Songbird Piano Lessons

Pianissimo Very quietly

 These days, it seems like there's an app for everything.    I mean, I'm not even 30, and I distinctly remember the first time I saw a smartphone. It was my older sister's, and it was the absolute latest technology available. My older brother and my dad would continue using flip phones for several more years. (Actually, Dad clung to the flip phone for as long as he possibly could. He finally has a smartphone now.) My mom didn't even own a cell phone. My friend's dad, a computer programmer, had a Blackberry.     Now people depend on their smartphones.     And you can get an app for literally anything, from budgeting to cooking to... learning piano.     As you can imagine, we piano teachers are not crazy about the latter apps!     But why is this? Are we just anti-technology in this department because it takes away part of our income? Or is there a real, genuine reason for taking actual piano lessons above using an app or a YouTube tutorial?  Disclaimer: Professionals

 Accelerando Gradually getting faster

 Marcato Marked, emphasised.

 After a very busy couple of months, I'm finally writing my long-overdue update! Thank you for your patience. You know, I never realized that I'd be one of those bloggers... the kind who has intentions to blog... but the weeks slip by... and next thing you know, it's been months since I've actually written anything.     I think, though, that today's post will prove, if nothing else: I really have been busy. Very busy.  Weddings    Within the last six months, two of my friends have been engaged and blissfully wed. Congratulations, ladies!    Their weddings, as it turned out, wound up happening one weekend after the other.    Both asked me to play for them.     Now, to make it clear, I don't advertise playing piano for weddings. As part of my career, I'd be too picky about which ones I took and which ones I didn't to make it worth my while. However, this was different. These are my friends  we're talking about. So I was honoured to meet their requests.

 Fine (pronounced FIN-eh) The end

 Pesante Heavy

 This week, Word of the Week is a bit different. Since I didn't post a Word of the Week over the weekend, students can tell me any music vocabulary word and its definition to get their point this week.     To get you started, you can  click here to check out previous words.

 Mezzo forte Medium loud

 Da Capo Repeat from the beginning

 Whoops. I definitely messed up my blogging schedule again.     Sorry.     Next week I'll have an update for you (and hopefully some photos of me playing for a wedding for the first time!). This week, I decided that we'll take a look at some old posts. (Yes, I do that a lot these days. That and Pinspiration -- inspiration from Pinterest. Just don't have much else to write, I guess.)     Here's a fun post  about one of my teaching inspirations, back in the days of few students, dark brown flooring and walls, and '70's-style room dividers. (Hint: I still have those dividers. They're just covered in a less garish fabric now.) I'm happy my décor has updated, but reading this post makes me think that maybe I should pull out the masking tape again....     This story about Mr. C  was my very first post when I started blogging in earnest, and it's still among the three most popular posts on my blog. Check it out to read about how my teacher practiced in a do

 Morendo  Fading away

 Ritardando Gradually slowing down

 Hey! For a change, I have something to write about in my January update!     I'll take a minute to talk about a couple of different things below that are new.... Lesson Planning and Organization    I've made some updates to my lesson planning system.     This does not mean, unfortunately, that I've completely eliminated the "oops-doing-another-lesson-on-the-fly" syndrome. I wish it did. But sometimes life gets in the way of lesson planning.    However, moving my system from a notebook to a binder means that I can also keep the games I want to use for different students together with each respective students' lesson plan.    It also means, because each student has their own page, I can easily see what we did and didn't cover, and take notes for specific things that need to be covered.     Also, now that I've got my games sorted into a filing cabinet, life is so much better. (Previously the games were in the binder that now hosts the lesson plans.) Fest

 Mosso Movement

 Meno Less

 I realized I had to blog today.     And I juggled my lack of inspiration against the stack of my harmony student's work that still needs to be marked and sent back.    And then I thought of my own journey through the harmony textbooks.     In Grade 9, while I was struggling to remember and follow all the rules, my Grade 9 teacher said, "Yeah, and then you get into studying music history, and you discover that all the famous composers ever did was break the rules anyways."    That discouraged me.    Why was I learning this stuff if it didn't matter? If no one regarded it? If the rules were only there for the exam and nothing more?    In Grade 10, I silently carried this attitude over to my new theory teacher. She didn't reprimand it. Maybe, because I was the silent and obliging type, she didn't even notice it. Instead she took me to her piano. She made me play the wrong harmonies, the rule-breakers. Then she had me play the corrected versions.    "Doesn&#

 Calorosa With life and warmth

 Hi, all,    Just as a heads up, I won't be blogging on a weekly basis anymore. Not that I was doing that consistently anyways. But from now on, until further notice, it's official. I will be blogging once every two weeks -- the end-of-the-month updates, and tips, thoughts, and memoirs in between.     As always, please still head over to  my contact page  to get in touch. Or you can click on  this page  to learn about accompaniment services. Finally, the most important page on this blog you possibly can click on  is this one.  (I know that's vague. I did that on purpose. Hoping to pique your curiousity and that sort of thing....😉) Stay warm! 

 Lacrimoso Weeping

 Whoops! I never got around to writing a November update. Or a December one.     And to top it all off, I also forgot to take pictures.     Actually, correction: At my recital, I forgot to ask my mom to take pictures for me. Normally my brother does that. But he was dashing home to grab the dessert I hadn't thought of bringing.     Yeah.     So, let's start with November! Composer Month     Composer Month  this year went well. As the month drew to a close, it became clear that the Chopin team was not winning. At 58 points, they came in last. Poor Chopin.    The Brahms team started off with a bang, and were in the lead for at least the first two weeks. But at 76 points, they took second place. Not bad, Brahms.     The Tchaikovsky team won at 87 points! They owed 65 of those points to three students, who were all in the lead for individuals who brought in the most facts. Two of them tied for most facts at 22, and the third student was right behind them at 21 facts. I try to keep

 Vivace Lively, quick