pianoinspires.com
Piano Inspires Discovery
A space dedicated to inspiring the love of piano and music making through educational and inspirational content.
-
Inspiring Instructors: The Power of a Piano Teacher
At The Frances Clark Center, we are honoring piano teachers who are working every day to make the world more empathetic, inclusive, and connected through the transformational power of music. We welcome you to celebrate your own teacher by sharing a tribute with us and donating to the Frances Clark Center. Students, parents, and colleagues…
-
This Month in Piano History – Les femmes du musique
This November, we celebrate three inspiring women: soprano Maria Callas, composer and pianist Fanny Hensel, and composer, pianist, and organist Emma Lou Diemer. November 1, 1954: The American Operatic Debut of Maria Callas Greek-American soprano Maria Callas personified the “diva” and held many successful roles in Italy and South America before her American debut as…
-
A Look Inside “A Pianist’s Guide to Teaching Recreational Music Makers”
We would like to thank Amy Perdew for her contributions to this article on Recreational Music Making. Interested in learning more about RMM? Our latest course, A Pianist’s Guide to Teaching Recreational Music Makers, is available for purchase. Learn more and enroll here. Use code RMMLAUNCH2024 for an exclusive $25 off. Marketing is the process…
-
Recreational Music Making: 5 Discoveries We Made as RMM Teachers
We would like to thank Debra Perez, Craig Sale, Rebecca Bellelo, and Emily Book McGree for their contributions to this article on Recreational Music Making. Interested to learn more about RMM? Our latest course, A Pianist’s Guide to Teaching Recreational Music Makers, was just released. Learn more and enroll here. Use code RMMLAUNCH2024 for an…
-
Piano Inspires Podcast: Dennis Alexander
To celebrate the latest episode of the Piano Inspires Podcast featuring Dennis Alexander, we are sharing an excerpted transcript of his conversation with Jennifer Snow. Want to learn more about Alexander? Check out the latest installment of the Piano Inspires Podcast. To learn more, visit pianoinspires.com. Listen to our latest episode with Alexander on Apple Podcasts,…
-
Final Call: Proposals for The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025
The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 advances and supports the international field of piano teaching, learning, and performing. To innovate for the future, we seek programming that explores the challenges and opportunities of the present day and the future for practitioners and performers, arts leaders and advocates, professors and administrators, and new professionals and students. The…
-
Piano Inspires Podcast: Annie Jeng
To celebrate the latest episode of the Piano Inspires Podcast featuring Annie Jeng, we are sharing an excerpted transcript of her conversation with Craig Sale. Want to learn more about Jeng? Check out the latest installment of the Piano Inspires Podcast. To learn more, visit pianoinspires.com. Listen to our latest episode with Jeng on Apple Podcasts,…
-
A Master at Work: Marvin Blickenstaff
We would like to thank Gail Berenson for this tribute to Marvin Blickenstaff. As we continue the season of gratitude and giving, we pay tribute to piano teachers from around the country who are transforming the lives of their students. Students, parents, and colleagues are honoring piano teachers from their communities as part of the…
-
5 Reasons to Submit a Proposal to The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025
We would like to thank Megan Hall and Curtis Pavey for this insightful article about why you should submit a proposal to The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025. The last chance to submit your proposals via our proposal submission portal is 11:59pm PDT on Monday, October 21, 2024. 1. Share your teaching practices, scholarship, and research.…
-
A Quick Look at Creative Music Making: What Pianists Should Know
Special thanks to the Bradley Sowash, member of the NCKP 2023 Creative Music Making committee, for this post. Why is creative music making an important topic for pianists today? Today’s students benefit from instruction in reading and generating music. Why? Because students that read well, play by ear, and/or create music can play a wider…
-
Für Elise: Beethoven’s Infamous Composition
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, Beethoven composed his infamous bagatelle Für Elise WoO 59 on April 27, 1810. The short piece is built around a recurring theme that is unceasingly popular with pianists of all ages. One of the central questions regarding this piece is to whom it was written. Scholarship remains unclear about the…
-
A Quick Look at Independent Music Teaching: What Pianists Should Know
Special thanks to Jason Sifford, chair of the NCKP 2023 Independent Music Teaching committee, for this post. Why is independent teaching important for pianists today? Today’s emerging professionals and young parents are the first to be born in the 2000’s. This generation enters a world unlike any before, and understanding and embracing the unique challenges…
-
A Quick Look at Wellness: What Pianists Should Know
Special thanks to the NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference Wellness Committee for their contributions to this post. Why is wellness an important topic for pianists today? It is known that few pianists go through life without encountering an injury or illness, whether directly related to playing or not. Therefore, it is very important that there…
-
Nina Simone: Remembering a Trailblazer
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we remember pianist Nina Simone who died on April 21, 2003. Simone, born as Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, was a jazz singer, pianist, and civil rights leader. Simone began playing piano at the age of three, learning at first by ear.1 Her initial…
-
What to Expect at NCKP: The Piano Conference
Thanks to Trevor Thornton, member of the New Professionals Committee for NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference, for this post! So, it’s your first NCKP. You are probably curious about what to expect. I remember the feeling well. My first NCKP changed my life, and it might change yours too. NCKP has a gift for you…
-
A Quick Look at Business and Entrepreneurship: What Pianists Should Know
Special thanks to the NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference Business and Entrepreneurship Committee for their contributions to this post.Join them for their webinar, “The Hidden Landscape of Business and Entrepreneurship,” on Wednesday, April 19th, 2023 at 11:00AM ET. Registration is free! Why are business and entrepreneurship important topics for pianists today? Developing business and entrepreneurship…
-
The Birth of Argentina’s Musical Advocate: Alberto Ginastera
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we celebrate the birth of Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, born on April 11, 1916. Ginastera has been described as an important composer in the history of Argentina, with an impact on the collection and dissemination of folk music similar to that of Bartók in Hungary.1 Ginastera was born in Buenos…
-
This Week in Piano History: Happy 150th, Sergei!
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we celebrate the birth of composer, pianist, and conductor Sergei Rachmaninoff, born on April 1, 1873. Despite his enduring fame as a composer, Rachmaninoff was largely known in his day as one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century, touring around the world. Rachmaninoff was most likely born in…
