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Showing posts from June, 2019

Tightrope - Beginning Piano Sheet Music with Teacher Duet

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We know that beginning pianists are motivated to practice when they play music they love, and this piece from the hit move The Greatest Showman is sure provide that incentive. Tightrope has been arranged here for beginning piano solo. But that's not all you get with this sheet music! Included with the purchase is also an optional teacher duet that helps add lots of color to this piece . Played as a solo or duet, this waltz-like song with a charming melody is sure to be a crowd-pleasing performance piece for family & friends or at a recital.  You can hear the duet played here:    And you can preview the sheet music & see the purchasing options on SheetMusicPlus.com here:   look inside Tightrope - Easy Piano By Benj Pasek, Justin Paul. Arranged by Dawn Ivers. Set of Parts, Solo Part. 11 pages. Published by Dawn Ivers (H0.433545-SC000017498).  Want more sheet music? Browse all of the

Espressivo 2019 - What we did at Piano Camp!

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The McPherson Area Piano Teachers' League hosted it's second annual Espressivo Piano Camp during the first week of June. Our camp consisted of almost 30 area piano students and area teachers Brett Janssen, Shulah Neff, Dan Masterson & Dawn Ivers who worked together on growing in our understanding of Music History, Performance, Music Theory, Improvisation & Composing in a fun summer day camp environment. This type of camp experience is so valuable to piano students because so much of the time piano is a solitary activity with practice at home & lesson time having to focus on individualized learning. This means that for piano students, having the opportunity to dig into some extra musical subjects and have fun with musical peers reinforces the value and the fun of what they are learning. In addition to the classes, the camp featured a special session by guest teacher, Jean Kennedy all about the guitar, and THREE performances. The first performances on Thursday wa

Why do we Apologize for 'Wrong' Notes?

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It happens to all of us, we hit a wrong note and out slips an "oops, sorry!" as we play on. I know I'm guilty of this, particularly when playing a duet or accompaniment, and I hear students apologizing *all the time* in lessons for missed or wrong notes.  So why do we do this? My feeling is that this tendency points to an underlying fear of making mistakes, or of letting our teacher or fellow musicians down. In today's post, I'd like to offer some alternatives to apologizing and try to reshape some of our thinking around those inevitable hiccups.  You may be familiar with the Bob Ross quote pictured here, or at least have seen it floating around the internet. I know I've seen this 'happy little accidents' thinking applied to all sorts of life situations. And I do think that this can be really beneficial thinking for artists & musicians.  So what can we do when we make a mistake instead of apologizing? 'Jazz it Up' This is the mus

Enrolling for the 2019/2020 School Year

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It's time to start reserving your spots for piano lessons during the 2019-2020 school year! With enrollments already coming in, Fall session is going to fill up quickly. Keep reading for this year's important dates, how to reserve your spot, and an exciting addition to the studio. Session Calendar: The school year session will begin on Tuesday, August 13th and will end with our Recital on Saturday, May 2nd, 2020. The studio is open for lessons Tuesday-Friday 1:00-7:00, and will be closed for holidays on these dates: The week of Thanksgiving - Nov. 25-29 Two weeks for Christmas break - Dec. 21-Jan 4  Spring Break - TBD, will align with USD 418 When you have questions, remember the studio Calendar is always available here , or at the 'Calendar' tab above.   How to Enroll Current students will be given priority enrollment via the email newsletters until July 15th, at which point enrollment will open up to the waitlist. This is to ensure that those who have