13 Sep 2021
By Shelly Davis
PPP258: Serve up a delicious “Practice Pie” with author Nicola Cantan

PPP258: Serve up a delicious “Practice Pie” with author Nicola Cantan

Podcast, Practicing and Motivation, Teacher Interviews, , ,
A practice pie? Just like learning to bake a delicious pie takes a bit of trial and error, helping your piano kid with their home practice isn't an easy accomplishment.A pie is a perfect analogy because the basic, essential elements are the same yet there is so much variety with flavors and textures. Your home practice also needs a few essential ingredients but you will never get bored as your child grows as an individual and as a musician.  Listen to the full episode here Nicola Cantan is a piano teacher, author, blogger and creator of imaginative and engaging teaching…
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19 Oct 2020
By Shelly Davis
PPP213: Interleaved Practice (Couldn’t they come up with a better name?)

PPP213: Interleaved Practice (Couldn’t they come up with a better name?)

Podcast, Practice Challenge, , ,
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…
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