Songbird Piano Lessons

I was never good at sight reading.    In my studies, sight reading was, of course, purely a technical exercise. I had my  Four Star sight reading book  (that's an affiliate link, by the way), out of which I faithfully did my daily exercises and never got anywhere as far as real progress went.     Sight reading was something you had to know to pass the exams.    I became a teacher, and discovered that my lack of sight reading skills was slightly more problematic than a poor exam mark! Suddenly I had to be sight reading my students' pieces. This wasn't a problem the first year that I taught, not even the second. After that... different story.     You can see why sight reading is a priority for me this summer.    Thankfully, my last piano teacher was able to help me. (Remind me to tell you a story about his incredible sight reading one of these days.) He told me, "The first time, you don't worry about the right notes. Yo...

Ever wondered if you really should send your child back for another year of piano? If it's worth it for them?    My mom didn't wonder. But that had nothing to do with me. Absolutely nothing. I wasn't a Handel or a Mozart. I wasn't motivated to practice late nights in an attic, write my first (independent) compositions before finishing MYC, or go on a performing tour of Europe. No, I was very... normal.     Want to read about my early music education? Maybe you'll find that, as a child, I resembled... your child. It might give you a laugh. I hope it encourages you, as a parent, to keep on pursuing the talent you know lies in your child.  Click here to read about the young and not-so-outstanding me.  And to find out why my mom chose not to give up.

 Does anybody remember Aristocats?    Seriously. Some of my students could find that those kittens play better than they do! 😉    Right. The kittens are fictional Disney characters. As such, Disney could make them supremely and flawlessly talented in the music department. Reality check!     Anyways. On to real scales and arpeggios. Because  that was one of the things I said I'd be practicing this summer.  Yes, it's basic. But that's kind of the point. Everybody, teacher, student, or performer, has to be fluent at scales and arpeggios if they want to be fluent at any music. (Hint, students: You also have to use the right finger numbers if you want to be fluent at any music. Not the haphazard fingering that comes easily and will cost you dearly later in your music journey. I know, Toulouse and Berlioz weren't using any fingering. You, however, do not play with kitten paws, and thus do need to learn correct fingering.)      ...

 So, today, you have another 'flashback link' from me. This was one of my earliest posts on this blog. In it I take a look at a Christian songwriter every Christian musician should know something about: Isaac Watts. If you are familiar with any hymns at all, you've probably heard at least one of his hymns. But how much do you really know about the man? Click here to learn a bit about this prolific hymn writer.