In the 20th century, many piano teaching methods were based on the middle C approach. The goal was to use middle C as the place where the two thumbs would reside. As a result, Bass F and treble G became the domain of the two pinkies. It worked better in theory than application.
Continue reading “Battling Thumbs”Our seventh annual Halloween Piano Party was small, but meaningful. Five students, three in costume, gathered on Saturday, October 18th, to share their piano pieces and candy with each other. I introduced a new interval game as part of the games portion of the party. I combined this with the Hasbro game Don’t Break the Ice.
Continue reading “Halloween Piano Party 2025”This post was inspired by an episode of Christina Whitlock’s Beyond Measure Podcast. In that episode, Christina speaks with guest Janna Williamson on the differences between proactive and reactive teaching strategies. It made me realize that my teaching is almost completely reactive. Sure, it isn’t optimal, but pretty typical of traditional teaching.
Continue reading “Meet Students Where They Are”Comparative listening in classical music refers to listening to several different recordings of the same piece, deciding what you like (or don’t) about each performance. It’s a great way to deepen your listening skills, which can help you listen more carefully to your own playing. I prescribed this type of listening recently to a couple of students who are preparing for the finals of a music competition, and I’m sharing a couple of those examples here as well.
Continue reading “Comparative Listening”The minuet and trio is a structure that began in the early Baroque, though matured through the Classical and Romantic Eras. This structure is also called A-B-A, where the minuet played at the beginning is repeated at the end, with the trio in the middle. The minuet is a court dance from the early 17th century. However, why is the trio called a trio? I am now well-equipped at answering this question, if it ever comes along again.
Continue reading “Minuet and Trio”This post has no affiliate links. In other words, I don’t get any compensation as a result of purchases made using these links.
One of the biggest issues I see when new students buy budget keyboards, those that are in the sub-$1000 range, is that they don’t get the right extras. Even though the makers call these accessories, I like to deem them as essentials. If you are interested in what brands and models I like, you can find that in a longer article on my website, Choose the Right Piano. The focus of this post is solely to make sure you get the three essential items you’ll need to outfit your piano perfectly!
Continue reading “Outfit Your Keyboard”My second long-form blog post for the Colourful Keys blog is based on the Pros and Cons of Music Memorization. I grew up in traditional piano lessons where a fair amount of your repertoire was not only expected, but required to be memorized. After working a number of years as a piano instructor, my view has changed quite a bit.
Continue reading “Pros and Cons of Music Memorization”This past Saturday, April 1st, we had our second annual Late Patrick’s Day Piano Party. I’ve typically held a springmusic festival warm-up event, but it was only recently that I added the fun components. This year, an extremely warm sunny day plus a lack of written communication from me meant that we had fewer participants than normal. Those that attended seemed to have fun.
Continue reading “Late Patrick’s Day Piano Party 2023”Music theory is important to the study of piano because it describes the language of music composition. It’s comparable to teaching English as a comprehensive subject versus just having a period of silent reading with no analysis.
Continue reading “Music Theory Is Important”Let’s face it: Kids don’t always look forward to practice, even if they enjoy playing piano. Parents can easily get overwhelmed and forget to check if daily practice occurs. The result? Piano progress sometimes comes to a grinding halt. That is where you can guide your child to independent practice.
Continue reading “Guide Your Child to Independent Practice”
