales had been super boring and monotonous- 4 octaves ascending and descending with the metronome, arpeggios, cadences...where's the fun in that?! But a whole new world of possibilities was opened up to me when I realized I could play scales in parallel 3rds/6ths/10ths, perform both scales and arpeggios in parallel and contrary motion, vary my dynamics, articulation, rhythm...it was exhilarating! Suddenly scales transformed from boring drills into exciting, creative experiments. I started to enjoy that part of my daily warm-up so much more and continue to enjoy it to this day.

Having the rare opportunity to warm-up with scales yesterday reminded me again how much I enjoy them and also got me thinking about the role we as teachers have in finding creative ways to inspire our students. There are teachers who merely teach, then there are those who inspire. I make it my goal to be the type who inspires.

What does it mean to be a teacher who inspires? It means constantly thinking outside of the box and looking for creative ways to approach new concepts. It means embracing new ideas rather than sticking with the tried and true. It means taking the time to learn what makes each student tick and then finding ways to teach to those specific needs. It means being willing to make mistakes. It means being a teacher who teaches with excellence but also has fun!

Being this type of teacher does mean more work. It's a lot easier to stick to the middle of the road and never go outside the boundaries of what's comfortable looking for new ideas. But the incredible rewards of the extra work make it all worthwhile!

So what do you do to inspire your students and motivate yourself to go the extra mile to make sure it happens? Did you ever have a break-through moment as a student where a particular teacher made a musical concept come alive for you?

Building My Music LIbrary: Popular Repertoire

While some of my students claim to have no idea what they'd like to get out of piano lessons, most students come to their lessons with a playlist in mind- a list of songs they'd really love to be able to play on the piano. The reason behind the request can be something as simple as the fact that they heard the song on the radio, on TV, or in a movie, or maybe it's a song that was a favorite of someone special to them. Whatever the reason, I always try to honor those special requests whenever possible.

Over time, it seems that more and more students are requesting popular titles over classical or sacred music. Unfortunately, the majority of the repertoire I currently own is classical or sacred! ;) So over the next few years I hope to build a good collection of additional repertoire for my lending library that students can borrow. Why buy for my personal collection rather than make the student buy the book? For the simple reason that they usually are only interested in one song from the book, and I hate to make they buy an entire book for one song. Plus, this gives me a good core of popular music to draw from for future requests.

I've been taking baby steps toward this goal by buying a few books here or there when requests are made- seeking solid repertoire that I know will be an asset to other students as well.

Some of my favorite recent acquisitions have come from the Hal Leonard Supplementary Collections. I have a student who eats up any broadway musical tunes, so the Broadway and Movie Collection was perfect for her. Another student who has been requesting some Disney music will benefit from these books as well.

I've also been making use of some of Alfred's 5 Finger Piano books for my youngest students. Harry Potter has been requested frequently, and the 5 Finger Movie Heroes collection has music from Harry Potter as well as Star Wars (another frequent request).



I'm always looking for good suggestions for my lending library- especially as it's still in its infancy. Any suggestions out there for great collections of popular music? Broadway or movie hits?