Heads-Up: Watch for Celebration Series Sales soon



 I remember in Grade 6 piano, choosing my exam pieces. And then, after the decisions were made, my teacher informed me that my Grade 6 book was out-of-date and one of the pieces we'd picked was no longer on the Syllabus. No matter. She put it down as a Teacher's Choice, and on we went.

   Later, as a music teacher, I was at Innovations Music, buying books, and the person who served me was complaining about the fact that RCM changed their syllabus and thus their books every 5 years, and then they always wound up with outdated books that no one would buy. They had a shelf labelled "50% off" of just such books. 

   The point?

   It's not to boycott Celebration Series. Not only is that impossible for serious music studies if you're going with the Royal Conservatory of Music, but it's also highly impractical. I mean, I did think over the last two years, "Why do I need to make my students' parents buy these books if their kids aren't going to be serious about piano? It's a waste of money."

   Wrong, Sarah. Most parents, with the exception of a very dedicated few, will only buy the music for their children that I tell them to. If I stick with just the method books and whatever my students happen to pick up on their own, we'll be using a very small, limited range of music. If we use Celebration Series, however, we can explore all kinds of music, from Baroque (maybe your budding pianist will discover that they like Bach!) to modern. 

   However, Celebration Series books are expensive. And that's the point. Unless you're taking an exam, you don't need a brand new Celebration Series book. You can use one you found in the thrift store from the 1990s! 

   And, even better, it's almost time for Celebration Series to be releasing their newest edition. So watch your music stores, parents. You might be able to find books on sale in a few months (around fall or so).

   For your convenience, here's a handy chart to figure out which level of Celebration Series to snap up. (Their system is different than method books.)



Location: Onoway, AB T0E 1V0, Canada

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

And to this I said Amen

Image
 (Note for those who may not know: The word "Amen" comes from an ancient word -- whether Greek, Hebrew, or some other language, I do not remember -- that expressed agreement with truth. It is a transliterated word; that is, it's very similar to the original word in the original language. One person claimed it was one of two words that has been transliterated rather than translated across all languages, the other word being Hallelujah. Fun fact for the day. 😀)    Again, I had writer's block and didn't know what to write about. All I could think about was how it's February, it's a theme month, and I haven't finished planning the theme, even though the month has already started. So, once more, I turned to Pinterest . (If that link doesn't work, let me know, because I'm not sure it will actually take you to my Pinterest profile.)    This time, instead of music humour, I found this beautiful musician's prayer. And I went, "Yes! That is exa...
Read more

Gloves: For More than Keeping Your Child's Hands Warm

Image
   Snow swirls around the streets of Leningrad, Russia. Pedestrians pull winter coats tighter around themselves. Car lights shine through the flurries. In one large, multi-story building, a window on the corner of the building is lit. Inside the room, frost decorates the window panes. The only occupant – a young man, with a spark of life in his blue eyes – turns out music, gorgeous music, on the upright piano against the wall. He wears a heavy overcoat and plays with a pair of medium-weight, knit gloves – for his dormitory room has no heat.    At this point in the narrative, the music teacher jerks his enraptured student back into the present – modern Edmonton, a warm and very comfortable music studio, and the two Yamaha baby grands sitting side by side – with this question:    “ Have you ever practiced with gloves on?”    Ahh . . . no, I hadn’t. My house always had heat?!     My music teacher, undeterred by my blank look (w...
Read more

When Music Teachers Meet

Image
It was Sunday evening, and various members of  PMTA  were gathered at one member's home for the Annual General Meeting. Since I've only been a member for less than a year, this was the first time I'd been to one of their meetings. As we were setting up for supper, I asked the president, "So, what goes on in the meeting?"    She looked at me, and her face instantly displayed drama. With gusto, she replied, "You'll be thrilled, and chilled, and ... bored out of your mind!"    LOL!    That's the great thing about hanging around with other artistic minds. There's plenty of room for drama. :)    Seriously, though, I like getting together with other music teachers, because all of us can talk for hours about music. :) It was a lot of fun comparing notes back and forth and getting to know some of the other teachers. I pick up ideas from these exchanges, including other teachers' favourite methods and new things to include -- or new ways ...
Read more