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Secret Piano Teacher’s Business (AKA Winter Piano Seminar) Sydney
The Winter Piano Seminar was held in Sydney on Friday 16th July 2010 at the Wesley Conference Centre, Pitt Street, Sydney. There were teachers from all over Sydney (and beyond) in attendance, and the room looked pretty full to me. After the welcome was a Masterclass by Abe Cytrynowski on ‘Scintillating Scales’ followed by a…
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GDAE String Game
This giant wall hanging is a great addition to my music studio. I came up with the concept, and as I am not a brilliant sewer, my mother-in-law stepped in to do the sewing for me. It is made of felt, we found stiffer black felt to use as the dots (‘fingers’) and put velcro on…
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Treble Clef Lines and Spaces
Here are some posters I made up to go with the mnemonics I use for the Treble Clef. I was taught the “Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit” one when I was first learning, but combine that with the “Good Boys Deserve Fruit Always” for the bass clef lines, I used to get very confused! I like the “Elephants”…
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Scales just a throw away…
We all know how tiresome it is to play exam scales over and over again. We also know they’re “good for us” but that’s what my mother told me about eating brussel sprouts! How do we keep our students motivated to keep playing their scales? For the lower level grades, write the scales up on a die. The…
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First Grade Theory terms game
This was a game I played with both my First Grade and Second Grade Theory classes this year. How to play:- Print out, cut and laminate the Crazy Quotes and the level of Theory Italian Terms you want. Place the theory terms and Crazy Quotes face down in a pile. Students to choose one of…
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Wishing For Spring
Here’s another song I wrote for another student I have with a broken arm (why do they keep breaking their right arms?). It is of First Grade standard and there are a few tricky components in it such as finger swapping, octave jumping, a few accidentals thrown in at the end (still a 5 finger pattern) and hand…
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Giant Floor Flash Cards – Beginner Violin
How to get those poor confused beginners to learn the symbols for Up bow, Down Bow, Crotchet, Minim, Semibreve, Quaver and Treble Clef. I play this game sometime in the first few lessons with my beginners. It also gives them a chance to put their violin down and shake their tired arms out. The idea is…
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Whose Child Is This?
Whose Child is This? “Whose child is this?” I asked one day Seeing a little one out at play. “Mine,” said the parent with a tender smile. “Mine to keep a little while; To bathe his hands and comb his hair To tell him what he is to wear; To prepare for him his daily…
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The Sad Hand Song
This is another of the songs I wrote for my student who broke her right arm. It has some fifths and a few hand position changes. It did put a huge smile on her face though and she said it wasn’t too difficult to play. It’s about 1st grade standard. I haven’t included any fingering…
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I Vow To Thee My Country
I arranged this moving melody for a performance in our ANZAC Day Sacrament Meeting a few years ago. I arranged it as a Soprano/Alto duet with piano accompaniment. To print a full score copy of I Vow to Thee My Country, click here: I Vow to Thee My Country Edited to add: A year and a…
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