May 2018: Questions and Answers
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
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...
DIGITAL-ONLY CONTENT: Online Teaching: How I Work With My Students in Saudi Arabia
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
When I moved back to the United States after living in Saudi Arabia for fifteen years, I went from a full teaching studio of over 50 students along with a mentorship program to teaching a smaller number of students online. I had been teaching online...
100 Days of Practice?
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
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...
Bringing it Home
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
For a pianist without high-level management, organizing a tour can feel like an impossible undertaking. There are many reasons why touring is harder than ever before: venues for classical and jazz music have been shuttering their doors all over the country, audiences are far from...
May 2018: Variations
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
Rediscovering the joy of music 1950. Rediscovering the Joy of Music Lincoln, Nebraska. I am four years old, living with my parents in a new GI-Bill financed tract house, dancing around my bedroom to Side B of my Golden Record of The Five Little Firemen....
Inclusion: Part 1, Bringing music-making to everyone
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
If there is one thing that music can do, it can bridge all divides. It does not recognize age or gender, race or social class. Music does not recognize disability. Music does not discriminate. It finds and nourishes the good in everyone, and every person...
Inclusion: Part 2, The MusicLink connection
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
MusicLink begins with a simple idea: link an eager disadvantaged student with a professional teacher who provides lessons for little or no cost for as long as the child wishes to learn. This simple connection impacts the life of the child as well as that...
Inclusion: Part 3, The Celebrating the Spectrum Piano Festival at Michigan State
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
The Celebrating the Spectrum Piano Festival at Michigan State University was a first-of-its-kind summer piano festival that first occurred from July 24-31, 2016. This festival immersed five pre-college piano students in a daily schedule meant to emulate a week in the life of a music...
Inclusion: Part 4, Music knows no walls
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
The words above the entrance doors in the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution of Columbia, South Carolina, read, “Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters. Attitude is...
The Repertoire-Rich Challenge: Three Stories to Inspire You
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
The more you learn, the more you know: Adopting a repertoire-rich attitude in your studio For a couple of hundred years now, piano teachers (and their piano students along with them), have bought into the fashion maxim that “less is more” when it comes to learning repertoire.by Elissa Milne The more...
May 2018: Create and Motivate
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
Combining scales and chords Here are three exercises that benefit all musicians regardless of their preferred style or approach to making music: Scales Chord drills Scales and chords together The last two columns offered interesting ways to practice the first two. Now, here’s a way to combine scales and...
Fostering Collaboration: Elementary and Intermediate Works for Pianist and Narrator
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
By default, being a pianist can feel like a lonely musical pursuit. Students frequently take private lessons, practice alone, perform solo repertoire, and only occasionally play duets with a teacher, family member, or friend. It is not until after many years of private study that...
May 2018: Pupil Saver
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
Got a Pupil Saver? We love to hear from you. If you are interested in submitting your Pupil Saver for consideration, please contact Susan Geffen at m.editor@claviercompanion.com I have an advancing student who is really interested in playing French music. Although I decided to steer...
My Hardest Lesson Ever
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
Ah, music,” he said, wiping his eyes. “A magic beyond all we do here!by J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone We music teachers teach with our hearts as well as our hands. Our students come away from their lessons with more than just instruction, and...
How to Become an Indispensable Piano Teacher
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
In a world where parents are constantly reevaluatiing the cost of a recurring service, job security may depend in part upon how indispensable we are to our piano students. How do we become indispensable? How do we keep parents from jumping from teacher to teacher or...