Piano Inspires Podcast: Sara Davis Buechner
Discovery homeSign up for email updatessubmit a question To celebrate the latest episode of Piano Inspires Podcast featuring Sara Davis Buechner, we are sharing an excerpted transcript of her conversation with Craig Sale. Want to learn more about Buechner? Check out the latest installment of...
Piano Inspires Podcast: An Interview with Connor Chee
Discovery homeSign up for email updatessubmit a question To celebrate the latest episode of Piano Inspires Podcast featuring Connor Chee we are sharing an excerpted transcript of his conversation with Craig Sale. Want to learn more about Chee? Check out the latest installment of the...
Do good reading skills help or hinder memorization?
Keyboard Companion Spring 2006; Vol. 17, No. 1
Craig Sale, Editor As a good reader, I always believed that I was “score-dependent,” making memorization a greater challenge. However, as a teacher I find that good reading skills can actually be of great value when it comes to secure memorization. Suzanne Schons and James...
A teacher’s greatest reward
Keyboard Companion Spring 2006; Vol. 17, No. 1
Elvina Pearce, Editor-in-Chief Editor’s Note: Some time ago I received the following piece from Craig Sale, Associate Editor for the magazine’s Music Reading department. I was so touched by its message that I asked Craig if I might share it with you and he agreed....
William Chapman Nyaho: Scholar, Pianist, Advocate
Spring 2024; Vol. 16, No. 1
The contributions of Dr. William Chapman Nyaho to the field of piano performance and pedagogy are numerous and lasting. From the beginning, his life has been filled with music from varied cultures and styles. In turn, he has impacted our musical world with explorations and...
What steps do you assign for the process of sight-reading?
Keyboard Companion Winter 2005; Vol. 16, No. 4
Craig Sale, Editor When selecting questions to be addressed in Keyboard Companion, I am never sure of the question’s success until the answers come in. I presented this issue’s question to our writers — Meg Gray, Virginia Houser and LeAnn Halvorson with more trepidation than...
What do you do with a transfer student who reads well on the treble staff but is insecure with reading on the bass staff?
Keyboard Companion Autumn 2005; Vol. 16, No. 3
Craig Sale, Editor We have all experienced it — the call from the parent of a prospective transfer student explaining that their child “does fine with the right hand, but really has a hard time reading the notes for the left hand.” Asking the parent...
How Do You Teach Cantabile Playing? How Does It Affect Students’ Rhythm?
Keyboard Companion Autumn 2001; Vol. 12, No. 3
by Bruce Berr There is no sound more magical to a music lover than that of a piano singing. It is a unique kind of singing of course, since a piano cannot sustain a tone continuously once it has been played. But when cantabile playing...
When and How Does the Suzuki Method Introduce Reading?
Keyboard Companion Autumn 2001; Vol. 12, No. 3
by Craig Sale There is no doubt that the introduction of Suzuki piano instruction in the 1970’s made dramatic changes in the piano teaching landscape, not just in the US, but worldwide. In this issue, our department’s contributors represent the international scope of Suzuki instruction—Dorothy...
5 Ways to Provide Student-Centered Feedback
Discovery homeSign up for email updatessubmit a question In his Summer 2023 article “Breaking Out of the House of Corrections,” Craig Sale gave practical advice about how to develop independent learners and motivated students. Here are five tips for providing student-centered feedback from his article....
The Legacy of James Lyke (1932-2023): Celebrating His Life and Work
Like many others, I had the good fortune to have Jim Lyke as a piano pedagogy professor and mentor. I credit him with starting me on my rewarding journey in this profession. As a graduate student in his pedagogy class, I was able to watch...
Breaking Out of the House of Corrections
By Craig Sale I will always remember Frances Clark stating that our lessons should not be a “house of corrections.” Instead, she felt we should do all we can to ensure a week of successful practice so that the student returns the next week prepared...
Celebrating our Colleague, Bruce Berr
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
We are blessed in our profession to have opportunities to interact with the best in our field—the best teachers, colleagues, friends. Such has been the case for teachers across the country with our colleague, Bruce Berr. Bruce had been an Associate Editor with Keyboard Companion and Clavier Companion since...
LIVING IN TECHNICOLOR—An Interview with Sara Davis Buechner
Spring 2023; Vol. 15, No. 1
By Craig Sale Sara Davis Buechner, award-winning pianist, and teacher, is more than an amazing pianist. She is a trailblazer in the realm of human rights as it impacts our musical profession. For almost thirty years, she has lived her life fully as a transgender...
Elvina Truman Pearce: Short Tributes
Autumn 2022; Vol. 14. No. 3
After John and Elvina Pearce moved to Naperville in 1965, I became a piano student of Mrs. Pearce and studied with her for six years. Elvina had a wonderful sense of how young people learn. In her distinctive script, she outlined practice steps and goals—working...