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Clavier Companion

The Possibilities of Practicing during a Pandemic

The Possibilities of Practicing during a Pandemic with Andrew Cooperstock, Barbara Fast, Artina McCain, Spencer Myer, & Nicholas Phillips Did you enjoy this webinar? Please complete our brief survey to help us improve our webinar series and continue to bring you the highest quality resources in piano teaching. 
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Spencer Myer and Barbara Fast

Engaging the Brain: Practice Tips from an Interview with Spencer Myer

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I attended Spencer Myer's practicing workshop at the NCKP 2019 Conference. His emphasis on engaging the brain in variable practice techniques sparked my interest and supports research on how we learn. I thought I knew every possible practice suggestion, but Spencer presented and demonstrated many new and unusual ideas that he was using in...
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Kay Bohn
I can't find the videos referenced in the print magazine.
Monday, 17 August 2020 09:54
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Marvin Blickenstaff

Questions and Answers

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I model practice with my students. Although the student sees the progress she makes in the lesson with our practice plan, she doesn't follow through at home. How can I help her use our practice plan at home so that she improves during the week? The word I most appreciate in your inquiry is "model." We should all model practice with our students dur...
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Jessica Johnson

Self-Compassion In the Studio: Helping our Students Practice with Kindness

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As musicians striving towards perfection, we engage in destructive self-talk while practicing, undermining our confidence, disconnecting us from our bodies, and cutting us off from authentic artistic expression. With increasing rates of anxiety and depression among adolescents and teens, our young students often feel overwhelmed and ...
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Barbara Fast

Keep Your Cell Phone Out: Technology that Transforms Traditional Practicing and Teaching

Did you enjoy this webinar? Please complete our brief survey to help us improve our webinar series and continue to bring you the highest quality resources in piano teaching.
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Heather Waldrop
No audio? I thought I would be able to watch the webinar I missed.
Sunday, 20 October 2019 22:02
Jada Gordon
I watched this whole video and It looks so great means I found this video very useful for me. you should make more video with best... Read More
Friday, 04 September 2020 05:36
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Spencer Myer and Barbara Fast

Let's Talk About Practicing (10-7-20)

Did you enjoy this webinar? Please complete our brief survey to help us improve our webinar series and continue to bring you the highest quality resources in piano teaching.
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Barbara Fast

Change It Up!: Interleaved Practice–What It Is, Why It Works

What is Interleaved Practice?  Repetition is the most time-honored method of learning anything new, be it basketball, math, or piano. Practice! And practice some more.  But how do we structure practicing? How musicians or math students organize their practice and study time is not frequently discussed or thought about in great detail. Mus...
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Amy Glennon
This is absolutely fascinating. Looking forward to implementing these ideas. Thank you!
Saturday, 15 June 2019 07:04
Catherine Burge
Thanks for making us aware of these ideas on the Webinar today "Possibilities of Practice in a Pandemic"
Tuesday, 21 April 2020 11:07
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Barbara Kreader Skalinder

Whose Assignment Is it Anyway?

It happened again this week. I had used the word "heartbeat" to suggest the way the left- hand chords in the B section of Burgmüller's Ballade should sound. Every teacher knows the usual klunk-klunk sound most students first make when playing them. Owen had immediately responded to this image with exactly the right two-chord phrasing. Ah, success,...
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Patsy Surratt
Thank you so much for this great article. This was very helpful and very timely. I have a student working on the Burgmuller Ballad... Read More
Sunday, 22 September 2019 19:26
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Lynn Worcester Jones

Spencer Myer: A 21st-Century American Pianist

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Setting the Scene Spencer Myer emerged as a concert pianist of note upon winning three important competitions shortly after the turn of this century. In 2004, he placed first in the UNISA International Piano Competition in South Africa, then in 2006 he won the Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship from the American Pian...
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Lesley McAllister

Preparing Students for Peak Performance Through Centering Practice

Healthy Playing, Healthy Teaching, Vanessa Cornett, Editor Many teachers are unsure of the best way to respond when a student first utters the words, "I feel nervous!" Young students experiencing anxiety for the first time may mistakenly feel that their symptoms should be eliminated entirely. Yet, in order to perform w...
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Helen Smith Tarchalski, editor

September/October 2018: Keyboard Kids' Companion

To print or save, use the PDF below. Hover your cursor over the document and a black bar should appear with print and download icons. Download PDF File Here
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Elvina Pearce

Thinking Tempo: teaching students to practice slowly

We are thrilled to share this archival footage of Elvina Pearce in the inaugural episode of our new series, Timeless Teaching Videos. Video from this episode was recorded at a Piano Pedagogy Seminar at the New School for Music Study in year 2000. At The New School for Music Study, founders Frances Clark and Louise Goss created a tradition...
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Amy Greer

Purple Days

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Yesterday, Andrew came into his lesson scowling. He stomped her to the piano bench, sat down, and crossed his arms in front of his chest, still scowling. I first met five-year-old Andrew when he was a baby, sitting on his dad's lap during his older brother's piano lessons. During all of his eight months of piano lessons, I have never seen him ...
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John Carpenter

100 Days of Practice?

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Our student, Maria Willertz, recently stood on the stage of Steinway Hall in Cincinnati proudly displaying her certificate for having practiced 100 days in a row, an accomplishment we achieved together by providing a positive environment in which to practice, conveying clear expectations of how to practice, and evoking encouragement to help keep he...
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Sam Holland 

May/June 2018: Questions and Answers

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Q: Is it OK for a student to continue study if they don't practice? I have a student who reads well and enjoys her lessons, but honestly, each time I see her, our time is spent practicing.  A: As a rule of thumb, I believe that the more music and music-making in the world, the better. On that basis, even if this student makes music only once a...
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Barbara Kreader Skalinder

Jan/Feb 2018 Variations: A nickel for every mistake

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Seven-year-old Serena's mother describes her daughter's first piano practice of every week. "We always have tears! If she makes even one mistake, she is ready to give up. She expects herself to be able to the play the piece perfectly the first time. No matter what I say, she gets upset. Eventually, she turns her frustration on me, which means she e...
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Diane Briscoe

Parents attending lessons: rewards and challenges

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Why would teachers want to encourage parents to attend lessons? Although some teachers—Suzuki, Yamaha, or preschool, for example—routinely invite parents, not all music teachers find that children or their guardians benefit from a shared experience. The following is an overview of some of the rewards and challenges of parental attendance at lessons...
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Casey Adams
Piano magazines have some pictures that were about the online classes of the facts that need to join formation to have on it. Chal... Read More
Tuesday, 14 July 2020 00:46
Jamie Cameron
Parents should always be present in the life of their children. Since the basic formation of the child's personality depends on th... Read More
Monday, 16 November 2020 06:53
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Evelyn Lee

Having fun with scales

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Yeah, right! Is it really possible to have fun playing scales? For many students, practicing scales is a chore. In fact,it is a big chore and seems to be boring and confusing while taking too much time away from practicing pieces. "If my piece does not have a scalar passage, why should I play the scale of this piece's key? That is a waste of time!"...
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Pete Jutras

Letter to the Editor: September/October 2017

Dear Editor, The Editor's Page ("Who will save the guitar?" July/August 2017) commented on the 10,000 hour rule of thumb. This has been rumbling around in my mind for a little while as a confluence of discussions that all reference this "law" have been keeping the idea active in my head. The comment about taking 10,000 hours to reach expert or mast...
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Scott McBride Smith

The art of practicing: Broad principles

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Have you ever thought that, from a young student's viewpoint, practicing is counterintuitive? Think about other skills you learned as a child: tying your shoes, for example. An adult shows you how to do it (I used the "Bunny Rabbit Ears" method with my nephews), you practice clumsily at first, then with increasing mastery, until finally there is no...
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