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.
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.
Many years ago, my undergraduate piano professor, Dr. Robin Hancock, told me a story regarding the pre-recital preparation of his teacher, the legendary pianist Anthony di Bonaventura. My teacher sneaked into the Tsai Performance Center at Boston University and hid behind the chairs, eager to find out what Mr. Di ...
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.
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...
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...
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 ...
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.
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.
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...
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,...
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...
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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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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...