Songbird Piano Lessons

 Today, I'm sorry to say, I have no new thoughts or updates for you. I'll write an update next week.     For now, enjoy these links to other posts from years past. :) Throwback on studio updates: Click here to read about my pandemic experiments with making video lessons! The Christian Musician What's a Christian perspective on the purpose of music? My Story Read the very first "My Story" post here! Piano Parent Helps I think this is the only Piano Parent Help post I haven't already linked back to recently. Piano Student Helps Here's a challenge I used to do ages ago.  See how well you do on it! 

 Scherzando Playful and lively

  (If you haven't already done so, I suggest reading my other two posts on Festival preparation,  the one about memorizing music here  and  the one about nerves here .) Etiquette. It's such an old-fashioned word, but it's a word I like. The word itself has poise and grace to it.     It doesn't change the fact that it's not the most popular word out there today.     Nonetheless, we all know that there are formal events at which etiquette is, at the very least, expected. And music festivals, as competitive events, fall into that category!     Let's use more approachable terminology, shall we? We'll talk here about the do's and don'ts of performing at festivals.     (This is adapted from the Parkland Music Festival Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct is part of the Parkland Music Festival Syllabus,  which can be read here.  I strongly encourage all participants to read it for themselves.) Do put a sticky note on the front of your book stating your name

 If you didn't read last week's post about memorizing your music, you really should do so. And you can --  by clicking here!    That feeling. The one you probably get right before an important performance. Your heart races. Your hands are clammy. Meanwhile, your face might be hot, and your mouth dry. And it seems to take forever before they finally call your name. In the meantime, you hardly hear anything that's going on around you.     Almost everyone experiences it. It's called being nervous.     The big question is, what are you going to do about it?    Here's my thoughts on what you can do. Be prepared. There are two weeks left till Festival. Make the most of them. Be hard on yourself  during those two weeks. Practice for perfection.  Be actively listening while you practice.  But also be careful;  you don't want to strain your hands or wrists while practicing.  And, above all,  make sure your memory work is really strong.  (Those links, by the way, are link

 Mosso Movement or motion

 Legato Smooth and connected

 With  Parkland Music Festival  coming up, I'm going to spend the next three weeks focusing on preparing for Festival. This week I'll talk about memorizing. Next week I'll talk about nerves, and for Week 3, we'll cover Festival do's and don'ts.     I'll admit, as a child, I never gave a thought to how I memorized. And I'm not just talking about music. I was in  AWANA , I had to memorize Bible verses to get through the books and on to the next level, and with Mom there to help me, I wound up not only getting through the required books with flying colours, but also doing extra, optional work -- and subsequently getting extra rewards! But, lest you think, "Obviously she had an exceptional memory" -- Mom was also an AWANA leader. When I moved to the next level, she did too, so we could be together. When we moved up, a lot of the girls in my new class were really having a hard time just getting through Book 1. Mom didn't waste time. She began pe