05 Feb 2024
By Shelly Davis
PPP 357: Teacher Chat with Becki Laurent and Clinton Pratt: Artful Dodges in Piano Lessons

PPP 357: Teacher Chat with Becki Laurent and Clinton Pratt: Artful Dodges in Piano Lessons

Podcast, Teacher Chat, , , , ,
What's your best deflection technique? Sometimes I'll answer a question with another question to avoid giving an uncomfortable answer.What's your piano kid's best deflection technique? Do they try to memorize all their music to avoid sight reading? Do they blame the metronome when they aren't able to play along with it?Learn some common "artful dodges" in today's teacher chat with Becki Laurent and Clinton Pratt.Click here to find other teacher chats. Listen to the full episode here Resources mentioned in the show Notation resources for arranging and orchestration:SibeliusNotionNoteflightMusescoreMetronome resources:Sound BrennerSpeakbeatSuperMetronome Groove BoxBecki shared these stickers from Trevor and Andrea Dow's…
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23 Aug 2021
By Shelly Davis
PPP255: Piano Practice is Supposed to be Messy! – This one’s for the piano kids.

PPP255: Piano Practice is Supposed to be Messy! – This one’s for the piano kids.

Mom to Mom, Podcast, Practicing and Motivation, , , , , , ,
Piano kids sometimes have the misconception or misunderstanding that practicing piano at home should sound perfect.Learning to play the piano, just like any other job, is going to have messy bits.Have you ever watched a painter or an artist at work?Have you ever helped your parents do yardwork?Have you ever baked cookies with your grandmother?Paintings, manicured landscapes, and chocolate chip cookies all start messy before they become beautiful. Listen to the full episode here Painter A painter adds texture and color to a blank canvas.When you practice, you are adding new skills and musical ideas to your brain and fingers.…
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16 Aug 2021
By Shelly Davis
PPP 254: Practice is NOT the Same as Playing with Clinton Pratt

PPP 254: Practice is NOT the Same as Playing with Clinton Pratt

Podcast, Practicing and Motivation, Teacher Interviews, , , , ,
Clinton Pratt (BM, MM, NCTM) has a Masters degree in Piano, training in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, over 20 years teaching experience, and was the 2016 Certified Teacher of the Year for his OhioMTA district.His successful private studio offers students a solid musical foundation, but with the added benefit of improvisation, ear training, rhythmic games, and multimedia recitals. He has served on local and OhioMTA boards, is on the editorial committee for American Music Teacher, and is a member of the College of Examiners for the Royal Conservatory of Music.Clinton has presented at local and state conferences, MTNA, and the National Conference…
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28 Jun 2021
By Shelly Davis
PPP247: Teacher Chat – YouTube Videos with Clinton Pratt and Janna Williamson

PPP247: Teacher Chat – YouTube Videos with Clinton Pratt and Janna Williamson

Podcast, Teacher Chat, ,
YouTube launched in May 2005. The first video posted on YouTube showed 18 seconds of cofounder, Jawed Karim talking about elephants at the zoo.Now, there are more than 31 million YouTube channels covering absolutely ANY topic you can imagine. It is second only to Google as the largest search engine online. 1 billion + videos are viewed each day.YouTube can be an important tool in musical education; from listening to performances and learning music theory, to sharing unlisted videos with loved ones.What is the most unusual thing you've learned to do by watching YouTube videos? Let me know in the…
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16 Mar 2020
By Shelly Davis
PPP184: Make Music Part of the Rhythm of Your Life with Tony Parlapiano

PPP184: Make Music Part of the Rhythm of Your Life with Tony Parlapiano

Podcast, Teacher Interviews, , , , , , ,
Tony Parlapiano is a piano instructor and the creator of popMATICS, a concept based music curriculum that approaches learning by listening and reading through writing. Tony resides in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, where he enjoys fancy coffee, playing in spreadsheets, and carries a copy of his birth certificate for anyone who questions the authenticity of his last name. We first chatted with Tony in PPP127: Teacher Chat: Popular Music Styles with Stephen Hughes and Tony Parlapiano and we are delighted to have him back on the show. Listen to the full episode here Tell us your piano story. I was late…
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