Circle of Fifths Worksheets I’ve recently begun to explain to my students how I choose the order of their scales by using the Circle of Fifths. Basically, I just told them that C is zero accidentals (I don’t show them the […]
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This is Lesson #5 in the pages that most spoke to me in What Matters Now. I’ve referenced this one at the beginning of the year when I was making 1 year goals. I love her last line, “Don’t worry
I love hearing from students who have played my pieces! This is the 2nd group of pictures I have received from a student who learned my Twister piece for his recital last year. I had the privilege to hear this
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When I was an undergraduate, I was fascinated with the question about whether music had meaning, was moral, and whether it was effective in communicating meaning or morality. I wrote several papers about this, but when I crossed over into the world
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Over the past few weeks, I’ve come across some great posts and resources related to teaching piano. Here are a few of them: * Toilet Paper Dynamics: Jason Sifford, a composer and piano teacher has written a great post that
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This is Lesson #4 in the pages that most spoke to me in What Matters Now. This one reminds me that while I need to embrace the benefits of new technology, I need to remember that there are parts of what has worked well in
After reading some of her very creative ideas on one of the Piano Teaching Email Lists, I asked Mary Jane Cope to write a guest post on how to encourage students to play with more dynamics. Mary Jane is a
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Like most composers, I am always testing my music. I test it for the following reasons: To know what works and what doesn’t. To know what is difficult for the performer and what is easy. To know if the piece
The Sensitive Amateur Listener Read More »
This is Lesson #3 in the pages that most spoke to me in What Matters Now. This one is great for both composing, teaching, and life in general. Lesson #1 Passion (page 51) Lesson #2 Knowing (page 78) Lesson #3 Change (Page
A lot of teachers ask me how I have time to follow all the piano teaching blogs and other sites that I do. I admit to them that I really don’t have the time to look at each blog individually,
Ignite the Spark!
August kick-off webinar
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