Rhythm skills are so important for piano students. I try to squeeze rhythm activities into as many piano lessons as possible. I find that it really helps students to work with rhythm outside of the context of playing music so that they have a good foundation and skills to draw from when tricky rhythms show up in music. Here are five rhythm resources that I use regularly in piano lessons. … [Read more...] about 5 Ways To Teach Rhythm To Piano Students
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Acoustic Vs. Digital Pianos
I often coach my piano students and their families on what to look for when purchasing a piano. There are a lot of options out there and first big choice is digital or acoustic. Personally, I own and enjoy playing both digital and acoustic pianos. I use both types for teaching in my studio as well as for my own practice. I tend to gravitate towards different pianos for different reasons, … [Read more...] about Acoustic Vs. Digital Pianos
Free Sheet Music: Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Thanks for all of your excitement about SmartKidsPiano! If you missed the big news, you'll want to head over to this post to find out about my big project. I wanted to share some free sheet music with you today. Take Me Out To The Ball Game is a song in the Smart Kids Piano library. If you're a teacher or you already play piano, I'm happy to share this sheet with you. However, if you … [Read more...] about Free Sheet Music: Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Introducing SmartKidsPiano
I’m super excited to share with you a huge project I’ve been working on for almost 1.5 years! Pianissimo is launching a brand new video tutorial library for kids called SmartKidsPiano. Think of it as the Netflix of piano tutorials, designed especially for kids! When you and your kids log in, you’ll have access to over 100 easy piano tutorials. I’ve hand picked and arranged every song so that … [Read more...] about Introducing SmartKidsPiano
5 Ways To Learn Piano Scales
It can be hard to get piano students excited about playing scales. They can be messy, confusing and complicated. But, once they start making sense, most piano students take off with their piano playing. Sight reading skills, technique, understanding of music theory and many more musical skills all start coming together when students master scales. As a piano teacher, playing scales can get … [Read more...] about 5 Ways To Learn Piano Scales
What Do The Piano Pedals Do?
A common first question from new piano students is, “What do the pedals do?” The pedal on the right clearly changes the sound of the piano, but the other pedals might not seem to sound very different. Let's learn about the purpose of the pedals, starting with the pedal on the right. Sustain Pedal The sustain pedal, also called the damper pedal, is the pedal you will use the most at the … [Read more...] about What Do The Piano Pedals Do?