Allow me to introduce you to our November Members of the Month, siblings Amber (11), Elizabeth (9), and Isaac (8). They have been members of Busy Kids Do Piano for over 2 years – wow! These guys attend school at home and access the BKDP online materials several times a week. Sounds like a fun, piano-loving crew, for sure.
Musical Advent Calendar
Musical Advent Calendar: A Free Printable to Make Your Countdown to Christmas Extra Musical
December has a way of sneaking up on me every single year (you’d think after 22 years of teaching piano through the holidays I’d have this down by now, but nope). One minute it’s Thanksgiving leftovers, and the next my kids are asking when we’re putting up the tree. If your house feels the same way, I’ve got something that might help — a free Musical Advent Calendar to count down the days to Christmas together, one song at a time.
I made this because I wanted something for our family that wasn’t another chocolate-a-day countdown (though, no judgment, we do that too) — something that would slow us down just enough to actually listen to music together during a season that tends to rush right past us. Continue reading “Musical Advent Calendar”
October Members of the Month
Greetings Busy Kids Do Piano Families!
Allow me to introduce you to our October Member of the Month, William. Don’t miss William’s great advice for other Busy Kids Do Piano students below. He has been a part of BKDP for over 1 year and attends school at home. William works through the BKDP online materials several times a week. This kind of commitment is the way to learn an instrument! Way to go, William!
Free Printable Piano Flash Cards
Learning to play the piano is an exciting and rewarding journey, but it comes with its own set of challenges, especially for young beginners. One of the fundamental skills that budding pianists need to develop is a solid understanding of keyboard geography. Knowing where each note is located on the piano is essential for playing melodies and reading sheet music. I’m thrilled to offer a free printable set of piano flash cards that are designed to help young piano students grasp the layout of the keyboard. In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of keyboard geography, how these flash cards can be a valuable tool, and how to get your hands on this free resource. Continue reading “Free Printable Piano Flash Cards”
5 Ways to Get Out of a Piano Practice Slump
Every musician I know, whether they’re seven or seventy, hits a piano practice slump at some point (and after 22 years of teaching, I can promise that includes the teacher). If your family’s piano practice motivation has quietly slipped out the back door, you’re in very good company. Maybe you’ve been traveling, or the fall calendar filled up faster than you expected, or the piano bench is still sitting right there and nobody seems in much of a hurry to sit on it.
The good news is that slumps don’t last forever, especially when you have a few simple strategies to reach for. Here’s what I’ve seen work, both at my own piano and with hundreds of Piano Families over the years.
Continue reading “5 Ways to Get Out of a Piano Practice Slump”
August Members of the Month
Allow me to introduce you to our August Members of the Month, the Brander family. They have been a part of Busy Kids Do Piano for over 1 year, and have two boys in the program, Dominic (11) and Allen (8).
The boys attend school at home and access the BKDP online materials several times a week. We love the enthusiasm and commitment, boys!
Melissa, mom to the boys, took 8 years of piano lessons as a young person and has spent some time in music programs through church. She says the boys initially started taking piano lessons from their “Oma” (grandmother) but were unable to continue after she moved onto a boat!
Melissa shares, “Playing piano is important to me so that [the kids] have a solid understanding of music. Additionally, I think that learning to play an instrument brings a lot of brain benefits for people of all ages! We really like the practice challenges to help keep them motivated.”
July Members of the Month
Allow me to introduce you to our July Members of the Month, Saanvi and her family from Australia. They have been a part of Busy Kids Do Piano for just under a year with their daughter, Saanvi, who is 8 years old. Saanvi attends a local elementary school and digs into the BKDP online materials several times a week. Way to be committed, Saanvi!
The family immigrated from India to Australia, and they all enjoy music, even though neither mom nor dad had any formal training. Likewise, Saanvi had no musical background, but her mom, Ruchi, says her primary reason for keeping her in the BKDP program is to encourage her self-confidence through learning to play and read music.
May Members of the Month
Allow me to introduce you to our April Members of the Month, the Tare family. They are long-time members, a part of Busy Kids Do Piano for more than two years, and have their son Lanz in the program, who is 17
years old.
Lanz attends school at home and works through the BKDP lesson videos 2-3 times a month. Nice work, Lanz!
Lanz started taking piano lessons around 5th grade, but when the pandemic interrupted his learning a couple of years later, he took a break. Mom Jizel shared, “We encouraged him to continue learning piano because we saw his potential and knew the benefits of playing piano. We were thankful when he
enrolled in Busy Kids Do Piano. We love how well this piano program is taught and how it works well with our busy schedule.”
Broadway Musicals: A Round-Up of Resources
If you could see me in person right now, you’d see my giant smile because April is BROADWAY MONTH for the Busy Kids Do Piano community! That simply means we’re going to learn all about Broadway Musicals this month. I have a deep love for Broadway and could talk about it endlessly. In fact, last month, I took a trip to NYC and was fortunate enough to see three shows in three days! Pure musical heaven.
I have all kinds of fun Broadway Musical resources I’ve put together for your musical learning fun this month (or any month!). If you follow me over on Instagram, you can check out my quick tour of the Museum of Broadway in this reel, or learn about some of the Broadway careers available to musicians in this post.
BROADWAY MUSICALS PODCAST CONTENT
Over on the podcast, I have two very special episodes with Broadway-themed content.
This episode is a dive into what defines a Broadway musical, and the history of how Broadway came to be. The episode is full of “fun-facts” like how long Broadway Street actually is, how many theaters dot its vicinity, and how many seats a theater needs to have to be counted among the venues. Then we dive into the history of Broadway, which I find absolutely fascinating. If you can believe it, we as a society have been passionate about seeing live theater and musicals there for several HUNDRED years at this point:
Continue reading “Broadway Musicals: A Round-Up of Resources”
March Member of the Month
I am excited to introduce to you March’s Member of the Month, Amy Hochstetler.
Amy has been a member of Busy Kids Do Piano for over 2 years, and her son Henry, 10 years old, is her star piano student. Little brother Jack, 6, gets to listen to all of Henry’s practice sessions. The boys attend school at home, which has helped enable the family to do lots of traveling. This year alone, they’ve visited 9 states!
One of Amy’s favorite things about the Busy Kids Do Piano program is that it’s flexible, able to meet their piano learning needs when they are back home in Maryland.
