dawn's piano

I have long been a supporter, occasional guest, and regular behind-the-scenes contributor to the P iano Parent Podcast for several years now. And over that time I've shared many of my favorite episodes right here on the blog because I think it is a truly valuable resource for parents of piano students. So while I was meeting with Shelly, the podcast's host, to brainstorm ideas for the upcoming quarter, she invited me to record a quick teacher chat episode with her all about finger numbers and hand placement.  If you've ever wondered w hy we bother about finger numbers, h ow important they are really, or w hat the long term goal in prescribing finger numbers and hand placement in early music might be, then this episode is a worthwhile listen. Shelly & I both share our thoughts on hand placement, how we handle certain challenges in our teaching, and most importantly we have a few simple tips to help piano parents support learning good finger habits in home practice.  I in...

One thing a lot of people imagine being able to do when they take piano lessons, or sign their child up for piano lessons, is to just sit down and play at family gatherings or parties. Perhaps we even think of eventually being able to take requests of everything from classical or contemporary solo selections, to popular music that other musicians could jam along with or the crowd could sing along to.  And this can sometimes be a tricky area of expectation vs reality because classical playing and 'jamming' can feel like two separate musicianship skills until we mature as musicians enough to see the overlap.   Chord charts and lead sheets are tools that a lot of modern bands, worship teams, etc, use to pick up a song together quickly. They serve as a guide without prescribing every single note.  I've talked on the blog in the past about lead sheets . So in today's blog post, I'm sharing 3 reasons why I choose to introduce chord charts to my older students' piano s...