Category: Composition

Halloween Freebies for 2020

9/18/2020

The official start of fall is (finally!) just around the corner!

Since I have recently updated my Free Stuff page, today I am sharing a round-up of all of the free resources I have available for the fall/Halloween season.

Looking for some spooky music? Or maybe a Halloween composing project to do this month? Read on for several free resources you can use with your students in the month ahead!

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A Quick Guide to Notation Software

8/7/2020

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Let’s talk notation software!

If you have students who are interested in composition, you might have wondered about the best software to use to help them create professional-looking scores of their musical creations. Or, maybe you have wondered if there is an easy, inexpensive program that you can use yourself to create sheet music for your students?

With all of the choices available, how do you pick the best notation software for you and your students? Read on for my thoughts about a few of the most popular notation software products on the market today and the pros and cons of each one.

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Think Like a Composer: Tips for Teaching Musical Interpretation

1/30/2020

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Today I am sharing this article that I wrote for the blog at Tonara.com.

If you aren't familiar with Tonara, it is a unique app with a variety of features that enable teachers to manage their studio and motivate their students to practice. Visit Tonara's website HERE to learn more!

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then I think it is safe to say that music is in the ear of the beholder. Have you ever noticed that three different people can listen to the same piece of music and experience it in three completely different ways?

One of my favorite things about music is that each performance is truly a three-way collaboration: a merging of the inspiration of the composer, the interpretation of the performer, and the experience of the listener. Each musical performance is different, and each time we listen to a piece of music it has the potential to make us hear it in a new and exciting way.

Many of our students begin piano lessons because they have experienced the emotional connection that listening to a beautiful piece of music can bring. A great musical performance is all about bringing the composer’s “story” to life. So, how can we help our students learn to interpret the stories behind their music and to perform more artistically? Let’s teach them how to think like a composer!

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A Free Valentine's Day Improv Activity!

1/27/2020

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Today I am sharing a fun improv activity for February that can be customized for students at every level! This activity encourages students to improvise in both major and minor keys and to create a melody in 3/4 time.

Click HERE or on the picture to download this activity, including a teacher instruction page for tips on how to introduce this improv to your students.

Happy improvising!

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The Bear and the Bird: A Story-Based Improv Activity for Beginners

12/31/2019

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The new year is always a great time for incorporating a few fresh, creative activities into our lessons! With that in mind, today I am sharing one of my favorite creative activities for beginning students: a story-based improv activity.

This is a great activity for helping students become comfortable creating sounds at the piano away from the written page. I tell students that for this activity, I am the narrator and they are my "sound effect engineers." Their job is to choose a sound on the piano that they think fits the story as we read it together.

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Halloween Freebies for 2020

A Quick Guide to Notation Software

Think Like a Composer: Tips for Teaching Musical Interpretation

A Free Valentine's Day Improv Activity!

The Bear and the Bird: A Story-Based Improv Activity for Beginners

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