When You Fall In Love (With Making Music)
For those in their teen years, music can be an important emotional outlet
Read The Policy, PLEEEASE!
All professional music teachers (and dance teachers, and art schools) have a policy in place that is required reading before students...
Playing Gracefully (In an Ungraceful Time)
love playing blues, rock and roll, dramatic Romantic period pieces. They are "let-it-all-hang- out in-your-face" pieces that can be good f
What Is the Most Important Musical Skill I Teach?
It is not technique, music reading, theory, transposing, ear training, singing while playing, phrasing. Those are all skills I teach and...
Students Teaching Teachers
Learning is not a one-way street. Teachers teach students, but students also teach teachers. I was reminded of that recently while...
Judge As Thou Would Be Judged (Music Festivals)
I recently helped run a local music festival/audition for area music students K-12 grades. Some Festivals and Auditions are very serious...
The Music Machine (The Piano Is)
One of the sweetest gifts a student gave me years ago was a poem she had a written for an English class titled "The Music Machine." It...
What do you do when a student REALLY wants to learn a piece that is too difficult for their level?
You make an arrangement for them! One of my students came to her lesson and was trying to play "Lift Every Voice" by ear. "I REALLY want...
Learning To Play Songs, or To Be a Musician?
Learning by rote versus learning musical skills such as reading music, technical skills, understanding styles.
_______ Has Decided to No Longer Take Lessons
Although it has happened many times in my years of teaching, my heart sank again this summer when I received this text the night before...
