Making the jump from accidentals which mark each note that needs to be altered to key signatures placed at the beginning of each staff can be difficult for some students.Learn how you can help your piano kid level up on today's show. Listen to the full episode here Resources mentioned in today's show To find previous episodes about key signatures click here.PPP 249: Music Maker - ScalesPPP 162: Enharmonics - the There, Their, They're of Music Notation Social Sharables Click an image to share directly to your pinterest account. Download an image to share in your social circles. If the image isn't branded, please link back to this page and help us spread the word about all the great resources at Piano Parent Podcast. Thank you! Thanks for listening! To…
Over the last few weeks, I've been preparing my students for the Texas Music Teachers Association written theory exam. One of the key concepts that has been difficult for me to teach has been drawing key signatures. I finally discovered a little secret that has been a game-changer for my studio. I thought you might like to hear about it too. Listen to the full episode here Catch the podcast on video https://youtu.be/uGOXHyrKq5U Resources mentioned in today's show Texas Music Teachers Association From the PPP Arvhives: PPP013: Magic Wand, Part 1 PPP023: Magic Wand, Part 2 PPP033: Magic Wand, Part 3 Social Sharables Click an image to share directly to your pinterest account. Download an image to share in your social circles. If the image isn't branded, please link back…
"...some of the most basic things are the most important to master, but most of us won't do it because it seems too simple." Vanessa Lau Listen to the full episode here Piano Basics Communicate with your teacher. Learn their expectations.Set up a practice routine - then follow it!Learn to read the staff and read lots of music.Use your hands and fingers efficientlyListen as you play Resources mentioned in today's show This episode was inspired by @vanessalau's Instagram post.James Clear's article, "Lessons on Success and Deliberate Practice from Mozart, Picasso, and Kobe Bryant".Men's Health YouTube video of Patrick Mahomes' workout with a medicine ball.Interview with 2022 Van Cliburn winner, Lim Yunchan. Key Signatures Unlocked COURSE I am excited to build a new online course to enable pianists to be able…
The Circle of Fifths is a valuable tool for musicians. If you aren't familiar with it; however, it can look very overwhelming.On today's show, I will share three basic ways you can use the Circle of Fifths. Listen to the full episode here Three Ways to Use the Circle of Fifths Primary TriadsLocate any letter on the circle. That is your tonic (I chord)The letter to the right is the dominant (V chord)The letter to the left is the subdominant (IV chord)Many tunes can be harmonized with only these three chords. Secondary TriadsLocate the letter under each primary triad.These are relative minor chords.Minor chords are a fun way to substitute harmonies for melody notes.These six chords are the most often used chords in most popular music.Outside of the three primary…
I learned a new word this summer. Here is a great definition from the University of Arizona, Academic Affairs "Interleaving is a process where students mix, or interleave, multiple subjects or topics while they study in order to improve their learning. Blocked practice, on the other hand, involves studying one topic very thoroughly before moving to another topic." Listen to the full episode here Interleaved in other academic studies Before we talk about how this works for piano lessons, here are a couple of examples related to school. One article http://pianopracticeassistant.com/interleaved-practice/ I read used learning the state capitals as an example. You could recite 10 times in a row, "Montgomery is the capital of Alabama. Montgomery is the capital of Alabama" and then "Juneau is the capital of Alaska. Juneau is the capital…
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…
Today let’s talk about intervals. As with any musical topic, we could make this discussion very in depth and complicated. It seems like there is a never ending well of information we can learn with music theory. Today we are going to stay with the basic foundation of intervals; things your second or third year student will be learning. Hey! I just used some intervallic terms when I described the students. I mentioned second or third year students and this offers a reference point for the knowledge of those students. Intervals in music do the same thing; they offer a reference point when reading music or playing from one piano key to the next. When you read a book, you don’t read one letter at a time, you group letters…
I first met Andrea Miller on Instagram when I started following her page, Music Studio Startup. She was announcing the launch of her new podcast so I direct messaged her. Later, she called me, we met face to face when she presented a workshop at the Texas Music Teachers Association Convention last June, and now I consider her a friend. I am grateful to have her on the podcast. Tell us your piano story. We had a piano in the living room when I was growing up and I was a very determined and curious kid, so I tried to figure out how to play it. My mom gave me one piano lesson, where she explained how the grand staff worked and I took it from there. I taught myself…
If you do a search on Google for "Why to read piano sheet music" you will find lots of blog posts and websites telling you how to read music but not why reading lots of music is so important. On today's show, I will share my opinion of why reading music is so important for your child's musical development, what to look for when choosing supplemental music, and where to shop online for piano music. Listen to the full episode here Why reading sheet music is so important Build fluency - The more music your child encounters, the more opportunities they have to practice the musical skills they are learning. Become more independent - Students need to learn how to decipher and interpret music independently from their teacher. They need to learn to listen…
Part Three of the three-part series AKA "Linear Circle of 5ths" (Magic Wand is a much cooler name, don't you think?) My students take the annual theory exam offered by Texas Music Teachers Association. The information I describe in this podcast coincides with the concepts students need to know for the Level 7 through Level 12 theory exam. Listen to the full episode here: (more…)
Listen to the full episode here: AKA "Linear Circle of 5ths" (Magic Wand is a much cooler name, don't you think?) My students take the annual theory exam offered by Texas Music Teachers Association. The information I describe in this podcast coincides with the concepts students need to know for the Level 5 and Level 6 theory exam. (more…)
AKA "Linear Circle of 5ths" (Magic Wand is a much cooler name, don't you think?) My students take the annual theory exam offered by Texas Music Teachers Association. The information I describe in this podcast coincides with the concepts students need to know for the Level 3 and Level 4 theory exam. One of the primary concepts students need to know for this test, and musicians need to be familiar with in general, is key signatures. Listen to the full episode here: It all starts with a goofy sentence about a Fat Cat: Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Bacon Third Graders taking the TMTA theory test only need to know the first three letters: F, C, G. Students can remember: "F uses the Flat" meaning the F major scale uses a black…
