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Bring back the Music Workshops!
I was reflecting back this morning on how I got to where I am today with my music. It really came down to a few influential people in my life. I’ll save that information for another post, but I did want to mention Donald Newton. “Don” as he was known to us musos. I have…
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Jon Schmidt – Another favourite pianist of mine
Jon plays some beautiful songs (no, not upside down!):- “Waterfall”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7toBVVK9EA&feature=fvsr “Game Day”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1IvK_rt_wg&feature=relmfu “I Saw Three Ships”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7jZXkxcIgM “Sacred Ground”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OICK1M6s2MQ&feature=related And with a little help from friends:- “Love Story” (with Viva La Vida) (with Steven Sharp Nelson on the Cello and Bass Drum) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXtVBJDPs6k “Michael Meets Mozart” (again with Steve Nelson): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR94NDIfGmA&feature=relmfu…
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Fishy Rhythm and Note Flashcards
Susan Paradis created these delightful Fish Flashcards a little while ago to help students remember the values of notes. They’re easy to use; print a set out, cut and laminate them. Here are the different ways I use them:- You can use both sets as ‘normal’ flashcards Use just the notes for the student to tell…
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Creative Time Management – taking short breaks during music lessons?
Not trying to be opinionated here, but this article (Creative Time Management for the Full Time Independent Music Teacher left me a little perplexed. Perhaps things are different in Australia, or I just have very high standards, but I don’t wander off to pay bills during my students’ music lessons. I also make sure I…
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Hal Leonard 40% off piano books
Yes, you read correctly! I follow along the American Hal Leonard website and google ‘VIP’ occasionally (and visit their website of course). I did sign up for them but because I am in Australia, they redirected me to Hal Leonard Australia, which isn’t as good. What have they got in America that has me so…
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Jarrod Radnich – Harry Potter Theme
My students have enjoyed watching Jarrod Radnich play his arrangement of the ‘Pirates of the Carribbean‘ theme – to see all the technique they are learning put into action. Jarrod Radnich also recorded his arrangement of the Harry Potter theme however, he was ‘cloaked’ (you could only see the piano keys moving, not actually watch Jarrod play…
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Chit Chat Duet – for beginner violin students
I whipped up a violin duet for my young violin students to play together. They’re about to learn ‘fingers’, so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for revision, to make sure those bows are definitely hitting the correct strings. They love to play together, so we’re going to have lots of fun doing…
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The Ice Cream Truck Song (aka Greensleeves)
Just before my son did his piano practice this morning, he asked me if I could write out “the song the ice-cream truck plays”. I asked him if he meant ‘Greensleeves’. He said “I don’t know, Mum…the one the Ice Cream truck plays. It goes like this”, and he proceeded to try his best to…
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Alfred’s Premier Piano Course Workshop 2005
I attended an Alfred’s Premier Piano Course many years ago, and have just come across some notes I had taken from it. It was so long ago – they had just completed the first level – 1A (the red books), and were almost finished with the yellow 1B books. That’s how long ago – and…
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Seats and Stools and Somebunnies, OH MY!
As you can see, I have a patchwork seat cover on my piano stool, thanks to my Mother-in-Law. I LOVE it! It is unique – not another one like it. My students adore it, and have been known to absentmindly pick at some of the ribbon detail on it (they are told to stop it as soon as…
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