dawn's piano

  If you've tried out some lessons for the Summer Session and are on the waitlist for a regular opening, thank you for your patience! Here are a few ways to keep up motivation and interest in the meantime: Piano Maestro This is an app we use in the studio that gamifies learning notes and building sight reading fluency. With in-game tutorials, popular tunes, and a gradually progressive method, it is a great way to keep the learning going! Need help getting the app set up? Just reach out! Review the music you learned Playing through the pieces that you've learned will reinforce concepts, build confidence, and help ensure that we can pick up right where we left off without having to backtrack.  Share the music  Playing music for friends or family, and getting all the applause and celebration that comes with it, can be incredibly validating in the early days of piano study. Once your piano kid has a few pieces mastered, find a way to share them. This could be: Planning a smal...

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 Theory & Listening skills.  All these exercises have been created on MusicTheory.net , which is an excellent free resource for teachers and students alike. These are designed to be a quick review or check-in on a concept, so each exercise is only 10 questions. And they don't even require you being near a piano. If your piano kid tries some, and would like to email me the codes with their scores, please do! I'll enjoy seeing their progress. Level 1 - Note names on keyboard and s...

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...

As we're heading into an era of rediscovering some 70's-90's fashion, we're seeing the long nail trends coming back in full force, which makes this post both timely and necessary as I'm seeing more of these coming into lessons again. My goal with this post is to provide some considerations that piano parents or non-musicians may not be aware of.   So are long nails ok for piano students?  Unfortunately the short answer is: No, they're really not a great idea. This means that when you head to the nail salon with your piano kid, keep in mind that those really fun long nails can cripple good piano technique. So much so that it can actually cause tension related repetitive stress injury or nerve issues if sustained in the long term. Our hands are part of our equipment for playing the piano, and just like you wouldn't send your child to soccer practice in ballet shoes, you don't want to send them to piano lessons or performances with the wrong equipment on th...

One hobby that I've really grown to love in the past few years is gardening - especially now that we have a yard with space for me to grow things! And I've learned a lot from watching my flowers get established and eventually bloom. Some of these lessons can apply to piano lessons as well. And so in today's post, I'll be sharing 3 things I've learned from gardening that apply to learning piano.  1. It takes time. I got to celebrate my very first peony blooms this year. I planted them as root cuttings back in 2019. The first spring they came up small, second year I had a bit more foliage, and now in year three we finally got to enjoy some blooms.  There's a saying in the gardening world when establishing perennial plants, and perhaps you've heard it before: "First year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap." And this is because perennials are long-lived plants that will bloom year after year once established. But they do require t...

Ear Training is an essential musicianship skill. It's what allows us to hear when a note is out of place in a piece of music, or to pick out a melody by ear. It's one half of audiating, the true musician superpower which combines both sight and ear training to be able to read and 'listen' to a piece of music in our heads.  Some of the beginning stages of ear training are to recognize things like directional movement (whether the notes are going up, down or staying the same), distance (if they're skipping, stepping or jumping over an interval), and quality (if we hear a major or minor chord or interval). This week's post is a round-up of some simple ways to practice Ear Training at home to help your piano kid develop and grow in this direction out of lessons.  Auralia While Auralia does offer a full curriculum for classroom & college teachers to assign to students ear training, in our studio we choose to isolate specific skills with the Auralia iOS apps . Wh...

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...

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...

Childhood performances are a part of so many activities kids do. From dance & music recitals, to school plays and concerts, or karate demonstrations and sporting events, kids are on display a lot. In the context of piano lessons, I see performances as serving two roles. First is to provide motivation for practice and to celebrate what we've learned with a couple big benchmark events each year. And second, to build some confidence and self-assuredness that will extend beyond piano lessons themselves as students grow up and need to give presentations, do job interviews etc.  In today's post, I'll be giving some quick ideas for making these meaningful,  whether they're the big traditional events, or something online or more individual.    Make time for it.  Save the dates for big events when you get them, and do your best to honor both your child's preparation, as well as other performers, by making time to stay for the entire event. If it's an online event, se...

One of the secret upsides for me as a teacher about switching to more online lessons this year has been that I get to see and hear my student's home instruments. This helps me understand what may be causing certain technical and aural road blocks in a student's progress. Learn more about why having a well maintained home practice instrument can make a big impact on a student's progress here. .  So today's post is a seasonal reminder to give your piano a little TLC with this episode from the Piano Parent Podcast that aired last winter. Our instruments respond to the changes in temperature and humidity in their environment, the same way we do, and there are a few simple things we can do to improve their functionality and longevity. Hit play on the episode below, or check out the shownotes on the Piano Parent Podcast website  to learn more.  If your piano is due for its annual tuning, call your technician to schedule it today! In McPherson, that's  Chuck over at Sounds...

We know that building sight reading confidence is a huge part of classical piano study, and we also know that gamifying a concept helps us engage in learning it so that we have more fun, stay motivated and ultimately retain what we've learned for longer. So today I am sharing another app that piano students can use to gamify their sight reading fluency practice: Piano Dust Buster ! This app was developed by Joytunes, which also brought us the studio favorite Piano Maestro , and in a lot of ways is similar to Piano Maestro in that it encourages the use of your real acoustic or electric piano, while scrolling music that students read and play in real time along with a backing track. It also has a fun animated theme in the form of a granny who is trying to dust the piano, she dusts the germs away from the notes that you play - and that's where the name Piano Dust Buster comes from.  Things I like about this app: It's intuitive, the graphics are engaging and funny, and it...

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...

A little while back Shelly over at the Piano Parent Podcast had an interview with a pretty big name in piano pedagogy, Marvin Blickenstaff, where he shared his 'Rules of Thumb' for shaping sound when playing the piano.  We all know on some level that music is so much more than a simple combination of notes. Expression, dynamics, articulation and even emotion all play a role in interpreting music so that it actually sounds musical. But even beyond those, there are ways to play that shape our sound into something truly beautiful, nuanced and textured. From the way we strike the keys to how we interpret phrasing, or even what to do with repeated notes to keep each one sounding fresh, there really is a lot going on under the surface when we hear well-played music. In this episode Marvin talks about some of those tricks. You can listen to the episode here, show notes available here  (including a free download of Marvin's Rules of Thumb!) For parents of piano students, I...

Anyone who's followed the studio for a while will know that I love to arrange music for my students on request. However, sitting down to arrange a piece of popular music with a specific level in mind, while retaining enough of the song's elements that it sounds right and is still fun to play can sometimes be time consuming. Some weeks, I simply don't have the time to dedicate to arranging and engraving (typing notation) music. On those weeks, enter Jennifer Eklund over at FM Sheet Music . I'm not affiliated with FM Sheet Music in any way, it's just a resource I've come to really appreciate, so I'm sharing about it. Especially as I know students sometimes like to look up and download new pieces on their own, and if that's you, this may be a good place to start.  So there are lots of places online to buy digital sheet music you can print at home of popular works. Why is FM Sheet Music becoming my go-to? Here's what I like about it.  The arran...

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...

A break from the routine can be a good thing once in a while, but for students who are wanting to keep up their momentum a studio break can leave them wondering what to work on! Since we have a good long studio break coming up between May 2nd and June 7th, I'm sharing a few ideas of what to do with some time off of lessons. Review some of the year's favorite pieces On May 2nd we'll be finishing up a terrific school year session during which students have learned a lot of great music! A break from getting assigned new material is the perfect time to go back through and pull out some of the year's favorites to play through again. In addition to the fun of revisiting some favorites, this will have the added benefit of reviewing the theory and techniques that we learned along with those pieces. Learn something by ear, purchased sheet music or an online tutorial Most piano students have a favorite artist, movie or song that they would like to be able to play on the p...

If you're looking for a great way to kick off piano study for the summer, you'll definitely want to check out Espressivo Piano Camp. What is Espressivo Piano Camp, who's it for and what are the benefits?  EPC is a summer day camp for piano students from elementary (entering 2nd grade in fall 2020 and up) through advancing levels hosted & run by the local KMTA chapter.  It provides an opportunity for local piano students from different studios to interact and become a part of the larger musical community in McPherson. Since the camp is run by area piano teachers, students will get valuable learning & feedback from teachers beyond their usual studio experience. We get to focus on extra-musical learning, such as music history, composition & theory, performance classes, aural skills, rhythm etc in a group setting. All those things that can often get squished into the last few minutes of typical lessons can now take center stage.  The camp also include...