Tyler is in fourth grade and likes to play jazzy tunes and classic rock and roll- he loves the Beatles! He likes to “jam” with his Dad, Tom, and his older brother, Tim on their guitars. Tyler’s beginning to play some classical etudes-he seems to be enjoying this genre of music, as well!
Our students "have the blues"!
But don’t feel sorry for them- they’re writing silly words to a blues tune for a lyric writing contest being held by our friends at Ear Training and Improvisation.
Our entries run the gamut from black cat blues and sleepy puppy blues, to hungry king cobra blues (I sure hope they don’t all run into each other!) The folks at Ear Training and Improvisation are awarding the winner an Amazon gift card- that should chase the blues away!
Piano Olympics
We’ve been back to piano lessons for a week or so and are happy to see so many returning students and new ones, as well.
Our first project of the year-and it’s a big one!-is “Piano Olympics”. The project begins now and lasts through the winter , and, like the real Winter Olympics, our students are aiming for bronze, silver and gold medals!! No, they won’t be skating across the keys, or bench-pressing pianos, but they will have a dozen music events to choose from as they “go for the gold.” The events range from easy ones for the beginners to more challenging ones for the older students. If you want to know which events your child has picked, the Piano Olympics check sheet has been taped in the front cover of their lessons books- check it out!
Grumpy Grandpa’s coming to piano class!
No, not a real Grumpy Grandpa! Right Brain Music. Com has generously given us a set of their new music note flash cards. Visual learners (and the rest of us) will enjoy the wacky cartoon characters assigned to each line and space. Who needs that old “every good boy does fine”, when you can have Dopey Dogs, Fat Fish and Grumpy Grandpa’s to jog your memory? To see more of their learning aids, visit Right Brain Music at: www.rightbrainmusic.com
How can you help your child be successful in piano lessons?
Fall piano lessons begin in less than a month! It’s that time of year when we arm ourselves with school supply lists, inventory last years wardrobe (how could they grow that much over the summer?!) and set out to give our children the best possible start for the new school year. Here’s a check list to help insure a great piano school year, as well.
Our New Fall Sheet Music!
I’ve been enjoying our Fall shipment of new sheet music from some of our favorite composers, and I know the students will when the come back in September, too. There’s something for everybody (is that a piece about cats in the left corner?!)
Boxtoven says...
Does your child need a gentle reminder to practice during these lazy summer days? Andrea and Trevor Dow, creators of ” The Curious Case of Muttzart and Ratnaninoff” have designed a great little reminder to nudge your little one back to the piano bench-” Boxthoven”! The Dows suggest you go to their website: http://www.teachpianotoday.com/2013/04/24/leave-the-piano-practice-reminders-to-boxthoveen-a-fun-new-printable/ and down load a sheet of these little reminders. Cut them up and hide them in unexpected places-under the TV remote, in the fridge- you get the idea!!
Summer Lessons
This is the second week of summer piano classes, and we’ve been having a lot of fun learning to compose music with a new publication for students called “The Curious Case of Muttzart and Ratmaninoff”. Written in a comic book style, students help a dog (Muttzart) fill in the missing measures of a compositionthatIsabella, his owner, has written for her piano recital. Of course, it wasn’t his fault that he chewed up her composition book- the family cat, Ratmaninoff, spread tuna juice on the pages, and, well, Muttzart just couldn’t help but chomp away on it!
The secondsession of summer classes begins July 30th, so there’s still time to sign up and help Muttzart get “out of the dog house”!