Songbird Piano Lessons

 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 ...

  When I started blogging, I wanted to put up a FAQ's page.    The reason I never did was... I never received any frequently asked questions. :) I mean, other than the basics, like how long are lessons (half an hour every week) and what are your rates (see link below)?     Well, piano parents and future piano parents, consider this post your FAQ page. Everything you thought of, and some things you maybe didn't think of! Enjoy the links to other pages and posts, and hopefully it will be helpful to someone somewhere. :) What are your rates? How will I know if piano is a good fit for my child? Why should we choose lessons with you? What are your credentials? Do you offer accompanist services? Should I choose online piano lessons? Is my preschooler too young for piano? What kind of piano should I buy?    Any more questions? Please comment below... or click the "What are your rates?" link to go to the Rates & Contact Me page, where you can find my ...

 I probably should be writing a New Year's post. However, I'm not. On the flip side, I will quickly say that 2022 has been a very good year, professionally and personally, a year in which I've seen God's blessings in a very tangible way. Praise Him, the Giver of every good and perfect gift! ( James 1:17 ) God is good, all the time -- whether it's 2020, 2022, or 2052.     However, the thing on my mind for blogging right now is actually  Parkland Music Festival . For those who may not be familiar with music festivals in general, a music festival is an educational opportunity, a performance opportunity, and a competition, rolled into one. Performers, ranging from 5-year-olds to college students, register to enter into an age-and-level appropriate class. One by one, all the members of the class will perform their pieces for an adjudicator, basically a highly skilled, professional musician. After everyone has played, the adjudicator works with each child, giving them...

 It's official. Only three more days till lessons start! *wild cheers*    With that in mind, you may have questions about piano lessons. If you are looking for a piano teacher for your child this fall, let me give you some links where you can find various answers to questions you might have.  What are your rates? You can find those on my  Rates and Contact Me Page. What's a good age to get my child started on piano? Contrary to popular opinion, preschoolers are not too little to start on their music journey. I accept students as young as three years old. Want to know why?  This blog post addresses three reasons why lessons for preschoolers really work!  (Plus I've also had a preschool student. So I know from experience that it works, not just that it should work theoretically.) Do online lessons work? Absolutely! And remember, I will gladly teach online anywhere in Canada.  You can click here  to see if online lessons is a good fit for your f...

So, today I thought I'd take a break from my normal studio updates and describe to you my two-student lesson plan.    My first experience teaching was with my three younger siblings. Since they were close to the same age, and since I had done group lessons as a child, and since I was still doing high school at that time, I just assumed that group lessons would work for them. Suffice it to say, it didn't work. One piano and three children whose learning styles were drastically different -- that was enough to make me shy away from teaching group lessons. Ever. I thought.    Now fast forward to today, where I have a studio that does have two pianos -- a digital, and my wonderful acoustic that you're always seeing in pictures -- and more experience. Individual lessons have a lot of benefits that I'm fond of, but group lessons make more sense for parents who have two children at the same level (more sense both budget-wise and logically). Such was the piano parent who...

I apologize for not putting this post out last week. Or maybe I should say for not writing this post or any post at all last week. It was just one of those weeks. Well, we were arriving at home from a weekend getaway last Monday (my normal blogging day), and then it just seemed like the rest of the week was spent catching up with other things. Oh, and preparing for our piano party! Come back next week for that post; I can't wait to share with you all the fun we had!    Anyways, on to the main subject. Traditionally, most parents have waited until their child could read to enroll them in piano lessons. Traditionally, most piano teachers only accepted children that could read. But that mentality is slowly changing. I am one of the teachers now accepting preschool students. And I'd like to talk with you about why I am doing that, and why preschool is the perfect age to start your child's musical adventure.    Reason #1: Because I have a  new method book for p...

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