Music teachers can set the questions any way they wish in this theory game! If you’re like me and have students of all different levels, sometimes you might need a game with a bit of flexibility – where you can set things up to suit the individual student. Don’t Catch The Penguins lets you (or…
Month: October 2019
Music is love
What is music? How do you define it? Music is a calm moonlit night, the rustle of leaves in Summer. Music is the far off peal of bells at dusk! Music comes straight from the heart and talks only to the heart: it is love. Music is the Sister of Poetry and her Mother is…
What is music to you?
Music is an outburst of the soul Delius What is music to you? This is an interesting question and I wonder if the answer might be different from person to person. Can you even define easily with words what it means to you? I like the quote by Delius because to me, whether composing music…
Bucket Bats: a new beginner music theory game
I have been very busy the past couple of days making a new two player music theory game called ‘Bucket Bats’ – and it’s ready just in time for Halloween! This game works great for teacher/student or student/student and it’s a team game where you only win if you both get to the end! If…
The ‘secret’ to playing the piano!
Have I a secret about playing the piano? It’s a very simple one. I sit down on the piano stool and make myself comfortable – and I always make sure that the lid over the keyboard is open before I start to play Artur Schnabel I love this! You start reading, thinking it’s going to…
A fun way to help piano students who get stuck in a five finger position
Have any of your piano students got stuck in a particular five finger position? Often it can be the notes around middle C which is where a lot of tutor books start. Many gently encourage students to use different fingers so they don’t associate a note with a particular finger. But others stick to thumb…
Don’t think too much
Do you ever find your thoughts get in the way of playing? Whether it’s a little voice in your brain saying ‘ooh there’s someone listening’ or ‘oh no, here comes that tricky bit!’ – or perhaps you are focusing so hard on trying to get a passage or bar right that you start overthinking it….
Encourage don’t discourage
Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress no matter how slow Plato Wise words and couldn’t agree more! We all work at our own pace and there is no right or wrong amount of time to learn something – whether that is learning music or something else. Here are some more motivational words about progress…
Who Stole My Doughnut?!
If you asked the question, “who stole my doughnut?” in my house the answer would definitely be my dog! He is a bit sneaky and likes to do what we call ‘counter surfing’ which really is sniffing out any food that might have been left unattended in the kitchen. He is the inspiration though for…
Curiosity and music lessons
You can teach a student a lesson for a day but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity he will continue the learning process as long as he lives Clay P Bedford How do you spark your students’ curiosity in music lessons? Curiosity is defined in the dictionary as “a strong desire…
Music and magic
Music acts like a magic key, to which the most tightly closed heart opens Maria Augusta von Trapp I have always been an avid reader. So much so that when I start reading a good book I really can’t put it down. This is probably why I enjoy finding a good quote – whether it…
My favourite piece!
A student is almost always motivated to practice if he leaves his lessons feeling capable Frances Clark For me this is definitely one of the most important ingredients to ensure students actually go home and practice! One of my earliest memories of childhood piano lessons involves a piece I can’t actually remember the name of….
