THIS MONTH IN PIANO HISTORY we celebrate Black women in jazz, Piano Day, a giant in the music education field, and the birthday of Maurice Ravel. Read more below to learn more about the many historic musical anniversaries in March, a wonderful reminder of the great variety within the world of piano.
March 1 – National Black Women in Jazz and the Arts Day
Celebrate Black women in jazz and the arts with Piano Inspires! We celebrate the work of Black women composers Valerie Capers, Estelle Ricketts, and Florence Price in our online course “Unsung Heroes in Piano Pedagogy.” To learn more about Black women composers, enroll in our course today!
March 6, 1967 – We Remember Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, educator, and ethnomusicologist. He is widely remembered for his method of music education, which he first established in Hungary and is now used widely in the United States. On this day in 1967, he passed away in Budapest at the age of 84. To learn more about Kodály and his incredible contributions to the field of music and piano education, click here.
March 7, 1875 – Birth of Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel was a French composer who is often associated with the Impressionist genre. He attended the Paris Conservatoire and brushed shoulders with many prestigious composers of the day, including Claude Debussy, Erik Satie, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Gabriel Fauré.
Ravel wrote primarily advanced works, and his Prelude in A Minor is one of the few intermediate pieces in his collection. To learn more about the Prelude in A Minor and how to approach it with your students, watch this video created by Curtis Pavey.
March 29 – Piano Day
March 29 is the 88th day of the year, and the day on which we celebrate pianos, pianists, and piano educators! We believe passionately that pianists and piano teachers change the world through their dedication to their students and communities. If you would like to recognize a powerful piano teacher in your life, consider sharing a tribute in our Power of a Piano Teacher campaign.
OTHER RESOURCES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
- WEBINAR: “Arabesque” (Lang) and Portraits in Jazz (Capers) with Laura Amoriello and Olivia Ellis
- MAGAZINE ARTICLE: 2017 Clavier Companion Collegiate Writing Contest Winner: The Actual Children’s Corner: Making Impressionistic Music Accessible to Elementary and Intermediate Piano Students by Hayden Coie
- MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Why Do You Use Unit Counting With Your Beginners? When and Why Do You Teach Meter Counting? by Marvin Blickenstaff, Terry Weber, Elaine Blingenheimer, Becky Corley, and Donna Sanders
- MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Supporting Without Overwhelming: Our Children’s Music Lessons by Amy Boyes and Karen Gerelus
- REPERTOIRE VIDEO SERIES: Ravel: Prelude in A Minor by Curtis Pavey
- DISCOVERY POST: 5 Things You Might Not Know About Zoltán Kodály by Megan Hall
- ONLINE COURSE: Unsung Heroes in Piano Pedagogy
- Use our search feature to discover more!