Good morning, Piano Parents.Is your mind still reeling from everything that has happened over the last few days?Some of you have been dealing with COVID-19 for much longer. My prayers are with you. While I want to be informed and educated, I already tired of hearing about the Coronavirus so I've gone back and forth about what to talk to you about today. Listen to the full episode here Should I bury my head in the sand and offer you a topic that doesn't even acknowledge what's happening in the world? Should we discuss how everyone is coping with the sudden changes? I think I'll do a little of both. This episode was scheduled to share more about my two students, Ray and Mark (not their real names) They both made big…
About a year ago, in episode 135, I introduced you to Ray (not his real name), a brand new student in my studio. Since then, in each episode ending in 5, I've given you an update on how Ray is progressing in his lessons and the things I'm learning as I work with him. In today's episode, we continue the journey as I share some of Ray's goals for the upcoming semester. Listen to the full episode here Making a lateral shift to keep him playing but not necessarily advancing in the method books. As I expected, Ray has rapidly moved forward in his method books until he reached the same level where his brothers stopped. He is still very engaged in piano but doesn't have the advantage of hearing…
In these episodes which end with five (155, 145, 135) we are following the journey of a typical student as he learns to read music and play the piano. This student, I'm calling him Ray, began lessons with me in January of 2019. His older brothers studied with me a few years ago and I am delighted to be working with him.When we last shared Ray's story, he had just begun learning the pieces in the Piano Adventures Method book 2A. Listen to the full episode here Lesson 10 Ray has been eager to get to the Level 2B book, where his brothers left off. I don't know if he just likes those songs better or if he wants to catch up with his brothers but he has been highly…
Happy 3rd Birthday!! The Piano Parent Podcast is now 3 years old!! Our first episode aired August 2016 - Episode 000. I listened to that first episode again and it's not as bad as I was afraid it would be but I can definitely tell my editing skills have gotten much better. I wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't gotten started three years ago. The title graphic for this show is a picture of me when I was about three years old. Sometimes we think three years is such a long time but when I look at that little three-year-old me, I smile to realize all that she has to look forward to. Listen to the full episode here Because of this podcast I've gotten to talk…
I first told you about "Ray" a couple of months ago in Episode 135. In that episode, we learned three important lessons: 1. Don't burn bridges, 2. There is nothing wrong with easy, and 3. There is too much music out there to be stuck playing something you don't enjoy. Today I thought you might be interested in hearing how things are progressing for him. Listen to the full episode here Spring Semester We've gotten more comfortable with each other. One day he was a little too silly but I redirected him and made a note to see if this would become a problem. Fortunately, the next lesson he was much more focused. Lesson 4: Teachers and students can be friendly but there are still boundaries that neither of us should cross.…
Today I am introducing a new feature on the podcast, a student case study. In January I started a brand new student. He didn’t transfer in from another teacher or another town. He is shiny, brand new! Starting a brand new student comes with a lot of responsibility. Not only do I want to set him up for success with his technique and musical understanding, but I also want to build a good report with him and build his confidence and self-esteem. Listen to the full episode here First a little background: I first met Ray’s family when I taught his two older brothers; Ray never came to their lessons. Great family. Respectful attentive students. Stopped lessons to transfer to another teacher more conveniently located. I don’t know if they…
Several years ago I established a tradition for our family. Every Christmas Eve, after we've had our evening meal and we're still gathered around the dining table (a rarity for us to all be at the same table!) we pull out a journal and write the word C H R I S T M A S down the left side. As a family we review the previous year and list highlights that fit the letters. That little journal has become a documented history of our kids as they've grown up and has marked some memorable occasions for our family. I thought I would follow the same format to compile our list of ten things for this episode. Today I am sharing ten podcast highlights from 2020. Listen to the full…
It's been a while since I gave you details about some of my students and the real-world struggles they face in their piano studies. If you would like to hear previous student case studies, you can find them here.If you followed Ray's story from those older case studies, you will be happy to know that he is doing very well. He is continuing to advance in piano and this year started playing in his school band program.Today, I will share three snapshots of students who have started lessons within the last year. Each student has her own unique strengths and weaknesses. While I am the same teacher for all of them, the way they receive and process information is vastly different. I am enjoying learning from all of them. Listen…
In the style of Mike Rowe’s podcast “The Way I Heard It” and Paul Harvey’s radio show “The Rest of the Story”, this episode of the Piano Parent Podcast brings you the backstory of a musician or song or a moment in music history. I use these musical mysteries to tell you something you might not know about someone or something that is somewhat familiar.In this case, I will tell you the story of a young author who never wrote the great American novel but still managed to go "Down in History". Here is his story: Listen to the full episode here First, a word from our sponsor... Robert grew up in Long Island, New York with his brother and two sisters. One of Robert's sisters was Margaret. Remember that name because it will be…
In the style of Mike Rowe’s podcast “The Way I Heard It” and Paul Harvey’s radio show “The Rest of the Story”, this episode of the Piano Parent Podcast brings you the backstory of a musician or song or a moment in music history. I use these musical mysteries to tell you something you might not know about someone or something that is somewhat familiar; in this case, I will tell you the story of a very well-known, yet unsung hero (if you'll pardon the pun). Listen to the full episode here An Unsung Hero Who doesn't love a hero? The kind of character that swoops in at the most intense moment to save the day, defeat the enemy, take us to new heights? A real hero is not only strong and commanding but…
Marvin Blickenstaff rightly says, "Music is a lot more than playing the right notes and playing the right rhythm. Music is basically expressive sound. The reason for music's existence is to express who we are as human beings and the feelings that we have as we go through life's journey." Listen to the full episode here Shaping the Sound With all the information composers and publishers place on the music score, there is still much more that goes into shaping the sound to create beautiful, expressive music.Here are a few of the Shaping the Sound Rules of Thumb Marvin mentions on the show.No two notes in a row may sound exactly alike, because if they're alike, they're not doing anything. Students are so focused on playing the correct note at the…
Summer time is one of my favorite times with students. I still get to see them regularly but our schedule is much more relaxed. We're not aiming for a challenging goal like spring recital or piano festivals and auditions so we can slow down and just enjoy playing the piano. Summer is when students have a little more time to play the music THEY want to play. With the current pandemic, your piano kid may have a little more time on their hands and they may not have been able to see their piano teacher as much as you would like. Getting new music to play can be tricky when you, the parent, aren't sure what to buy and you aren't able to hop in your car and drive to the…
I can't tell you how many times I said those very words to my piano teachers! Even as an adult I would occasionally say, "Seriously, I played it better at home!" The interesting phenomenon of having your actions affected when you know you are being watched is called the Observer Effect. I first learned the name for this when I read Mike Rowe's book, "The Way I Heard It." I'm not affiliated with Mike Rowe or his book or his podcast but am a huge fan! Listen to the full episode here The Observer Effect, as explained through physics I never thought I'd be talking about physics on this piano parent podcast, and the less I say about physics, the better, since I've never studied that topic! I did come…
In the style of Mike Rowe’s “The Way I Heard It” and Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story” this episode of the Piano Parent Podcast brings you a Musical Mystery; the lesser known story of someone or something you’ve likely heard about all your life. Listen to the full episode here Today's Musical Mystery started with a song. I only wanted to learn more about the history of a familiar tune but like most good mysteries, my research took me on a journey around the world and introduced me to some very interesting characters along the way. The result is less about the origin of the song and more about three ingenious dreamers who refused to let obstacles get in their way. Commodore Vanderbilt Wood, Jr. Our first dreamer started his career at…
https://www.pianoparentpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/162-enharmonics-the-there-their-theyre-of-music-notation.mp4We're going to have a little fun today and when we're done you can amaze your piano kid with your wealth of musical knowledge! Think of the word sale/sail. What comes to mind? Did you think of a special sale at your favorite store? Tyler just recently opened a Mardel Christian books and education supplies store. I was very excited to get a coupon postcard in the mail. Maybe you didn't think about a sale like a retail store. Maybe your mind went to the ocean where you could enjoy a beautiful day on a peaceful sailboat. Without proper context, and without being able to see these words, you don't know which type of sail/sale I'm talking about. Listen to the full episode here Words that sound the same but are spelled differently…
I love getting mail from you guys! Recently, I received an email from a listener asking how to help her young daughter who is starting to show signs of perfectionism. What a great question! I'm not a counselor or trained at all in the underlying issues that can cause perfectionism but I can offer you my observations from students I've worked with. I often say that I learn as much from my students as they learn from me. Today I will share a few examples. What is "perfect" anyway? Merriam-Webster - "being entirely without fault or defect". In my mind, that's an impossible task and no matter how "perfect" I might think a thing is, someone else will have a different view and be able to find a flaw. When my…
In case you didn’t know, this podcast is called the Piano Parent Podcast. Most episodes deal with common obstacles or struggles students face when learning to play the piano. Today, I’d like to spend our time together by focusing on just you, parents. Specifically, today I want to encourage you to stand firm and do not give in. Listen to the full episode here [podcast src="https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/9341993/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/187dba/" height="90" width="100%" placement="top" theme="custom"]Click here to download this episode. Click here to download this episode. Remember the goal is to train your child Since my youngest is 16 and my parenting skills are a little dated, I decided to check out what others say about modern parenting. This article by Robert Locke from LIfehack.org had some interesting things to say about this topic. He…
Doing new things can be challenging for all of us. Piano students are asked to do new things constantly. Once they master one concept, another is given to them without pause. Faced with something new, in this case a new musical concept to master or a new song to play, students have to exert a lot of conscious effort. They have to intentionally think about what they want their hands to do. That is hard work! Piano kids will often resist and not even try because they don’t feel they will be successful. Rather than try and fail, they choose to give up. They feel like the music is too hard. Parents can help their kids look at music and their abilities differently. It’s not too hard; it’s too new.…
George Frideric Handel was born in Germany in 1685 to Georg and Dorothea Handel. His father was a surgeon-barber who didn’t want Handel to study music. He wanted him to study law. Handel’s mother helped him smuggle a clavichord into the attic so he could practice in secret. Finally, his father was persuaded by a duke to enroll Handle in formal music training. He did begin the University of Halle, Germany studying law, out of respect for his father, but eventually devoted himself entirely to music. Handel moved to London in 1712, was paid a salary by Queen Anne and became the musical director of the Royal Academy of Music. His London address, 25 Brook Street, which is now preserved as a museum, a permanent monument to his life and…
