dawn's piano

Students have been working on these compositions throughout the summer session, and today's the day we get to share them with you!  Young Composers is an annual summertime project in our studio that started back in 2013. All continuing students (which just means students who have taken lessons with the studio heading into that summer) work on creating an original piece of music. Then they notate it, and in the final week of lessons we have a recording session to lay down the tracks of their pieces.  Composing is such a valuable exercise for music students. It gives them a chance to take a little extra ownership of their musical journey and to put what we learn about music theory throughout the year into practice from a new angle. As a teacher, I enjoy seeing the different approaches that students take to composing, and what they draw inspiration from.  Be sure to let these young pianists know how much you appreciated their music the next time you see them. And for any pianists youn

They say necessity is the mother of invention. And this was certainly true this past Monday when my studio had it's July music theory Piano Party coming up on the schedule. I looked at the student RSVP's and noticed at least half of the group would be brand-new beginners with just a couple of lessons experience, half would be early intermediates, with a few late beginners thrown in. Choosing a game that would be engaging and level appropriate for all of them to play together was going to take some thinking.  Rhythm review is always a good way to go for a multi-level activity. I flipped through the body percussion activities, rhythm cups etc that I had on hand and nothing was exactly what I wanted. But I did have a large stack of rhythm cups with various note values drawn on them for quarter, half and whole notes that I've used for a spin off of this stacking game . Using those, I came up with my Rhythm Relay game.  The object:  Be the first team to collect rhythm cups in th

Today's the day! Recitals are a major highlight of the year in a music studio because opportunities to share music with our friends, family and community is an important part of being a well-rounded musician. I'm excited to once again present our Spring Video Recital. While I was editing all the student submissions together, I found myself looking back at some of the clips from last year's video recital and I have to say I was very impressed by the growth and progress these piano students have accomplished in the past year. Sometimes it can be hard to gauge just how much we're growing in the day-to-day or week-to-week, but when we compare to a similar milestone from an earlier year we can really see how far we've come.  I'd like to share a huge 'Well Done' to all the performers for the time and commitment you put into preparing your music. And a heartfelt 'T hank You' to the friends and family for your ongoing support for these students.  If you

In the Spring of each year students in our studio have the opportunity to participate in KMTA's Music Progressions. This is a musicianship evaluation that has 10 progressive levels, I won't get too far into the particulars because you can find  more information here.  But a big part of that musicianship is demonstrating an understanding of Music Theory both on paper and by analyzing what we are hearing. This blog post is a resource round-up of some leveled exercises that can help build these skills Theory & Listening skills.  While I do have Music Progressions students in mind while I'm putting together this post - (I'll be real, this is mostly so I don't have to reinvent the wheel trying to round up home practice resources each year when Progressions rolls around) - these are concepts that ALL students in the studio are learning as they grow in their music. In fact, we choose a different musicianship element to focus on every single week in Piano Lab. So whethe

A lot of my marketing tends towards lessons for children (which is mostly just because they go in for brag photos more than adults do). And while childhood piano lessons are a big focus of the studio, we also have at least half a dozen adult learners on the roster at any one time. And because I believe playing piano is valuable and beneficial at any age, I'd love to start to see more adults giving it a try! So I wanted to use this first blog post of 2023 to make known some of the offerings this studio has for adult students. If you've been curious about starting piano lessons, or perhaps encouraging a friend or family member to look into it, let this be your motivation to get started. Am I too old to learn? Perhaps you've always wanted to play piano, but never had the opportunity to start. I'm here to assure you that it's not too late. Currently my oldest student is in their late 70's! If you're feeling hesitant though, this article about the joy of being an

I haven't done one of these posts in a couple years, and I realized I missed doing it! Even if it's for no one else's sake than my own, it's really fun to look back over the year to remember and delight in the different things students have accomplished throughout the studio year.  So I'm inviting you to have a look back with me and celebrate some of the highlights and student accomplishments from the 2022 year in the piano studio!  Winter Piano Parties Our first event of the year in January 2022 was a piano party! These bi-monthly events give students an opportunity to dig into some different musical topics that may not always get a spotlight in lessons. This year we've had 5 piano party themes with a full house each time: Rhythm, Music History, Music Theory Game Night, Look Inside the Piano and, most recently, Improvisation!  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dawn's Piano (@dawnspiano) Preschool Student Central In the first

I spent some time this past week thinking about the legacy of my piano teachers, and how what they began in me is continuing as I teach my own students. These reflections began because my first piano teacher, who was also a close family friend, passed away a couple weeks ago. I wanted to spend some time in this week's blog post remembering her impact, and how that is continuing to show up in my own teaching.  Her name was Jackie Wickstrom. She had a wonderful sense of humor, and a knack for saying things in a way that made you really hear her without ever having to be severe or firm. She was also my mom's best friend, I called her Aunt Jackie. This picture below was taken after one of my first piano recitals as a teacher, which Jackie attended. She is on the right, and is offering me some lovely words of encouragement couched in her usual trademark humor.  In her piano teaching, she found simple incentives that worked to motivate her students. One I remember best was the jar of