Posts

Showing posts from December, 2019

Thoughts for the New Year

Image
A friend of mine shared this music video with me. It's not a style I normally listen to (I'm the kind who will usually listen to hymns with orchestral accompaniment or, of course, the classical masters), but the lyrics are so powerful that I thought I'd share it with you. It's something I want to keep in mind going into 2020 -- an eternal perspective bigger than myself. I also love the call-and-response format. Plus the people who shot it did an amazing job with the video.     Anyways, I'll let you listen to it, and let the words speak for themselves.  Recap on December    I realize I haven't written about how the student recital went. Well, I can sum it up in two sentences:    It was good. Everybody made mistakes.    *laughs* Did I make anybody do a double take there?     Yes, I really did write that, and yes, I am serious. Here's why: Everybody made mistakes, but not one of my students  let their mistakes derail their performance

Recital Prep: For Students and Parents

Image
Well, at this stage, all my piano parents and most of my students have been through the recital process before. You all know what I'm going to say. :) Still, do take the time to read this and go over it with your child, especially if you have a child who is having her first recital.  Teen students, please read the whole post yourself. For the parents:    Make sure you and your family arrive on time (a few minutes before 2:00 P.M.), and please bring along a plate of snack food or dessert. (If anyone wants to volunteer to bring folding chairs, please let me know.)       Coats can go in the closet in our entryway. The recital will be in the studio, so please head downstairs upon arrival.      Help your child feel relaxed before the recital. Many children get very nervous before a recital, which doesn't help them play their best! All your children are prepared for this. And, much as we'd like it if everything went perfectly, mistakes do happen and they're not a

Just a little competitive?!

Image
And the big news you've all been waiting to hear!    Announcing the winner of Composer Month got delayed by a week due to unexpected circumstances.    You're all dying to know, right?    Take a guess. The Vivaldi/Scarlatti team had to pin facts to the room divider ... ...while the Handel team was working around a light switch and a door frame ... ...but the corner with the Bach poster was definitely the fullest! Students on the Bach team resorted to including my bookcase as part of their poster. ;) (With my permission, of course.)    Congratulations to the Bach team! They decidedly won at 131 facts and pictures. The Vivaldi/Scarlatti team came in second at 110 facts and pictures, and the Handel team collected 93 facts.     The most facts collected by an individual student racked up to a very impressive 63 facts! (She was on the Bach team. Anyone surprised?) 

Word of the Week

A poco a poco Little by little