When You Fall In Love (With Making Music)
For those in their teen years, music can be an important emotional outlet
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...
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...
Now Is The Time .. to make beautiful music.
Need an opening song for your voice/piano or elementary/middle school performances? I used "Now Is The Time" as a welcoming song on my...
Don't Let the Sun Set on Summer Lessons!
As private music teachers prepare their summer schedules, there is always a family that will say, "we will not be taking lessons during...
My "Practice" Story
At the age of eight, I started piano lessons with great enthusiasm. My parents had an old upright cabinet grand (I am talking HUGE)...
Should You MAKE Your Child Practice?
I met a very successful doctor at a party who said to me, when he discovered I teach piano, "I don't believe in MAKING my children do...
