dawn's piano

Practice Pie by Nicola Cantan is a step-by-step guide to helping your child enjoy their music practice. After I heard about it on a recent episode of the Piano Parent Podcast , I wondered if it might be something I'd want to recommend to my studio piano parents, so I grabbed a copy to check it out.  A few things I really liked: First, the book is short. At only 50 pages, it doesn't take long at all to read, making it perfect for busy piano parents. And at the same time it's to the point, and chock-full of encouragement and practical steps for piano parents to try with their piano kids in home practice. Nicola writes in a very conversational style, so it sort of feels like you're just having a chat with someone who has some really fun and helpful ideas.  You can probably tell from the title, but the book uses baking a pie as an analogy for practicing an instrument, from choosing the right pie dish, to each of the ingredients for the crust and filling, each element of the...

At the beginning of September a new book came out called Why is My Piano Black and White? by Nate Holder. I listened to an interview with the author on the Piano Parent Podcast discussing his earlier book I Wish I Didn't Quit as well as his upcoming release  Why Is My Piano Black & White , and I really liked what he had to say so I pre-ordered a copy of the book. Today's blog post is part book review and part practical application with a few simple recommendations to how I think this book could be used at home to supplement a piano kid's musical journey, to grow their understanding of the instrument and to learn more about the long history of those who have played and composed on it.  The book doesn't read so much as a single story, but as a collection of short stories about various composers and artists starting with Classical music and working up through the 20th century. Once the book gets to the contemporary music, it splits out into genres instead of moving pu...

It has become something of a summertime tradition that I put together a list of some favorite children's books that involve music or art. As a former children's bookseller for 12 years at Vromans bookstore, books and literacy will always be special to me. And in the summertime I like the idea of letting go of some of the structure and looking at the value of what we learn during the year with some fresh eyes. So, without any further ado, here is this year's list. Picture Books   I See a Song by Eric Carle This book features a musician and his violin. As he plays the instrument, a world of colors and shapes grows on the page. This is the perfect book for stimulating a young artists' imagination and artistic sensibilities. Recommended ages 3-6.   My First Classical Music Book by Genevieve Helsby The cool thing about this book is that it is available as a physical book, or as an app . You can grab both to use in tandem, or either one individually, and let...

Today's blog post is a throwback to when I was a bookseller in the Children's Department at Vroman's Bookstore, and one of our regulars was a music educator, and singer/songwriter, named Emily Arrow. Emily frequently writes songs based on popular picture books ( here's her youtube channel ), and would often stop by to check out the new releases and visit about kid's books. And just last month, she released an instructional book on how to learn the ukulele that I'm very excited about.  Ukulele is one of those instruments that's pretty easy to pick up, especially for kids with some musical experience. A beginning instrument is not very expensive, and the neck & fretboard are the perfect size for little hands to get a start on a string instrument. With this book they'll learn about tuning, strumming, playing some beginning chords, learn up to 24 folk songs, and (my favorite) use the Song Recipe to write their own songs on the ukulele. The format ...

I've recently received our studio copy of a brand new picture book that puts teaching the treble clef notes into a story format, it's called Here Come the High Notes and is written by Marin Marka, illustrated by Alexandra Tatu.  I am looking forward to using this book in lessons, especially with my preschool and primer students, as a way to both introduce and familiarize the treble staff. Learning note reading takes time, and the directional reading and abstract thinking required for music notation can be difficult for younger learners. This is why I use so many resources that gamify this skill. And with the addition of this book to our studio library, we can start putting the treble notes into the context of a story as well! One thing that I enjoyed in this book is that each note is given a little bit of personality that comes into play as they choose their place on the staff. This helps differentiate them without weighing down the story with too much detail. The book d...

Summer means vacations, camps & all kinds of fun activities that get you out and about seeing the world around you! This also means you will be away from your piano while on those trips. So how can students keep up their piano chops? Well, the series of blog posts for June will be all about keeping your kid connected to their music in varied ways during their summer activities.  This week, I'm linking to some of the articles I've shared on this blog for taking your music with you when you travel. For Long Haul trips, check out some of these tips for practicing wherever you may be, and the best part about these is, you don't need your instrument. Practicing Without a Piano Or for some summer reading recommendations check out these booklist rescources Summer Reading Recommendations Books! Great for Off the Bench Practice Listen to Episode 80 of the Piano Parent Podcast - Booklist Edition  And stay tuned throughout the month of June for some great on-the...

Looking for a way to round out your child's music education? Or to squeeze in some practice when you are away from the piano? Just peruse your local library or bookstore's performing arts section. I headed over to Vroman's last week to see what was available and found some great choices! I was also glad to see some of my long-time favorites are still in print. This list is mostly picture books   meaning that if you read the book, then went on YouTube and listened to the artist or piece you read about, these would be a perfect fit to substitute for a 15-20 minute practice time. Children's Book of Music by DK Publishing (pictured) This book is an incredible survey of music history from early ancient to popular & film music of today. It comes with a CD to listen along, and has the photo and information block layouts that we've all come to love and expect from DK nonfiction books. This is an excellent book to take on a trip and study a few pages each day. (W...

Seeing as how I have been known to take a shift at the Vromans Children's Department on occasion, I have acquired a few favorite children's books that feature music in one way or another.  So as we head into the summer, here are a few of my picks to add to your summer reading lists! 

One of the families I teach is going to be going on a European adventure for part of this year, and instead of trying to cram new music into the last few lessons leading up to their departure, we decided instead to create a couple music history lessons that would follow their trip!