Songbird Piano Lessons

Ready for the next "Listen!" challenge? It's been a while, so if you don't remember how this works,  review the rules and suggestions here. This week, another minuet -- this time, by Dominco Scarlatti!    This one will be interesting to use, because you can actually see the sheet music as the performer is playing. :)   Happy New Year!

   Finally, it was the big day -- the day that we've all been working hard towards. December 15, 2018, marked the second Christmas recital of Songbird Studios. And believe me, one teacher over here was very excited!    OK, so there were a few concerns running in the back of my head. But, as usual, I had a lot of confidence in my students -- confidence that was not misplaced. Because when each student gives me their best, whatever their best is, then I can rest easy. And we did have a very good recital. Each student performed well, kept their cool when mistakes were made, and hopefully enjoyed themselves in the process. :) About half the students playing wanted to play from memory. I have been trying to encourage memorizing music, but wasn't going to make anyone who didn't want to play from memory. Needless to say, I was really excited over those who chose to! (I was holding their books off to the side, in case of memory lapses. I needn't have worried.)  ...

Continuo Without stopping 🎶Merry Christmas, everyone! 🎄 ( Watch for a post on our successful recital -- hopefully by the end of this week!)

Hello, everyone! Last week I wrote a post to the students about preparing for a recital. Today, parents, it's your turn!  I know you're all busy, but please do read through this so we can all look forward to a pleasant recital experience. :)         If you haven't already done it, please go over this post  with your child so they know what to expect. Believe me, they will be far less nervous about the recital if they know what's going on!      Make sure you and your family arrive on time (a few minutes before 2:00 P.M.), and please bring along a plate of snack food or dessert. (If anyone wants to volunteer to bring folding chairs, please let me know.)       Coats can go in the closet in our entryway. The recital will be in the studio, so please head downstairs upon arrival.      Help your child feel relaxed before the recital. Many children get very nervous before a recital, which doesn't help them ...

Buffa Comic or humorous

There's less than two weeks till our Christmas recital! Anyone else excited yet? Recitals are a good way to finish off the year. There's just a few basic guidelines that keep them fun for everyone, so I want to share those with you. :)    (Parents, if you are the ones reading this, please share these with your children so they know what to expect and can look forward to a great time!) Does it make you nervous to play in front of people? If so, that's OK -- most people feel this way! So, leading up to the recital, perform a lot for your family and friends. This will help you not to be so nervous. Don't forget to get them to sign your music or notebook in pencil!  Recitals are special, so now's a good chance to wear your best clothes! Dress nicely, and don't forget to put on your smiles. :)     When you and your family come in and sit down, find a spot close to the edge of the seats so you can get in and out easily. When it's your turn to play, come ...

Agitato Agitated or excited

Are we already at the end of November?! Only three weeks of lessons left before the Christmas recital? Wow!    Holiday prep is in full swing in the studio. Students have been diligently working on their Christmas pieces and their second piece they will play.    Next week I'll pull out all the Christmas games I've been saving till now. ;)      Just for fun. Christmas is not about the presents, the decorations, or even the wonderful songs we save for that one month -- but those are nice accessories to my favourite holiday!    Also, parents, please encourage your children to perform for others in the next few weeks! This year, students have really been racking up the points under "Word Whizzes" and "Practice Champions." (And claiming their prizes too! I think nearly everyone has claimed a prize at least once, and some are getting close to their second prize.) But as for "Performance Stars" . . . just take a look at the brag wall. ...

Da Capo From the beginning

Leggiero Lightly

   The people who should be highest on a Christian musician's list of heroes . . . are not the great composers.    Don't get me wrong. I like to play Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms in the background while working or driving. And I also like to play them and other composers in the foreground at my own piano. I'm excited to teach students about these men who were geniuses in the music world.    I'll probably talk more about the great composers' spiritual lives (believe me, they all had one! Just not always the right kind) a different time. Today my goal is to look at one of the many people who can serve as a role model today: Isaac Watts.    He wasn't actually a musician. He was an all-around writer. Besides the expected theological works, he also wrote "discussions of psychology . . . textbooks on logic, and a variety of other works" ( 101 Hymn Stories, Kenneth W. Osbeck, pg.112). But today we know him best for the hymns he wrote that are sti...

Con Brio With vigour (vigorously)

What's new in the studio this week?    Erasers.    Originally I bought these because *clears throat* when it came to theory that had to be erased, certain students would insist on using only the eraser at the end of the pencil. It didn't matter if I placed the big eraser right in front of them. Soon my pencils had no eraser left, and they were still trying to erase with the (non-existent) eraser on the end!    So I went to the dollar store, got a big package of these erasers, re-capped all my pencils, and still had lots of erasers left.    Then one day, I was playing one of TPT's games with two of my students. These games invariably use coins, and I had run out. So I made a quick scan of the studio, trying to find something that was plentiful and would work, and my eyes landed on . . . the erasers.    So ever since then, erasers have been used    for  TPT's games,    reinforcing keyboard awarene...

Legato Smooth and connected

Allargando Becoming slower    And for the newest "Listen!" challenge!  Review the rules here.    Can you hear the part where this music is becoming slower? ;)

As a 19-year-old, I was already on my way to completing my Grade 10 Piano exam when circumstances abruptly forced me to change piano teachers. (Which happened to be the best thing that ever happened to me as far as my musical education went, but that's not my point.) No more than three lessons in, my new teacher handed me a sheet with a list of assignments. The first ten started with the word, "Sing..."    Inwardly, I cringed. Singing?! I loved to sing -- when no one else was listening. I just never sang in public scenarios. Not any one of my other teachers had asked me individually to sing in class, and believe me, I had never volunteered it either.    Now here I was, with one of the best-respected teachers in Edmonton, whom I barely knew. And he was saying, "Go ahead. Do number 1."    Why? Why was he forcing me to sing when I had come to him for piano lessons?    If you're one of my students' parents, you are probably either laughing ...

Fortepiano Loud, then suddenly soft

We all know that, to be successful at anything, we have to have the right tools. Right? Right.    Believe it or not, learning piano also has its own tool set. And I'm going to briefly cover the most essential tools (excluding books, because music books are a topic in itself) that your child needs at home to succeed in piano. Your support! No matter what your child does, this is the most valuable tool you can give them. If they know you're behind them, you care about what they're doing, and you actively take a role in their learning experiences, that's powerful.  A piano or keyboard. How to choose, how to choose? Basically, a keyboard or digital piano is fine for a beginner. If your child is in their first year, and you're mostly trying it out to see how they like it, or you're doing it because it's a rule that everybody in your house has to take three years of piano before learning another instrument, a keyboard/digital is just fine. However, I would...

Largo Very slow and broad.

Wow! Already we're into the second month of lessons. Everyone having fun yet? ;)    Some of you may have noticed . . . there's a lot of brown in my studio. Brown piano. Brown desk. Brown walls. Brown floor. Now, brown may be a trendy colour, but it's not exactly my choice of colour. Especially not for a room where children come in and out a lot.     So, inspired by various teacher friends who actively decorate their classrooms, I decided it was time to start introducint colour into the studio.     Like it? It's a start. Now I'm going to keep an eye out for happy, colourful things I can place on top of the piano. Because somehow I had the feeling putting sticky things on my piano was not a good idea!     Anyways. You probably were more interested in what's happening in lessons rather than studio decor.     A lot of time has been spent actually playing the piano. This is no doubt largely due to my...

Forte Loud and strong.

All right, so this post is going to be rather short. Blame it on the apples (and apples and apples and apples!) waiting to be dealt with in our kitchen. ;)    We have a fair number of trees. 'Only' three produced heavily this year, but believe me, that's more than enough!    Back to topic.     "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Colossians 3:16.    This was one of my memory verses several months back, and it instantly caught me. Try to follow the thought here. To me, this verse seems to suggest that our singing should be part of letting Christ's Word (the Scriptures) dwelling in us. It's also on more than just a personal level. Not only is my singing for me personally, but our singing should be meant to help each other in our Christian walks.    Isn't that an exciting thought? Our...

Allegro Quick & Cheerful

Quarter Note Usually gets one beat.        And for the Listen! challenge, I have chosen "Melody" by R. Schumann. ( Review the rules here.  Sorry, I haven't set this up to count for extra points yet.) You will have to turn your volume all the way up to hear this one. The video's quite soft.

I think I spent all of August looking forward for last week. :) Oh, don't get me wrong. I enjoy summer just as much as anyone. But I was eager to get back into teaching. And I was super excited about making the first lesson as fun as possible for both new students and returning ones.    But I wasn't expecting that the first week of lessons would be greeted with -- snow. Hmm. Welcome to Alberta! Oh, well, one student and I made the most of it. Instead of doing a fall-themed improv, we did Teach Piano Today's improv, "McDrip the Slushy Snowman"! And I still managed to stick in a fall-themed activity with another student.  These are just two of the activities that happened this week!  With or without snow, it was a great week. I'm excited to have a few students starting with The Celebration Series from Royal Conservatory of Music. Also, besides more fun activities to teach theory, some of my plans for this year include a better look at some of...

First, a review of the rules! It's been a while, hasn't it?    Every Friday, I will post the Word of the Week and its definition. By your child's next music lesson, if they know the Word and its definition, and can say it to me, they get a point! At 9 points, they get a prize! (And doesn't everyone love prizes?)    Other ways to earn points are: When the student practices 5 or more times in a week and marks their practices down. (If I forgot to give your child a keyboard, remind them to place a check mark underneath my notes for that week each time they practice.)  Performing for someone else. Everytime they play for someone, and that person signs their book in pencil (not pen!),  the student also gets a point. Now, the catch is that they can't get more than one signature from the same person in one week. And there's a maximum of three points they can earn per week for performing.  Now for the Word! Piano Softly    Oh, one ...

So the school year's here! That's great news for teachers. But for parents -- well, you all are busy people. And you want to choose carefully what activities to sign your child up for, knowing there's only twenty-four hours in a day and only so much you can do in twenty-four hours. So the question: Is piano right for my child?    Let me share some of my thoughts on the subject! Because yes, I agree, piano isn't for everyone. Just ask my brothers. ;) Here's some questions you can ask yourself. Does my child have talent? You probably won't know this one before they take piano lessons. However, if it's a matter of deciding whether to return to lessons or not, this question should be a key factor. You could always do what my parents did. They had each of us take piano for three years, and then worked with us to make a decision from there. (Like I hinted at above, my two younger brothers figured out that fixing bikes and building things with Dad was mo...

A couple weeks back, I decided that I wanted to listen to the soundtrack from The Prince of Egypt. Now, it is true that I've watched the movie . . . more than once or twice. :) But as I was listening to the soundtrack, I was struck by the power of the music. I could picture, without any dialogue, exactly what was happening at nearly every turn. The river, the crocodiles, the palace -- it was all vividly pictured through the music.    What does this have to do with being a Christian musician? A lot, actually. Because there is a debate going on with Christians everywhere about what kind of music should be listened to. And there's something being overlooked about music that is important to understand if we are to resolve this debate.    Music is a language.    That means that the entire goal of music -- for a musician -- is to communicate. In fact, take any art form, and the goal is to communicate something. And a true artist has something specific he/sh...

It's time for the second "Listen!" challenge! But first, I have to apologize to anyone who tried commenting on the first. *embarrased cough* If you couldn't leave a comment, you're not the only one. Being as tech-savvy as I am not, I did not realize that my Comments were set so you could only comment if you were signed in to your Google account. My deepest apologies. I did figure out how to fix that, so now you should be able to comment without a problem.    If you missed the first "Listen!" challenge,  you can review the rules and suggestions here!    And now for your video: a Menuett by Mozart! (If you're not familiar with what a Menuett/Minuet is, it's a graceful dance in 3/4 time.) Have fun!

Over a week ago, I did something that was brand-new for me . . .    I hosted a piano party!    What is a piano party? Well, according to the post-party definition, it's a lot of fun. :)    We started out in the late afternoon. Once everyone had showed up and settled themselves comfortably around our basement on couches and camp chairs, students took turns performing one piece each. There was no program. Instead I was deciding the order randomly by drawing everyone's name from a jar. Also, because the students had picked out their own pieces, I had no clue what they were playing until their name was called!    After that, my folks helped me out by grilling the burgers and hot dogs and setting up the table while I directed games. I had the challenge of finding games that were music-related, but that non-musical siblings could participate in as well. We started off with a scavenger hunt -- with a twist. Along with every clue was hidden a musi...

I apologize for not putting this post out last week. Or maybe I should say for not writing this post or any post at all last week. It was just one of those weeks. Well, we were arriving at home from a weekend getaway last Monday (my normal blogging day), and then it just seemed like the rest of the week was spent catching up with other things. Oh, and preparing for our piano party! Come back next week for that post; I can't wait to share with you all the fun we had!    Anyways, on to the main subject. Traditionally, most parents have waited until their child could read to enroll them in piano lessons. Traditionally, most piano teachers only accepted children that could read. But that mentality is slowly changing. I am one of the teachers now accepting preschool students. And I'd like to talk with you about why I am doing that, and why preschool is the perfect age to start your child's musical adventure.    Reason #1: Because I have a  new method book for p...

This week came around, and I realized that it was time to run a studio update post. So without further ado . . .    I'm really enjoying taking piano lessons again . My teacher is working strongly with me on the musical details of music, all the little things that make it music and not just tones of varying pitches. He keeps reminding me that I am partnered with the piano, that I am only responsible for pressing the keys and reacting to the sound the piano gives me. (If that didn't make much sense to you, don't worry. This really will make me a better teacher and musician, and that's what matters.) I am excited for fall, when I'll be able to start passing on the things I'm learning as well as the joy of music. Myself playing in my teacher's studio.     Speaking of fall, it's approaching much quicker than I'd like to think! Which means I've got to get hopping on advertising. Well, I've already kind of started. I've sent in my applic...

Recently I bought a music history book with an unusual twist. It's called Bach, Beethoven, and the Boys  by David W. Barber, who delights in inserting the most hilarious composer facts and cutting remarks on standard music history into his book. Definitly a good book for hard-to-find and completely irrelevant facts, showing off the quirks of the famous composers. It's also definitely a 'mature-reader' book.  Here's one example that caught my attention immediately and made me think. In the preface, Anthony Burgess remarks, “ I mean, we know what hamburgers are for . . . but we don’t know the purpose of music.”  The purpose of music? How much time and thought have you given recently to the purpose of music? Isn't beautifying the world enough purpose?  Hmm. Let's get back to basics for a moment. When an object has a purpose, there had to be a creative mind behind the purpose. Something that happened by accident won't have a purpose. But music d...

Welcome, everyone, to my new Student Challenge!    Here's the rules of the game: Once a month, I will post a Youtube video of a classical piano piece. If you are my student (or if you are not and just want to do it for fun), I want you to listen to the piece. Not just play it in the background while you're doing your homework (although that's very beneficial to your brain too), but to sit down and pay close attention to what's happening. Here are some suggestions for things you can look for: Tempo -- how fast is this piece going? Dynamic -- how loud are they playing this? Be sure that you set your volume about midway if you have speakers attached to your computer. ('But it sounded really loud to me! I only had the speakers set at 100!') Mood. What do you think is the mood of the piece?  Different sections where the music changes. Maybe it speeds up, is suddenly softer, or changes from a quiet mood to an energetic and cheerful mood. Maybe you're not s...

Hi, everyone,    For nearly three weeks I have come up against the same problem. Every single week.    "What do I put on my blog this week?"    Now that I've started blogging, I realize it's hard work. You have to put something interesting up that people will want to read. And you have to do it regularly, not when inspiration hits. Kind of like piano practice, except when you're practicing, someone already wrote the piece for you!    Finally, this week, I thought, "I should just do a series -- each week, have a topic that I'm going to think something up for and post on." So with that in mind, here's what you can expect in the weeks to come! Piano parent helps (and student helps too!). I've already written a few of these, and I fully intend to keep helping you help your child in their piano lessons. Piano student challenges. The current challenge that I'll start putting up will be called, "Listen!" The Christian Mu...

When it comes to customer satisfaction, my piano parents seem to have been very satisfied this last school year.    75% of my piano parents took my Teacher Survey at the end of May. Among them I rated an average of 9.3 out of 10 in parental satisfaction, and 8.3 out of 10 in student satisfaction. And under the question, "What did you think was the worst part of your children taking piano lessons from me?" only one dad had something to say for that answer: driving in the winter. (He lives in Spruce Grove. For a parent coming from Onoway or Alberta Beach, it's really a very straitforward drive with no dangerous roads.)     But there was a different standard that I was holding myself up to.     As I wrapped up the year, I thought of the two very best teachers I had in my music education. Now, I had a lot of good teachers, and I certainly don't mean to put any of them down! But the two best teachers were distinct. They taught me that makin...