Hey! We did something fun in January!

 No doubt some of you are rolling your eyes at that. 

   "Of course you did something fun in January. Every time you post an update, it's to tell us all just how fun piano lessons are."

   Yes... that's true.

   What's different this time, though, is that I'm not showing off my ever-expanding collection of Wunderkeys games. Nor am I recreating photos of spur-of-the-moment kinesthetic ideas I tried out to make things stick. 

   Today's post actually has to do with what we played on the piano itself. Because this month, everyone got a new, not-in-your-method-book song to learn!



   OK, I said it wasn't in the method book. But some of the pieces are from the Celebrations Series books, which are almost method books. Some of the students learning from the Celebration Series are competing in Parkland Music Festival. Some are students who've been at this for more than one year, and I figured it was time to introduce them to a broader spectrum of music. (The Celebrations Series is the official book for the Royal Conservatory of Music, but don't be fooled. The music in it may be considered "serious" music, but that doesn't mean it's not fun to play. Actually, I think some of those songs are way cooler than the method book pieces. 😉) One student has been finding her method book pieces too easy, and she just needed something to challenge her, so it was Celebration Series to the rescue! 

   But not everyone had their music come straight out of Celebration Series. Some students had specific songs they wanted to learn. There are songs I won't teach, but whenever I can, I try to help students learn the pieces they love. This year, that was a range of pieces, from "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," to "Sky Full of Stars," to "Amazing Grace." Others didn't have a specific song, but also weren't ready for the challenges of Celebration Series. They were happy to learn some different music, and I tried to cater to what I thought they'd like and give them some options from my repertoire stash. It wasn't all printed music, either. For one student, I let her try and figure out as much of the piece as she could by ear the first week, then gave her the music the second week. For another, I used a YouTube tutorial. Yes, that's kind of cheating, and I don't use them all the time. But it's also handy for online lessons, plus fun for the students in our techy age. 

   One moment this month really stands out to me. 

   This one little boy, who normally has about "the attention span of a sparrow" (Stoick the Vast, HTTYD), got really excited about the movie/pop piece that we were learning. He just didn't want to stop! He wanted to keep going, and when the lesson finished (he's an online student), he asked me excitedly, "Can I call my mom and my dad and show them what I can play?" It was so precious to see him excited and focused, and eager to learn more! 

Location: Onoway, AB T0E 1V0, Canada

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