How to Record an Effective Teaching Demonstration: 6 Tips for Success
Discovery homeSign up for email updatessubmit a question We are delighted to share top tips from Dr. Sara Ernst on recording effective teaching demonstrations as you compile your teaching video submissions for NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference. Sara is Director of Teacher Engagement for the...
Winter 2023: Pupil Saver: “Galloping Adventure” from Contrasts in Style by Melody Bober
Winter 2023; Vol. 14, No. 4
By Sara M. Ernst Flashy, fun, and fast, perfectly describe this early-intermediate piece. The A section evokes an image of wild horses galloping in the country, and the B section suggests their majestic beauty. The score is complete with numerous musical markings including frequent staccati,...
How to Write an Effective Conference Proposal: 5 Tips for Success
Discovery homeSign up for email updatessubmit a question We are delighted to share top tips from Dr. Sara Ernst on writing successful conference proposals to support you as you draft your session ideas for NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference. Sara is Director of Teacher Engagement...
Cómo escribir una propuesta de presentación eficaz para conferencias: 5 consejos
Discovery homeSign up for email updatessubmit a question Estamos encantados de compartir los mejores consejos de la Dra. Sara Ernst sobre cómo escribir propuestas exitosas para ayudarle a redactar sus ideas para ponencias para NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference. Sara es Directora de Compromiso Docente...
Como escrever uma proposta de apresentação eficaz para conferências: 5 dicas de sucesso
Discovery homeSign up for email updatessubmit a question Estamos muito felizes em compartilhar as principais dicas da Dr. Sara Ernst sobre escrever propostas bem-sucedidas para conferências à medida que você elabora suas ideias para apresentações na NCKP 2023: a Conferência de Piano. Sara é diretora...
Practicing Alongside Our Intermediate Students
Winter 2022; Vol. 13, No. 4
Practice may be readily defined by our elementary students as “playing the piano at home” and by intermediate students as “time spent learning my music.” Advanced musicians acquire a nuanced definition of practice, which may include concepts like warming up, deep listening and analysis, artistic...
Smiling Faces and Adapted Approaches in Online Lessons with Children
COVID-19 Special Issue; Vol. 12, No. 2
My recent lessons with elementary and intermediate students have been filled with music making and sweet moments of personal connection. I enjoyed a student’s smile with a first lost tooth, another’s excitement in showing off her scales with both hands, and exclamations of “I love this piece!” and “That’s...
A Tribute to Marvin Blickenstaff and his Pedagogical Legacy
Spring 2020; Vol. 12, No. 1
Marvin Blickenstaff has been a pillar of the North American piano community for more than five decades. His dedication to outstanding teaching, learning, and performing has been honed through his work with innumerable students and their teachers. Anyone who has witnessed Marvin working with young pianists understands why his work is so powerful. He demands excellence from his students and colleagues,...
September 2018: First Looks: New Music Reviews
New Music Reviews Editor’s noteHo, ho, ho! The holidays are on the horizon. We know how it is for piano teachers (we’re teachers ourselves). We frantically run to the music store, hoping to snag our favorites before the teacher with 120 students cleans out the...
September/October 2017: New Music Reviews
September 2017; Vol. 9, No. 5
Happy Holidays! (S1-4) We Three Kings, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Deck the Hall Hoedown, arranged by Wendy Stevens. For teachers wanting some fun and creative options to spice up their holiday recitals, three new arrangements by Wendy Stevens are fantastic choices. “We Three...
To Play and to Study: The Thrill of Discovery
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
Learning is thrilling. As we feel our own potential expand, we seek to develop our capabilities even further. We feel excitement when a concept clicks into understanding. Our curiosity is piqued when a new challenge reveals itself. The satisfaction of learning is amplified when we are thoroughly engaged in discovery and exploration. Watching...
November 2018: New Music Reviews
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
(S3-4) Big Phat Jazz Piano Solos: 10 Big Phat Band Classics, arranged by Gordon Goodwin. (S3-4) If you’re not familiar with the name “Gordon Goodwin,” you probably haven’t played in a high school jazz band in the last fifteen years or so. Goodwin’s music has achieved near ubiquity in the jazz education world because of his...
November/December 2017: New Music Reviews
November 2017; Vol. 9, No. 6
(S3) From Sight to Sound: 6 Original PIano Solos, by Randall Hartsell. Randall Hartsell composed From Sight to Sound to express the “interconnectedness of nature and our lives,” and this collection contains six reflective pieces characterized by melodic simplicity and harmonic richness. The collection capitalizes...
May 2018: New Music Reviews
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
Festival Sonatina by Eugénie Rocherelle The Classical sonatina is such a pedagogical treasure, as it provides great material to study and perform—teachers can spur growth in artistry, and students love the musically satisfying material. Eugénie Rocherolle’s Festival Sonatina has two commonalities with the Classical sonatina: its...
May/June 2017: New Music Reviews
May 2017; Vol. 9, No. 3
(S3) Aurora: 5 Original Solos Inspired by the North, by Naoko Ikeda. Japanese composer Naoko Ikeda composed five lyrical character pieces based upon “the Scandanavian landscapes of [her] own imagination.” Aurora has the potential to motivate intermediate students, especially those who enjoy music with lyrical phrasing and...