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 Do you have beginners that struggle with flying fingers or tension in their shoulders, arms, and hands? If so, check out these quick and easy exercises that will help students of all ages to develop body awareness and learn techniques to release tension at the piano. Click "read more" to watch the video!
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 As I have mentioned in my previous articles on practicing, one of my most important goals as a teacher is to instill good practice habits in my students. I want my students to have a toolbox of practice strategies that they can draw from to solve any problem they might encounter in their music.
However, an equally important part of the practice puzzle is teaching students how to assess themselves as they practice. The majority of our students' work at the piano is done outside of our lessons--so it is important that students know how to listen carefully and how to critique themselves as they practice independently. Read on for 3 ideas you can use to help your students learn the important skill of self-assessment!  Do you have students who seem to “hit a wall” in their piano progress once they reach high school? Often these students enjoy piano and have a desire to learn, but are so overwhelmed with school work, extra-curricular activities, and college-prep that they just don’t have time to practice.
Even when students have limited practice time, I think there are benefits to continuing piano lessons. Playing a musical instrument can provide an important emotional and creative outlet for students during the stressful high school years. In addition to the life-long skills of self-discipline, problem-solving, and creative thinking that learning to play piano provide, the musical skills students learn at the piano can be enjoyed for years to come as well. For example, your students might wish to play for their church or community choir or to help their own children practice piano one day! Finally, participation in piano lessons looks great on those college applications your students are working so hard on. So, how do we best help these students, who have a desire to play piano and want to continue lessons, but have a limited amount of practice time? Read on for my tips for teaching busy teens!  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! I have a confession to make. Sight-reading doesn’t come easily for me. Growing up, I was always a diligent practicer. I worked hard to prepare for my lessons, and I learned how to use my time efficiently to break apart my music and practice it well. However, being able to play a new piece accurately, at first sight, was always difficult for me. While I don’t think sight-reading will ever be my forte (pun intended!), my sight-reading has improved over the years--thanks especially to doing lots of accompanying. However, my struggles with sight-reading have made me determined to help my students better develop their own sight-reading skills. Read on for five tips I have found helpful for improving sight-reading, for both me and my students!  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! |
AuthorChrissy Ricker is a pianist, teacher, and composer from North Carolina. These are her thoughts on teaching, composing, and all things music. Looking for teaching ideas related to a specific topic? Use the "search" feature or scroll down to see blog posts organized by category!
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