dawn's piano

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

Understanding our own goals and expectations when we sign up for a new pursuit can go a long way to smoothing the road ahead of us, and ensuring that we are working to achieve those goals. When children sign up for piano lessons, it is often to try it out and see if it sticks. And sometimes, somewhere along the way, we realize it will stick. We might even love it and want to pursue it at a higher level. Or we may learn that we love music, but career and higher education goals are pointing a different direction.  Both of these are great outcomes, and our goals and time investment can be updated to suit the level of mastery we are looking for.  It is 100% ok to pursue music or piano study as a hobby. And hobby players can find ways to perform and share their music in meaningful ways just as easily as professional musicians, because music fits both into the formal and informal parts of our lives. It's baked into our culture and celebrations, and it's for everyone to participate in

Part of being a piano teacher is helping connect students with the music that they're going to be excited to play. Sometimes that means learning about new-to-them styles of music and as exploring them together with our newfound knowledge, and getting to enjoy the feeling of discovery. Sometimes it means finding sheet music of a piece they already know and love for them to learn. Perhaps they have a favorite popular artist, movie or video game. And every so often, when I can't find just the right arrangement for a student I end up putting one together for them myself. Over the years, this has ended up building a sturdy little collection of sheet music arrangements that I've gradually been publishing as digital sheet music for sale via Hal Leonard's Arrange Me program. Today's blog post is just to let you know that earlier this Fall the sheet music store got a facelift, as well as several new  uploads! Going forward I will probably not be making too many blog posts he

It comes inevitably for most all piano students, at some point we stop taking lessons. Maybe its because they've decided to focus on some other hobbies and commitments as they transition into the middle or high school years, maybe its because they're off to college. Maybe it's something else. But how can you as a piano parent continue to support the role of music in your child's life after they've ended formal lessons?  If you are reading this blog post, I am assuming that your child is not going on to pursue a formal music degree or career. And w hile your job of helping them get to lessons and schedule in practice time has ended, a lot of your other contributions as a piano parent will continue to be meaningful in helping your child create space for music.  Here are a 4 ways I recommend making space for music after formal lessons have stopped.  Have an instrument You might be tempted to make some extra space in the house by moving out the instrument now that lesso