Songbird Piano Lessons

Note to readers:     You won't be hearing much from me over the next few months, as I will be preparing for my ARCT and History 3 exams in August. However, if you're a parent looking for a piano teacher, I will be resuming teaching in the fall. So I am still available to contact. :) Spring recital Last Saturday found my students and I at a seniours' home in Stony Plain, doing our annual spring recital.    I've mentioned before that that was something I grew up with -- the teacher that I stayed with the longest (about 5 or 6 years) always took us to a seniours' home every spring. It's a gift. It's a gift to the residents. It's also a gift to the student -- the chance to make music with a purpose,  to bring a moment of sunshine into someone else's life and to use music to benefit the community. Because music shouldn't be about who the spotlight is on. Sure, the spotlight feels great at the moment, but everyone will agree that kindness matter

Wow! I just realized that I haven't written a studio update all month! It's been busy, closing up another season end. It's hard to believe that our spring recital is tomorrow, and there's only one more week of lessons till summer break!    This last week, we focused on recital preparation. I like to have my students rehearse what they will do at a recital at their lesson before the actual thing. I know that, for myself, I am way more confident when I know exactly what's expected for me to do!    As usual, a TPT game made learning fun for beginners! Modelled after a Memory game, this game covers six things you should do before you play your piece, and gave us a good chance to talk over each step.    The week before, I used the recital pieces to teach a bit of theory -- subtly. :)    Beginners in Buddy Lessons had fun comparing ways that their pieces were different and ways they were the same. We found out that two pieces that are very different when you pl

Poco a poco Little by little

(Note to parents: Please go over this post with your child. We'll be covering many of the same things in class this coming week!)    Hello to all my students! Are you excited about the recital in just another week? Maybe a bit nervous? You'll do fine!    I'd like to give you all a few tips so you know what you should do at the recital. ·            Maybe you find that playing piano in front of people is a bit scary. If so, that's OK -- most students feel this way! You can prepare ahead of time for the recital by playing for a lot of people over the next few weeks. Not only does this earn you points, but it will also help you to feel less nervous at the recital. Don't forget to ask your friends and family to sign in pencil! ·           A recital is a special event -- dress nicely, please! (But for this recital specifically, don't feel like you have to wear your fanciest clothes. As long as it's nice, not the same clothes that you take care of your

Dolce Sweetly

Hello, everyone!    It's that time of year again, when the recital is coming up faster than we realize! This time around, I decided to write to you parents first. Many of you are familiar with what I'm about to say, but if you can take a few minutes to go over it again, we can all look forward to yet another great recital in two weeks!         Especially if this is your child's first recital, keep your eyes open for next week's post. (Or find previous recital tips  right here. ) Next week I will write to them about what they should expect and do. 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.). Because we are going to a seniours' home, there is no need to bring snacks or goodies along this time.       Ask the staff where they want us to put jackets. Also, if it's raining outside, please remember that in facilities like this o

Mano sinistra Left Hand    I apologize for last week! I was trying out the 'Schedule' feature on Blogger, thinking it would be automatic, and I guess it wasn't.    Last week's word was Mano destra: Right hand.