Songbird Piano Lessons

 I first realized there was a problem on a road trip with my friends. The conversation went something like this: Friend: Do you like opera?  Me: No. The music's amazing, but the storylines are always morbid, weird, or suggestive -- or all three. Friend: Oh. Well, everyone talks about what a great piece of music Handel's Messiah  is, but we really don't like the singing. You can't understand what's being said.  Me: *blinks rapidly in confusion* Huh?! Me: Handel's Messiah isn't an opera. It's an oratorio!  Friend: What's the difference?     I explained the difference to my friends, and we kept driving. But I soon discovered that theirs was an extremely common misconception. I was telling my mom about this while listening to a cantata, and with a puzzled glance, she asked, "So, if you don't like opera, why are you listening to one?"     The worst was the comment I found on YouTube. For my music history, I was listening to Jean Coulthar...

 I got this book as a present from my teacher around year ago. I finished reading it several months ago. (Not because it's a thick, intimidating read. It has more to do with trying to read 4 or 5 books at once with an average reading time of 5-10 minutes a day.) Today, you finally get to hear about how much I loved it!    As you can see from the photo, the title is The Soul of the Music: Gifts from the Golden Age of Piano,  and it's written by Edwin Gnandt (who happens to be a Canadian, which gives the book an even better rating in my mind 😄). In six chapters, Gnandt contrasts the approach of the Romantic era and our own in four different areas of pianism: singing tone/legato style, composition and improvisation, interpretation, technical prowess, and performance/competition culture. Though it took me months to read, that was my own fault; the book is slim and no one is going to lose their train of thought before getting to the end. With the technical details covere...

  While I'm now offering  online lessons , I've talked with enough parents over the past few months to know: Not everyone's hyped about the idea of taking lessons online. Many of you would rather continue with traditional, in-person lessons. But does that work in the new world of COVID-19 we've found ourselves in?     Actually, I believe in-person lessons can continue safely under the current situation. Here's my plan for how we're going to continue having lessons that are both fun and safe for everyone! Students and anyone else who comes in will be asked to use either hand sanitizer or hand wipes with tea tree oil. (Why tea tree oil? It's an anti-viral, which makes it, in some of my friends' points of view, more effective against COVID-19 than antibacterial hand sanitizers. But it will be your choice which one you use.) I will be wiping down the piano, chairs, pencils, and any items used during lesson time between lessons.  There will be a masking-tape ...

      Today I started a course from  Music Teacher's Helper  that was all about teaching piano online.     The course has made me feel more positive and confident about offering online lessons. It showed me that, yes, there are advantages for students taking lessons online. And the disadvantages? They're hurdles I can overcome, not roadblocks that will stop me. Most of all, that first lesson has assured me that online lessons are something that students can enjoy and learn from, just as much as in-person lessons.    So on to what you really want to know: Are online lessons right for you? Well, based on my first course module and my experience, here's my thoughts. Online lessons might be right for you if: you like the idea of taking lessons from home. Some children actually find this more comfortable than going somewhere for lessons. your schedule would make it difficult to drive to a piano teacher's studio every week (you could save a lo...