Creating a Piano Practice Space

When a parent of a student calls me and says, “Johnny is really resistant to piano practice lately,” the first question I ask is, “Where is your piano located?”

More often than not, I’ll learn that a student’s piano is located in a cold, damp basement or in their bedroom, leading the student to feel like he’s “missing out on the action” when he goes to practice piano.

This doesn’t mean your piano practice space needs to be a Pinterest worthy room of expensive decor and laminated practice charts.

What SHOULD a piano practice space look like? Read on for my tips… Continue reading “Creating a Piano Practice Space”

August Members of the Month

Meet the Hawkins Family! Ashley and Karen and their three children Sam (13), Allie (10), Kaili (5), Eliana (2). These Busy Kids are very excited to become pianists and love sharing their new skills with relatives.

Q: What’s your musical background?

I (Karen) took piano lessons from age 6-12, but I kept playing piano in our church and for my middle school choir.

Q: Anything fun or unique you’d like to share about your family?

A fun fact about us is that we just found out that we are related to someone who fought in the American revolutionary war! Continue reading “August Members of the Month”

Summertime Piano Practice: Tips and Ideas

If your family is anything like my family, your summer schedule probably looks a little bit different than your schedule during the school year (maybe even a LOT different). Our days tend to not have quite as much structure and more free time, but we also have some pretty big interruptions to the new “normal” with family vacations or even hosting friends and family as they come to visit. Does this mean summertime piano practice is nonexistent in your house?
Continue reading “Summertime Piano Practice: Tips and Ideas”

Independent Piano Practice: What It Looks Like & Your Role In It

You’ve arrived! Your student is practicing piano  independently!

Truly, independent practice is reason for celebration BUT it doesn’t mean that you get to go watch Netflix whenever your student sits down to practice.

You still have an important role to play!

Watch my livecast here to learn what independent piano practice means for YOU — the parent: Continue reading “Independent Piano Practice: What It Looks Like & Your Role In It”

Royal Wedding: THE MUSIC!

I know I typically use my blog to share valuable practicing tips, musical resources and all kinds of super important stuff with readers.

Today I’m blogging about the music from the Royal Wedding.

While this might seem a bit “off-topic” for me, I actually think using real life moments and events to draw musical connections is an awesome and exciting way for kids to learn. And there was so much great music in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding that I simply HAD to make it a teachable moment! Continue reading “Royal Wedding: THE MUSIC!”

May Member of the Month

          Meet Julie, Robert, Andrew and Rachel Gastler from Columbia, MO. Julie is a student in the Busy Moms program.  She is currently taking a brief  and unplanned hiatus from the piano due to injury.Last Friday she cut her right index finger with a table saw.  She still has a finger but is unable to play the piano at the moment. She says,  “That is by far the worst result of this injury.  I can manage not writing and am happy to be banned from washing dishes for a while, but my piano is calling me and I can’t answer.”   The good news is that she should be able to play again once she done healing, but it will be a while the stitches wont even come out for 2 weeks. Continue reading “May Member of the Month”

Transitioning to Independent Practice

In my  March livecast, I talked about modeling an effective practice (which includes identifying and fixing mistakes) so that your student can not only make practice but also learn to one day practice independently.

As a student becomes a little older and more able to do things independently — read, play games, do a puzzle, complete a task — your child will be ready for you to back off a bit and give her some space while practicing. Your role will become that of a “guide” rather than a “fixer”.

The process of learning new music with a student who is in this developmental stage and beginning to make the transition to independent practice can be broken down to 3 phases. Watch my April livecast below for all the details. Continue reading “Transitioning to Independent Practice”

Fixing Mistakes At Piano Practice

One of the reasons piano lessons are such a big commitment is because in order for the experience to be successful, a parent must be involved in the process — especially if a younger student is the one learning to play — in order to help with fixing mistakes at piano practice.

My goal as a teacher is to help my students eventually get to a point where they are able to practice independently. This means they won’t require constant oversight from a parent during every single moment and will even be capable of fixing mistakes at piano practice on their own.

In order for a student to reach that point, the student MUST KNOW how to practice effectively. Which is why it is critical for parents and teachers to model what effective practice looks like. Continue reading “Fixing Mistakes At Piano Practice”

Identifying Intervals: Why It Matters

When a child learns to read there are many important components to becoming a fluent reader. A child must be able to identify letters and letter sounds, but if he is going to read fluently, he has to move past thinking of each individual letter and letter sound.

The same goes for becoming a fluent note-reader and music player. A proficient pianist isn’t thinking of all the individual notes when she plays a complicated piece of music (can you imagine having all those individual note names flying through your head as you played?!). Continue reading “Identifying Intervals: Why It Matters”