Piano Parent Podcast: Helping Teachers, Parents, And Students Get The Most Of Their Piano Lessons.

Click here to download this episode. Introductory remarks Listen to the full episode here 1. Why Butterflies? Adrenaline is one way your body works to protect you in a dangerous situation. Part of that protection includes making your heart and lungs work faster and stronger, making your muscles stronger, and helping you think more clearly to you can make quick decisions. The problem is, your brain wants to protect you and kick these things into action if you’re in real danger, say being chased by a bear, or not in real danger, say waiting to play your recital piece. Another group of muscles your brain puts on red alert is your stomach muscles. Since the early 1900s, that constriction of the stomach muscles has been called “butterflies in your stomach”. Maybe 'butterflies' sounds more gentle and calming that hummingbirds or ocean waves. 2. You Care The presence of butterflies shows that you care about this performance and that’s a very good sign. Because you care, you want to do your best. When you have the

Each year, about this time, music teachers around the world prepare their students for recital.  The question is WHY? I can’t speak for other teachers but I’ll use this post to explain why I think a formal spring recital is important along with more details about the way my studio recitals are conducted. Listen to the full episode here First, the WHY: I believe one of the best reasons for a recital is simply the enjoyment of music.  We often listen to music passively while driving in the car or working on other projects, so to set aside an hour to give our undivided attention to music is a gift, not only for the student, but also for each audience member. In addition to celebrating the beauty of music, a formal spring recital is just that – formal.  It provides an opportunity to reinforce all the manners parents want their children to learn and practice as civilized human beings. Sit still and be quiet while others are performing. Give your full attention to something outside yourself. Encourage the efforts

In case you didn’t know, this podcast is called the Piano Parent Podcast. Most episodes deal with common obstacles or struggles students face when learning to play the piano. Today, I’d like to spend our time together by focusing on just you, parents. Specifically, today I want to encourage you to stand firm and do not give in. Listen to the full episode here Click here to download this episode. Remember the goal is to train your child Since my youngest is 16 and my parenting skills are a little dated, I decided to check out what others say about modern parenting. This article by Robert Locke from LIfehack.org had some interesting things to say about this topic. He says it is a mistake to give in to have a quiet life. Many parents give in because they have to juggle credit card, shopping, trolley and a screaming child. The only problem about giving in and hoping for a quiet life is that the child has learned a new strategy. This will be used again and again. It works! I couldn’t agree more and I’ll talk a

In our fourth teacher chat, Beth Horton and I discuss hand hygiene and fingernails. Listen to additional teacher chats here. Listen to the full episode here Beth Horton Beth is a teacher in Lubbock, Texas who teaches in a multi-teacher studio, travels to students' homes, and offers online piano lessons. Beth will be featured in the next teacher interview coming out May 6, Episode 141. What do you expect as far as hand hygiene from your students? Beth - In a word, CLEAN. As for length, hold your hand up and look at your palm, if you see you fingernail over the back of your fingertip, your nails are too long. Shelly - "Biting your nails is gross," ~ Allison Thompson, the most popular girl in my fifth grade class. What problems can result from fingernails that are too long? Beth - Fingernails make a clacking sound on the piano keys. To avoid that sound, many students play with flat fingers. To play with flat fingers, their third knuckle will collapse, their wrist is arched, and there is so much tension in thei

I e-met Leah online when her studio participated in the PIANOVEMBER Practice Challenge. She runs a vibrant studio, that is actually called Vibrant Valley Music Studio. She is active in her own pursuit of learning to teach her students. In fact, we were just able to book this interview before Leah heads to the MTNA Convention in Spokane, WA. I love the name of her studio, Vibrant Valley Music Studio and I especially love her teaching philosophy, "Nurturing tomorrow's musicians through creativity, inspiration, and community." Listen to the full episode here Resources Mentioned in this Episode Debra Perez “Way Cool Keyboarding” Bullfrog Jamboree by Mayron Cole Jennifer Eklund’s Piano Pronto FM Sheet Music Teacher video recommendation "Things and Wings" by Liz Story is one of the pieces that made Leah feel like an actual accomplished pianist. She still has this piece memorized and under her fingers to this day! Other LIz Story pieces at MusicNotes.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n8lpsiZkG8 Words of w

Doing new things can be challenging for all of us. Piano students are asked to do new things constantly. Once they master one concept, another is given to them without pause. Faced with something new, in this case a new musical concept to master or a new song to play, students have to exert a lot of conscious effort. They have to intentionally think about what they want their hands to do. That is hard work!  Piano kids will often resist and not even try because they don’t feel they will be successful. Rather than try and fail, they choose to give up. They feel like the music is too hard. Parents can help their kids look at music and their abilities differently. It’s not too hard; it’s too new. As students practice and put in multiple, slow repetitions, their hands and muscles “learn” how to do the movement and play the notes and rhythm patterns. The effort becomes less mental and more automatic. Automaticity definition: The condition of being automatic. The ability to do things without occupying the mind wit

In Episode 130 I gave you a list of ten songs that are perfect for playing along with YouTube videos (I've gotten a lot of positive feedback from that episode! Thanks for letting me know it was helpful for you).  It occurred to me while recording that episode that I haven’t really talked about building chords and their inversions on the podcast. Build by counting piano keys Many piano kids may be familiar with chords that are grouped by their shape. Major Chords with all white keys: C, F, G. Chords with a black key in the middle: D, E, A. Chords with black keys on the top and bottom and a white key in the middle: Db, Eb, Ab. But what about chords that don’t fit in those groups? You can find the notes you need by counting piano keys - all keys, black or white. For Major chords, start with any piano key. This becomes the ROOT of the chord. Today, let’s use B. From the ROOT, count up four piano keys (C, C#, D, D#) D# is the fourth piano key up from B. D# is the middle note of the chord. In terms of intervals, i

Click here to download this episode. In this episode we learn ♫ How Raphaelita’s instructor, mentor, and lifelong friend discovered her when she was practicing at a local church one day. ♫ How Raphealita’s upbringing and the influence of her mother helped her become an excellent student. ♫ The difference between the casual piano parent who aims to broaden their child’s interests and knowledge versus the more stern piano parent who views piano study as a launching pad for additional opportunities for their piano kid in college and beyond. ♫ How Raphaelita uses WhatsApp to help her students stay motivated and practicing throughout the week. One question I enjoy asking the teachers I interview is, "If you could spend time with any composer, who would you choose and why?" Without hesitation, Raphaelita gave me her answer. The person Raphaelita most admires and would love to spend time with is her instructor and mentor, Veda Zuponcic. Professor Zuponcic is the Founding Artistic Director of the Northern Lights Mus