Hello, piano teacher friends!

After a three-year hiatus (due to the pandemic and having babies!), my piano teacher retreats are back! I’m excited to invite you to attend a retreat for piano teachers taking place at my home this summer.

Piano Teacher Retreat is a three-day getaway for piano teachers to connect, recharge, share, and learn from each another. During this unique experience, you will have opportunity to contribute and benefit from collective wisdom during group discussions, interactive activities, as well as relaxing downtime. You’ll leave you feeling inspired and connected, with newly formed friendships and fresh ideas for your teaching.

My retreats held in 2017, 2018, and 2019 each centered around a theme. This year has its own theme as well:

EXPLORING ROTE + NOTE LEARNING IN PIANO TEACHING
We all want our students to be able to perform at the piano with freedom, expression, and musical understanding (audiation). Join us as we discuss the age-old concept of “note + rote” and explore how the two can overlap in effective piano teaching of today. During our retreat, you will experience firsthand the benefits of integrating rote pieces, engage in important conversations regarding sequencing and MLT (Music Learning Theory), and collaborate to hunt for new “pattern pieces” your students will love.

I think this topic has something for everyone: 

• If you are a teacher who already does some teaching “by rote”… This retreat will challenge you to choose pieces according to a sequence of learning informed by Music Learning Theory (MLT), opening more doors for musical understanding (or audiation) on the part of our students.
   
• If you are a teacher who has not yet tried teaching pieces “by rote” (i.e., through ear/eye rather than strictly reading the notes on the page), this retreat will equip you with the tools and confidence to begin doing so and start reaping the benefits with your students.

One thing I’m particularly excited about this year is our break-out sessions, where we will team up into small groups to search for effective “pattern pieces” and compile our findings in a shared spreadsheet organized by level. We will also spend time together teaching and learning pieces by rote, to experience it firsthand from both directions. 

Piano Teacher Retreat will take place August 10-12, 2023 at my home in southwest Michigan in a town called Saline, just outside Ann Arbor (30 minutes west of the Detroit airport). I hope you’ll consider joining me!

If you’re interested in hearing the details about my retreat, please join my separate retreat email list. You can sign up at pianoteacherretreat.com.

Thanks for reading!

In recent months, I’ve conversed with a few readers seeking thoughts or advice relating to navigating roles as both parents and piano teachers. As I talked to these fellow piano-teacher-parents and started drafting this article, I realized I have a lot to say on this topic. Becoming “Mom” to two sweet little girls in 2020 and 2022 has given me a perspective I’d love to share.

Without further ado, here’s my article offering advice on issues related to being parents and piano teachers. Read on for thoughts regarding purpose, work-life “blend,” childcare, maternity/paternity leave, managing your time, and designing a life you love. Whatever your current family situation, I hope this article has something for you.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Thanks for supporting my work!

Know Your “Why”

As the book by Simon Sinek says, “Start with why!” Keeping your personal “why” in focus will give you purpose and energy as you go about your work and family life.

So, consider: why do you teach piano? More specifically, why do you wish to continue teaching piano during a season of raising young children? Here are some examples that might be true for you:

• I teach piano to support myself and my family financially.
• I teach piano because I love being around music and sharing music.
• I teach piano because I love teaching and mentoring young musicians.
• I teach piano because I find it to be a stimulating, fulfilling outlet for myself.
• I teach piano because I want my children to grow up in the musical environment my music studio provides.
• I teach piano because I want my children to see me working and loving my work.

Did many of those “whys” resonate with you, as they do with me?

What’s interesting to consider is that while we’d probably agree that our families and ourselves come first, it doesn’t necessarily have to be an “either-or” when it comes to raising as family (more on this later) and teaching piano. In fact, some of the reasons I teach piano are FOR myself and my family. I love raising my children, AND I also love teaching and am thankful for the way it rejuvenates me. My teaching has informed my parenting, and my parenting has informed my teaching. Both roles make me a better person.

Embracing Work-Life Blend

There’s no doubt about it — parenting brings new challenges. At times, it might feel as if work life and home life are in opposition with each other, conflicting and each tugging for attention. Popular advice recommends seeking work-life balance, but I’d like to suggest an alternative mindset.

Instead of trying to achieve a perfect work-life balance (does such a thing even exist?!), consider thinking of a work-life blend. Work and home life invariably DO overlap, but that isn’t necessary a negative thing. I love the many ways my work as a piano teacher impacts me personally as well as my family, and vice versa. It’s not always going to look perfect, but that’s okay; adjustments can always be made to the blend.

Life is messy. Embrace the blend rather than fight it, and look for the silver linings in the intersection of YOUR work life and personal life.

Stay Flexible as Seasons Change

As I like to say: the only thing that stays the same when it comes to raising kids is things are always changing! This is one of the challenges of parenting, but also part of what makes parenting fun. Every stage of development brings new joys and hurdles that will pass as you transition to the next chapter. Keep this in mind as you savor each happy moment and navigate any frustrating challenges. As everyone says, children grow up quickly! I’m determined to enjoy every chapter of parenthood as I can.

One massive benefit of being self-employed is that you can set your own hours! As your own boss, you can increase or decrease your teaching hours according to the season of parenting you might be in. And you can choose to teach only certain days each week, or take summers off if desired.

When I became pregnant with my oldest, I stopped adding new students (for the most part) to allow my schedule to naturally decrease over the next couple of years. In this season of life raising young children, I’m content to have a smaller studio than I enjoyed pre-kids. I expect that as my kids grow older, at some point I will enjoy increasing my teaching hours once again.

While my daughters are as young as they are (a baby and a toddler) and I am their primary caretaker, the majority of my teaching hours are the evenings when my husband is free to watch the girls. When my daughters become school-aged, it’s possible I might adjust my schedule again to be able to enjoy a bit of time with them when they first get home from school and before I start my teaching day. There are also after-school activities to consider, which my husband and I will need to share facilitating. We will cross these bridges as we get there, but it’s nice knowing now that my work gives me flexibility to do what works for our family.

Creative Solutions for Childcare

When you have a child in your care, there are new considerations to factor into the way you spend your day. Here’s a few ideas for creative childcare arrangements that might compliment your desired teaching schedule as a music teacher.

• If your baby tends to be content most of the time, you might be able to teach lessons while baby is close by in a baby carrier or pack-and-play. I know teachers for whom this worked well and did not work well. So, it may work well for you, or it might not. But it’s an option to try, if desired!
• Trade-off with your partner. If you and your partner agree it’s a priority for you to be able to teach music lessons, arrange your teaching schedule in accordance to the hours when your partner is available to watch the kids. As I mentioned earlier, this is what my husband and I do. It helps that he is allowed to work a 7am-4pm workday instead of 8am-5pm — which means I can start my teaching day an hour earlier than otherwise. In addition, his job currently allows him to work from his home office, which means I can occasionally sneak in a lesson or two during daytime hours. You might also consider teaching on the weekends, especially if there seems to be a market for lessons offered at that time in your locale.
• Consider checking with your family, friends, or students/their parents to find someone willing to help entertain your kids while you teach. You never know — you might find the perfect childcare solution by tapping into your social network! This may require paying a babysitter’s fee, an expense you will want to factor into your decision-making and tuition rates.

Taking a Maternity or Paternity Leave

Here in the United States, piano teachers generally do not receive paid maternity/paternity leave and must decide for themselves how much time to take off from work postpartum. Here’s some advice and considerations for planning your leave.

• If you’d like to keep your income consistent, consider saving up for your leave in advance. If possible, set aside a portion of your income during the months preceding baby’s due date to help cover your planned time off work. I was fortunate to be able to set aside enough income to allow me to continue contributing normally to our family budget during my maternity leave, which provided a great deal of peace-of-mind.
• Consider putting together an optional packet of activities to sell to your students to keep them busy during the break from lessons. The income generated can help cover the lack of income during your leave. (I haven’t tried this idea myself, but I’ve heard of other teachers having success with this!)
• Consider hiring a substitute teacher to fill in for you during your leave or passing along names of other local teachers your students can take lessons from for a time. Some of your studio families may wish to enjoy a break at the same time you do, but others may wish to continue lessons. Recognize that there’s a chance some of those students may end up switching to another teacher, but if you are actually hoping to downsize your teaching schedule this might be a win-win.
• In the months preceding baby’s arrival, notify your studio families about the time you plan to take off from teaching lessons. When deciding how much time to take, keep in mind the income you might need to support yourself financially and the time you’ll need to recover physically and mentally — plus to learn the rhythms of caring for a baby. All these factors play into the well-being of you and your family, and there’s no “right answer” here. You might decide to take 6 weeks, 10 weeks, a semester, a year, or more. It’s up to you! And, of course, no one will be holding you hostage to your plans. If you later decide you want to return to teaching earlier or later than planned, you can always change your mind.
• Do what you can to prepare yourself and your family before baby’s arrival. There’s no way to be completely ready for early life with baby, but consider reading a parenting book or two so you have at least a general idea and some strategies ready. Ask other parents about their favorite books and baby gear. (Check out my favorites here!) Prepare your home with the items you’ll need when baby arrives. Consider making some freezer meals. I tend to be a planner when it comes to most things in life, and I’m always grateful for whatever preparation work I’ve been able to accomplish when it comes to entering each new stage as a parent.
• Make it a priority to take care of yourself as well as your family during your leave. The early weeks with a newborn can be particularly challenging, especially when you are sleep deprived. Take naps when you can (even if you are “not a napper,” like me!). And don’t hesitate to accept — and request — help from friends and family. Receiving a meal, help with errands, or the gift of a couple of hours to take a nap or shower is helpful and meaningful. In the future, you can always return the favor or pass it forward to other new parents. We aren’t designed to live in isolation and, as they say, it takes a village to raise a child. It really does get easier as you learn the ropes and as baby gets older. You’ve got this!

Simplify and Streamline

When you are a busy parent and professional, you might find no longer have the luxury of spending time the same way you did pre-kids. As some point, it might be time to “think like a CEO” and find ways to simplify, streamline, or automate certain work and home tasks — especially administrative elements. Below are a few ideas to get you started.

• Consider charging tuition as a flat monthly rate. This was hands-down the best piece of advice I received after graduating from college and relocating my studio. Unless you have a health condition or some other reason you need extreme flexibility on your end, I generally recommend this to any independent music teacher. It’s easier than you think, and offers so many benefits to both you and your studio families. It helps your families value their time slots with you, reduces missed lessons, makes budgeting easier for both them and you, simplifies billing and bookkeeping, and can help make piano teaching a financially viable career. Check out this article by Chad Twedt for discussion on how to determine your flat monthly tuition.
• Set up auto-billing for your studio families. Doing so means no more creating invoices manually, and no chasing down tardy payments! The two platforms I use for this are Coinhop and PayPal. Stripe is another trusted option.
• Related to the previous point… Look for more tasks you can outsource, especially for work you don’t particularly enjoy. This might mean investing in platform subscriptions to help automate or streamline admin work, or paying someone to handle things like data entry, bookkeeping, scheduling, or emails. Or, it could mean hiring help for household tasks such as cleaning, meal planning, grocery delivery, lawn care, etc.. For certain tasks, you could even consider hiring your own kids when they are old enough! You know how much your own time is worth hourly, and you might find that adding just one or two additional students to your teaching schedule gives you enough extra income to take your least enjoyable tasks off your plate. That, in turn, could give you more time to spend with your family — which is invaluable.

Love What You Do, Do What You Love

We have but one life on this earth, and there’s much within your control to design your life the way you wish. If you are like me, you love both parenting and piano teaching. There’s no reason the two can’t weave together beautifully. And I know I’m giving a gift to my children by giving them a rich musical environment to grow up in and modeling a happy home-work blend in my life.

Here’s to creating a enjoyable blend of family life and work as parents and independent music teachers! Let’s strive to do what we love, and love what we do.

Your turn: What resonated with you? Or what would you add? What advice would you offer fellow music teachers who are new parents or parents-to-be? Please share your reactions, experience, or memories in the comments below.

Related:

• Early Childhood Music with my 17mo Daughter, by yours truly
• How Motherhood Changed the Way I Teach Piano (Piano Teacher Confessions), by Rebekah Maxner
• Teaching My Own Children to Play Piano, by Chad Twedt

Just a short note today: I’d be remiss not to tell you about my annual blogiversary sale celebrating ColorInMyPiano.com having just turned 14!

Use the promo code 14YEARS now during checkout between now to receive 20% off all teaching resources in my shop (good through March 22, 2023). There’s a variety of games, sheet music, and camp curriculum resources to explore. Click here. 

When it comes to piano technique, many pianists often think of exercises involving scales, arpeggios, chords, and more. However, at its core, technique is actually about sound – that is, being able to achieve a desired expressive effect on the instrument.

In piano teaching, technique exercises can provide young pianists with opportunities to explore different sounds and ways of using their bodies in an effective, efficient, healthy and comfortable manner. Unfortunately, pianist injuries are quite common, but by prioritizing student wellness, we can help turn this trend around.

Today, I want to share about a book I have been finding useful with my piano students over the past couple of years and now consider a go-to resource in my teaching. It’s called Technique Builders: Fundamental Study Patterns to Improve Piano Proficiency, by Hazel Cobb. In this review, you’ll learn why I recommend Technique Builders and how you can use it effectively in your piano teaching.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which means my blog earns a small percentage should you decide to make a purchase using those links. Thanks for supporting my work!

An Introduction to Hazel Cobb’s Technique Builders

Hazel Cobb’s Technique Builders: Fundamental Study Patterns to Improve Piano Proficiency is a book of short exercises for pianists that was first published in 1985 and is still available today through Alfred Publishing. In the forward, Cobb states her book is intended for any student who would benefit from special focus on technique, whether they are a beginner or more experienced performer. Further, she explains: “The ultimate objective is to train the student through repeated patterns and precise exercises, to acquire a conscious control in these techniques: the use of the whole arm for lateral freedom and arm weight, the forearm for rotation (Alberti bass and similar patterns), the wrist for flexibility in phrasing and the fingers for dexterity in passage work.”

I first heard about Cobb’s Technique Builders while attending a workshop in 2015 with Irina Gorin — master teacher and author of the Tales of a Musical Journey method. She recommended Technique Builders as a resource she finds worthwhile for her students, with the caveat that she likes to skip certain exercises.

I heard the book recommended again during a session I attended during the MTNA Virtual Conference in 2020. The session was given by Nancy O’Neill Breth, a respected veteran teacher and author of The Piano Student’s Guide to Effective Practicing guide and the accompanying Practicing the Piano book. She described having her students track their metronome tempos as they practice getting them up-to-speed (according to tempo goals she has noted for each exercise in her copy of the book.) She also mentioned teaching the exercises mostly by rote.

After being introduced to Technique Builders from these two master teachers, I knew I needed to check it out!

What Makes Technique Builders Unique

Technique Builders addresses a variety of skills throughout the book, as you can see from the Table of Contents page.

At the top of each page, there is a title (and sometimes also a subtitle) describing the exercises and/or the technical skill to be explored.

Most of the exercises in Technique Builders consist of sequenced patterns — meaning, they feature a one- or two-measure pattern that moves stepwise upwards or downwards across the keyboard. Typically, only the first few measures of each exercise are notated. The pianist is expected to continue the sequence in a similar manner until the next octave is reached.

Because the exercises are generally not written out in their entirety, the pianist must analyze, understand, and mentally engage with the pattern in order to successfully perform it. This process builds the pianist’s aural and memory skills at the same time as their technique and artistry skills. It’s an interesting challenge, and the exercises sound appealing, too.

Many figures commonly encountered in classical music — including scale passages, arpeggios, waltz bass, and Alberti bass — are featured throughout the book. In addition, the pianist will encounter a variety and articulations (slurs, staccato) which should be carefully observed. Building familiarity with these elements will no doubt bleed over into the student’s classical repertoire and beyond.

How to Use Technique Builders in Your Piano Teaching

To trial Technique Builders, I suggest initially ordering copies for only a couple of intermediate students and observe the results after a few months before ordering more books for other students. I started small and now, after a couple of years of incorporating Technique Builders into my teaching, I’ve put about a dozen students through the book.

The exercises from Technique Builders can be used as a warm-up activity at the beginning of the lesson and can be demonstrated by the teacher before asking students to try them. It’s also important to discuss challenges and technique concepts with the exercises to bring them into the awareness of the student. Specifically, it is beneficial to explore ways to avoid excess tension — particularly in the hands and wrists — and to find comfortable movements that will facilitate execution of each exercises.

At the following lesson, you and your student can evaluate the assigned page to decide if the exercises can be considered mastered or if it needs another week or two of practice. Listen for the exercise to be accurate (in terms of pitches, rhythms, and markings such as slurs and staccatos), fluid (without stops and starts), artistic (aurally pleasing and expressive), physically comfortable, and at an acceptable tempo.

There are 49 pages in the book, which means there is material enough to last a year or two. Most students can handle an assignment of one page at a time, but some may happier focusing on only a half-page at a time.

Why I Recommend Technique Builders

Simply put, I recommend Technique Builders because my students and I love it. The exercises are interesting and fun to play. When students reach the end of the book, they want more!

As a teacher, I appreciate the focus on building familiarity with figurations and technique skills found in the repertoire they are learning. And I really like that the exercises are NOT fully notated, so that students must use comprehension skills, musical memory, and active thinking to successfully play the exercises (rather than mindlessly read them). Interestingly enough, however, for a couple of my students I’ve noticed that the rapid turnover of exercises has also helped improve their sight-reading.

Overall, Technique Builders is a valuable resource for piano teachers and students looking to improve piano proficiency. The sequence-based exercises and the variety of technical skills addressed make it unique and effective in building technique and artistry skills. I’m finding a plethora of benefits using Technique Builders, and I’m not aware of another resource quite like it!

An Important Caveat

The only caveat I have to recommending Technique Builders is the fact that there are quite a number of editing mistakes. There are so many, in fact, that I compiled them and created an errata sheet I can give to students along with the book. I am providing the printable to you as a freebie below, in case you’d also like to use it with your students.

The nature of the errors vary. Some are inaccurate pitches and fingerings. There are also two pages with titles that say “Second and Third Inversions” rather than “First and Second Inversions.” You can view the full list of errors I’ve discovered by downloading the PDF. Although it is inconvenient to have to correct these errors in the book, it is not enough to deter me from using this book with my students.

Download on the Errata Sheet on Printables > Other Resources page.

Where to get Technique Builders

Hazel Cobb’s Technique Builders book can likely be purchased/ordered through your local music stop (if you are lucky enough to have one nearby to support!) and online from Amazon or SheetMusicPlus.com.

Your turn: What technique exercises or etudes do you use in your teaching? I’d love to hear!

Do you have a collection of games, flashcards, and props to use during piano lessons with your students? Are they organized so you can find things when you need them?

As you probably know, your teaching resources are only as helpful as your organizational system. When things are out-of-place or impossible to find (we’ve all been there!), those items unfortunately cannot do you — or your student — any good.

The key is to have a system in place where you always know where to find and put things. As the saying goes: “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” Your system needs to make sense to you, and it may be as unique as you are.

In this post, I’ll describe my method for organizing my teaching games/materials and share how you can set up a similar system if you desire. I hope you’ll gain some tips or ideas for how you can organize your favorite piano teaching resources to be readily at your fingertips!

1. Organize Small Items in Drawers by Category

The first thing I recommend is dedicating a set of drawers for smaller items such as flashcards, props, and small games. Pictured below is a drawer unit I purchased from IKEA a number of years ago. (This style is no longer available, but I’m sure you could find something similar at IKEA or elsewhere.)

This system works great for me. In a moment of inspiration when a student needs reinforcement with something related to rhythm, piano key names, or whatever, I know exactly where to go. And I can easily create simple games on-the-spot using the basic resources in my drawers.

Here’s how to set it up. Looking at all the items you have, try to come up with a handful of categories by theme or topic. These categories ideally will make your items easily findable. Ask yourself what category would come to mind if you were looking for each particular item.

Below is a list of categories I use, as well as examples of items from each drawer. But any categories will do. Figure out what will work for you!

1. Props/Improv — Japanese puzzle erasers, various props for teaching hand shape, Rory’s Story Cubes, Flashcards for Composition/Improvisation, etc.
2. Rhythm — leveled rhythm cards, Rhythm Train Game, Rhythmic Value Cards, Trick-or-Treat Rhythm Game, Othello chips, etc.
3. Alphabet — this includes piano key flashcards, Scrabble tiles (A-G only), alphabet spinners, alphabet dice, etc.
4. Notes — musical alphabet word cards, note-naming flashcards, etc.
5. Intervals — Ice Cream Intervals game, interval cards, etc.
6. Keys — key signature flashcards/dice, key props and printables, and anything related to chords.

2. Store Larger Games in Plastic Envelopes

The second thing I recommend is purchasing a set of clear plastic envelopes for larger games that won’t fit in your drawer unit or have many loose parts. I first blogged about these envelopes back in 2012, and I still love them! They keep everything contained in one place, and it’s easy to see what’s inside.

These plastic envelopes come in many sizes (US letter, legal, 5×10, 5×7, 4×6, 3×5 inch sizes, etc) and with various style fasteners (snaps, plastic zippers, string-tie closures, or hook-and-loop “Velcro” fasteners). While you can find them at office supply stores or dollar stores, the best pricing I’ve seen is on Amazon (view an assortment of options here).

Although my favorite fastener style is the zipper, I am disappointed by the fact that they do tend to break after awhile (as do the string-tie closures). Snaps work well, but they do make the envelope thicker. I haven’t tried the hook-and-loop “Velcro” style yet, but plan to try those next. Fortunately, the envelopes aren’t terribly expensive, so they can easily be replaced once they are worn out or broken.

More importantly, you need to know that these plastic envelopes come in either a flat style or expandable style (with a “gusset”). The flat style is more affordable, but expandable sides are nice for games that have dice, plastic game pieces, or a thick stack of flashcards. If you want the expandable style, check carefully before you order and be prepared to pay a little more. You may want a few of each style in order to accommodate your assortment of games and teaching materials.

(If you’d like to try some zipper envelopes that are expandable, here’s a nice set that includes two sizes: five 10×14 inch and five 5×10 inch.)

Once filled with games, these plastic envelopes can be stored upright on a shelf or inside a drawer. If you have enough to warrant it, you can label them by title or sort them into categories.

[Pictured above, from top left going clockwise: Rainy Rhythm Game, Piano Finger Twister, Jumbo Note-Naming Flashcards, Heartbeat Charts, Large Grand Staff Sheet, Paper Keyboard, and Adventures in Music game.]

Another storage item I’ve invested in are these vinyl zipper bags. I wanted something extra sturdy and just the right size to hold my Rhythm Value Cards (one of the best freebies on my blog, in my opinion!). I have two complete sets of Rhythm Value Cards printed and laminated (as pictured), because I like to use these for competitive team games.

3. Follow a Plan for Keeping Your Teaching Materials Organized

Once you have your games neatly stored and organized, you need a plan for maintaining your system. Here’s my tips for beating clutter and keeping your teaching space tidy and organized.

1. Keep only what you really value. Before buying or downloading a new resource, always ask yourself if it is something that works well with your teaching approach and is likely be used with many students for years to come. If you’ve been teaching piano for awhile, you might know how easy it can be to end up with a large collection of games and resources. I try to be selective and minimalist, and investing my time and space only into resources that will contribute something especially fun, helpful, and/or valuable to my students. Even so, it’s necessary to occasionally purge any items you are no longer using. Things change — including our teaching approaches — and that’s okay!
2. Everything needs a place. If an item doesn’t yet have a home, make one. Ask yourself: Where would “future me” look for this item? Where could I put this so I would be able to easily find this item during future piano lessons? Consider using labels to make it clear where certain types of items should go.
3. When finished, put things back where they belong. I don’t know about you, but I’m happier when my space is tidy and clean as opposed to not! And I think students learn better in a space that is free of an abundance of clutter and distractions. So when possible, put things away immediately after using them. When that isn’t possible, do a quick clean-up at the end of your teaching day or during any breaks you might have between piano lessons. Further, plan for an occasional deep clean, purge, and overhaul of your organizational system — perhaps once every year or two. It can be a big project, but it always feels good in the end!

I hope this post has given you some inspiration as well as practical tips for organizing your favorite piano teaching games and materials. It’s a great feeling when you have your teaching space arranged to create your very own “happy space” and are able to find the right resources in-the-moment for students. Happy organizing!

Your turn: How do you organize your games and materials? What organizational tips can you share in the comments below?

Happy 2023! The new year is here, which is often a time we use to think back over the past year and reflect upon the upcoming year.

While here on the blog I’ve often shared reviews of books on an individual basis, I thought I’d try a year-end post sharing a variety of favorite books from the past year.

In 2022, I made an effort to expand beyond my usual type of reading and try some books outside of what I’d normally choose. For me, this meant more memoirs and even a science fiction novel. I’m glad I explored, because I found some books I really, really enjoyed.

Something else different for me this year was reading almost exclusively in an e-book format. While in the past, I’ve been really into audiobooks and, of course, hardcopy books, this year I found the convenience of being able to read on my device using night-friendly settings to be a lifesaver. Being able to read without turning on the lights is nice when you are up late at night dealing with insomnia thanks to pregnancy or a newborn!

I purchased some of these books from Amazon as Kindle e-books. For others, I was able to take advantage of my local library’s apps for e-reading — Libby and Hoopla. I highly recommend checking out what your local library has to offer. Or, you can find these books at your favorite local bookstore or online shop.

Without further ado, here’s my list of favorite books from 2022…plus a few bonus favorites from 2021.

Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links that help support my work here on the blog. I appreciate your support!

Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl

I’ve seen this book recommended by various sources in recent years and decided it was finally time to read it. In the first part of the book, psychotherapist Victor E. Frankl tells the story of his five-year imprisonment in Auschwitz and other concentration camps during WWII. The second part of the book, titled “Logotherapy in a Nutshell,” describes the psychotherapeutic method Frankl created based on his belief that man’s deepest desire is to find meaning and purpose. This book is said to be one of most influential works of psychiatric literature since Freud.

I found this to be a fascinating read. Frankl’s book offers a useful philosophy we can use to help keep a healthy perspective and cope with struggles both small and large in our own lives. And even though it is not easy to hear the details of the horrible experiences of those who were imprisoned in concentration camps, I also think it’s important for us to know this history so we can learn from the past and avoid such atrocities in the future.

BUY ON AMAZON

Breath, by James Nestor

In this book, the author describes his journey uncovering what past and current research says about breath. The story-telling manner of the writing made the topic fascinating! Breath is universal — important to us all — and also connected to our work as pianists and expressive musicians. The topic appealed to me as a past student of the Alexander Technique. I think athletes and anyone generally interested in health and well-being would probably enjoy this book and gain some useful takeaways. (For example: Did you know the harms of mouth-breathing? Time to train yourself to stick to nasal breathing, even when feeling out-of-breath!)

BUY ON AMAZON

Tools of Titans, by Tim Ferriss

Tim Ferriss’s book “The 4-Hour Work Week” is considered classic reading among entrepreneurs today. This book, Tools of Titans, is a compilation of written highlights, quotes, tips, and recommended books from some of the top performers Ferriss has interviewed on his popular podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show. I appreciated the book’s bite-sized sections as late-night reading while up with my newborn baby after she was born at the end of August. I was inspired by many of the quotes and stories, and I gained many ideas for books I want to read in the future.

BUY ON AMAZON

Becoming, by Michelle Obama

I saw this book pop up as a suggestion in my library app and thought it would be interesting. I enjoyed learning more about Michelle Obama’s background and what it was like before and after becoming the First Lady, raising a family in the White House. Overall, it was a good book and one I enjoyed while traveling on vacation with my husband in early 2022.

BUY ON AMAZON

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou

When I asked my sister which books she had been reading lately, she mentioned this book. One of Maya Angelou’s many memoirs, this book tells of her early life as a young girl growing up in the South. Angelou’s storytelling and writing style is wonderful. There are parts of her story that aren’t easy to read about, but I think learning about life experiences different from our own keeps us empathetic and human.

BUY ON AMAZON

Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert

I remember hearing about this popular book after it first came out in 2007, but this was my first time reading it. Writer Elizabeth Gilbert tells of her experience after a difficult divorce, trying to find her bearings through spending a year abroad visiting three destinations (Italy, India, and Bali) while writing this book. Part-memoir and part-travelogue, this book tells of Gilbert’s experiences and lessons learned in each culture and place.

BUY ON AMAZON

Dune, by Frank Herbert

After seeing the new Dune movie with my husband when it came out in September 2021, I thought I’d read the book it was based on. This classic book, first published in 1965, is considered to be the best-selling science fiction novel in the world. Although science fiction isn’t normally my genre of choice, it was a welcome change-of-pace and I did really enjoy the story. It’s a long read, but riveting enough that I finished it in only a few days!

BUY ON AMAZON

Start With Why, by Simon Sinek

This book was a re-read for me. I first read it a handful of years ago after having seen the author’s TED talk (which is among the most-viewed TED talks of all time, by the way). Sinek offers a simple framework for leaders to inspire action, which certainly can apply to us as piano teachers and business owners. In a nutshell, the message of the book is: “People don’t buy WHAT you do; they buy WHY you do it,” therefore we ought to be sure to start with WHY instead of WHAT. It’s a fairly quick read, and a good one!

BUY ON AMAZON

Bonus: A Few Favorite Books from 2021

Since this is the first time I’ve written an article like this, I thought I’d add a few favorites from two years ago, too. Here’s a few favorite reads from 2021.

Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover

In Educated, the author recounts her experience being raised by survivalist Mormon parents in Idaho. Her story involves an unusual upbringing, a certain amount of family dysfunction, and some pretty traumatic experiences. Despite not being in a classroom until age 17, she overcame various obstacles to attend college and eventually graduated with a PhD in history. It’s really well-written and a pretty gripping story. I could hardly put the book down, and couldn’t stop thinking about it after I finished it.

BUY ON AMAZON

The Glass Castle: A Memoir, by Jeannette Walls

After reading Educated, a contact of mine recommended this book. Author Jeannette Walls tells her story born to deepful dysfunctional yet vibrant parents. In many ways, her siblings and she raised themselves, eventually finding their way to New York as adults to establish better lives for themselves. I found the book interesting, sad, and thought-provoking all at the same time.

BUY ON AMAZON

How to Raise Successful People, by Esther Wojcicki

Written by a high school teacher and parent of three daughters with highly successful careers, this book shares the author’s secret to raising happy, healthy, successful kids: Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, and Kindness (T.R.I.C.K.). Wojcicki’s methods, in many ways the opposite of helicopter parenting, encourage parents to relax and help kids figure things out themselves in a way to help them reach their highest potential. A great read for any parent or teacher.

BUY ON AMAZON

The Montessori Toddler, by Simone Davies

I’ve done a small amount of reading into the Montessori philosophy and love everything I’ve learned. This book is probably the best easy introduction and practical guide to incorporating Montessori philosophy into the parenting of toddlers. I love the clear, friendly language and the illustrations and tables throughout to support the information. Davies has a website and podcast called The Montessori Notebook, for anyone interested in following her further. Thanks to this book and other resources, I was able to incorporate certain practical life activities into home life with my first daughter (now almost age 3). Note: As with any parenting book, you will certainly find things that conflict with other parenting philosophies so one must always read with a grain of salt. Pick and choose what works for you!

BUY ON AMAZON

The Montessori Baby, by Simone Davies and Junnifa Uzodike

I pre-ordered this book when it was first announced, since I was expecting baby #2 and I enjoyed the book above so much. It was every bit as good as the toddler book…or maybe even better. I devoured this book within a few days.

BUY ON AMAZON

It was a great year of reading, and I’m looking forward to more books in 2023. I hope you found a few recommendations you’d like to check out!

Your turn: What favorite books have you read recently? I’d love to hear your recommendations!

Do you enjoy giving some kind of small gift to your piano students at Christmastime? I do! I enjoy giving something small but thoughtful to make them smile. I try to come up with something different each year.

Note: This blog post contains Amazon affiliate links. Thanks for supporting my blog!

This year, I was pleased to find some really lovely and affordable music-themed ornament options on Amazon. In fact, I could hardly decide which one to go with!

I ended up choosing the wooden sheet music ornaments pictured below, and am very happy with my decision. They are light-weight, but nice quality wood ornaments with a sheet music print and blackened edges. The package comes as a set of 24 ornaments with 6 different shapes: hearts, pine trees, reindeers, snowmen, bells, round ornaments, and snowflakes. You must attach the strings yourself, but they are included.

Aren’t they lovely? I plan to write each student’s name and the year on the back, using a black permanent marker.

To go along with the ornament, I also ordered treble-clef-shaped pencils (pictured below). These come as a lot of 14, in seven different colors.

To package/wrap the gifts for my piano students, I also ordered transparent music note treat sacks. They come in a package of 100, so I’ll be set for the next couple of years, too! I love using these treat sacks for baked goods, too, so I’m sure I won’t have any problem using the rest.

So, voila — this year’s student gifts are planned and ready-to-go! I’m so pleased to have come up with such a simple but lovely idea for this year’s gifts.

Just in case you’re curious to check out the other ornaments I considered…

• Here’s more wooden ornaments, in a couple of different styles: style 1 and style 2.
• And here some some really pretty black cut-out music-themed ornaments and note value cut-out ornaments (available in black, silver, or gold).
• Tip: If you decide to browse for other music ornaments options on Amazon, be sure to confirm that the ones you are ordering are made of wood. While searching, I noticed that some ornaments were “paper ornaments” and while they are more affordable, the reviews stated they weren’t great quality. The ones I’ve linked to above are all made of wood.
• If you don’t want treat sacks that are transparent as I’ve shown above, here’s an option that is more opaque.

Your turn: What are some favorite gift ideas you’ve done for students in the past? And what do you have planned this year?

[Click here to see my gift ideas from past years!]

Hello, teacher friends! Today, I thought I would make an update this flashback post sharing ideas for piano student gift ideas. Read on to see what ideas I’ve done in the past…and stay tuned for tomorrow, when I’ll share what I’ve planned for this year!

I don’t think it’s necessary to give your piano students gifts at Christmastime, but it’s a nice gesture if you feel so inspired! Some years, I’ve kept it pretty simple while other years I have felt inspired to take on a more time-intensive project. I hope you’ll enjoy browsing this post and perhaps gaining an idea or two to tuck away for the future!

2011: Personalized Glass Sheet Music Ornaments

Back in 2011, I created personalized glass sheet music ornaments for each student, with their name and the year written with a gold paint pen. They turned out so pretty! I love how they turned out, and would like to use this idea again in the future. Each student also received a chocolate Symphony bar. Read more here.

That year, I gave my adult students something else: a copy of the book “The A to Z of Foreign Musical Terms” by Christine Ammer. I learned about this book during grad school upon recommendation from a professor. Have you ever looked up a word in your music dictionary, only to find it wasn’t included?! Unlike others, this dictionary hasn’t let me down. It’s a nice slim volume, and a great price — I’d recommend it to any piano teacher or student! I use during lessons to have students look up the terms they encounter in their pieces.

2012: Iced Sugar Cookies

The following year, I baked sugar cut-out cookies using my music cookie cutters. I topped them with icing, and I think they turned out pretty cute!

The music cookie cutter set I own is no longer available on Amazon, but this set looks pretty similar!

I bagged them using treat sacks and a topper I designed in Microsoft Word. Read more here.

2013: A home-recorded CD of favorite student classical repertoire

The next year, I home-recorded a CD of a few favorite classical teaching pieces. This was quite a big project, but it turned out pretty neat! Read more here.

2014: A Printed Composition (or two)

This year, I composed two pieces (one mid-elementary level and one late intermediate level) and give them to my students for Christmas. This was a fun project! Learn more about the details of this project and download the elementary level piece for free here.

2015: Sheet Music Ornaments

This is one of my favorite gifts I’ve done! If you like doing crafty things, this idea might be for you. I recycled old, tattered sheet music to create these lovely sheet music ornaments. Learn more here.

2016: Iced Sugar Cookies (again)

In 2016, I made sugar cut-out cookies again! Making cut-out cookies is one of those things that I love doing around the holidays! I have good memories of making holiday cookies with my siblings growing up.

2017: Rice Crispy Treats in a Cookie Cutter

The next year, I tried something based on a picture I had seen (probably on Pinterest?) — with my own twist. I made Rice Crispy Treats, inserted music-shaped cookie cutters, and then decorated using red and green M&Ms.

I found out it was kinda tricky to remove the Rice Crispy Treats from the pan while keeping them inside the cookie cutters, but I think it turned out alright overall!

2018: Snowman Sheet Music Resin Ornament

Last year, I bought these adorable resin snowman ornaments on Amazon and added a ribbon scarf to each one (thanks goes to Sara Campbell for the recommendation!). I personalized them by writing each student name, the year, and a few music notes on the back using a permanent marker.

I paired each ornament with a bag of homemade cinnamon popcorn, made on the stovetop — a healthy snack I was really into that year!

2019: Pianist Gloves

Last year, I ordered black gloves from eBay (here) and used white 3D fabric paint to add a treble clef and bass clef on the RH and LH of each pair. I also made brownies. I think they turned out pretty cute! Read more about it here.

2020: Treble Clef Necklaces & Piano Ties

This year was a little different than usual (probably the understatement of the year…). Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I am currently teaching all of my students online. Although I have a few local students here in Michigan, the majority of my students are longtime Ohio students from before my move. So, going about Christmas gifts the usual way wasn’t going to work!

I really enjoy gifting something to my students. I strongly considered making a trip to deliver gifts via porch drop-off. However, I decided against when I realized how much time that would require due to the commute and the scattered locations of my students.

So, next I considered sending gifts via mail. Taking into considering the fact that shipping would likely cost between $3-5/family, I decided I’d rather have that $3-5 expense go towards being able to give a slightly nicer gift to each student. And so, instead I selected gifts from Amazon.com and took advantage of Amazon Prime free shipping by having the items shipped directly to each student’s address.

To let students know to watch for a package to arrive, I mailed them Christmas cards a few days before making the Amazon order.

Here’s what I picked out: a treble clef necklace for the girls and a piano tie for the guys. I’ve gotten a few appreciative text messages so far, so hopefully they are all enjoying their gifts!

I enjoy doing something different each year, and this year was no exception!

2021: Piano Cookies from a Local Bakery

Last year, inspired by a photo I saw on Instagram, I decided to seek out a local bakery to make some pretty piano cookies for my students.

I also ordered custom pens with my studio logo.

Read more about my custom pens, piano cookies, and sticky note greeting here.

[2021: Check back tomorrow, and I’ll share what I have planned for this year!]

Your turn: Let’s share more ideas! What have you given for Christmas gifts for your students in the past? Leave a comment below this post!

Just a quick post today! 

I just finished updating one of the studio business forms from my Printables page for the 2022-23 school year.  It is called the Record of Lesson Attendance & Payment PDF.  I do not currently use this form myself anymore, but every year I receive multiple requests from teachers asking if I would please update it for the upcoming school year.

In case you haven’t seen this from before, here is how it works: Write your students’ names in the first column.  Each week, write the lesson date (in a month / date format) in the column for that week.  This is how you can track attendance.  The small circles in each cell are where you can write checkmarks indicating tuition payments.  Whether you charge by-the-week or by-the-month, you can place a checkmark by each paid lesson date.

Download it below or on the Printables > Studio Business page.

Hello friends, 

I’m so pleased to announce the arrival of Brenna Rose, born 08/20/2022 — two weeks before her due date. The birth and recovery went well, and we are so grateful for the new addition to our family.

We had a photographer take some beautiful photos for us. I love how our family photos turned out.

Big sister Aria, now 2.5 years old, has been pretty infatuated with baby Brenna. And she’s a big helper to me, too!

The next photo might look a little bit familiar, because I asked the photographer to take a similar shot of Aria when she was born (view it here). Of course, I wanted to recreate the shot with Brenna this time around!

We’ve been enjoying our time adjusting to life as a family of four! I’m on maternity leave from teaching until November. Babies are a lot of work, but wonderful at the same time.

I know it’s been a little bit quiet here on my blog lately. As I’ve mentioned once before, I’m continuing to work on a big project — which will likely be ready to unveil before the year’s end. In the meantime, my blogging will probably be a little bit sporadic. Hope you don’t mind.

Thanks for allowing me to share our news with you!!

PS: I’ve had a few requests for an update of the Record of Lesson Attendance and Payment printable for 2022-23. Good news — I’m posting it tomorrow! Stay tuned.

Have you heard? The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) has recently released the newly revised 2022 Piano Syllabus for their practical examinations. They are also releasing new editions of the wonderful Celebration Series piano literature collection (available soon). What exciting news for piano teachers!

Not familiar with RCM? Each year, I tend to enter a handful of piano students to take exam assessments through RCM, an excellent program originating in Canada and gradually becoming more popular in the United States. There are exam centers located in many major cities, as well as an option for an online exams via Zoom. I appreciate the thoroughness of the assessments, which require students to demonstrate musicianship skills (sight-reading, ear training, rhythm exercises, etc.) and perform a set of pieces ranging in musical styles. The levels outlined in the syllabus (a great teaching resource for any teacher — find the free PDF here) are soundly structured and have been refined over time by dedicated pedagogues in our field. RCM is also known for the quality and consistency of adjudication scoring. RCM is not a competition; it is a standard that allows students and parents to better understand and track progress during music study.

Every seven years, RCM revises the piano syllabus to incorporate new repertoire, eliminate repertoire that is no longer readily available, and refine the aural and musicianship requirements. When it’s a revision year, RCM teachers are always seeking to learn about the updates and changes compared to the previous syllabus.

RCM practical exams include technical requirements for each level consisting of certain scales, arpeggios, and chords that must be performed for the adjudicator. These technical requirements are described in the syllabus and are also notated out in the available RCM technique books. I tend NOT to purchase the technique books, because I find that students learn better than when the technical exercises been learned by rote and memorized from day 1. But it can be cumbersome to describe the RCM technical requirements on students’ assignment sheets each week — especially if you expect students to review all previous material.

Enter my technique charts. I’ve been making these since the 2008 RCM syllabus, and I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback from other piano teachers who have found them helpful over the years!

I find these charts help ensure that my students are learning and reviewing their exercises from week to week. Even if you have no intention of sending students to RCM assessments, you might find these charts useful.

From the 2008 to 2015 syllabi, I recall many technical requirement changes made. However, in comparing 2015 to 2022, I found that there were not many changes made at all. Nevertheless, I wanted to revise my charts to perfectly match the new 2022 syllabus. I’m pleased to announce the new charts for the 2022 RCM Piano Syllabus are finished and available below.

I keep the PDF of these technique charts on my computer desktop and also uploaded to my iPad (I use an app called GoodNotes, but any similar app of your choice will work). This makes it easy to print out charts for students. I like to tape each student’s chart inside the front cover of one of their books. I assign items from the chart each week by outlining certain boxes in pencil or marker. At the next lesson, students demonstrate whether they’ve mastered each skill. Mastered items on the chart get a checkmark or a sticker. These charts makes it easy to track progress!

Special thanks goes to fellow piano teacher Amy Hall for helping to proofread the charts against the 2022 syllabus.

Download below, or visit the Printables > Other Resources page and scroll down to “2022 RCM Technical Requirements Charts for Piano”.

Hope you enjoy!

A couple of weeks ago, I joined a few piano teacher friends to virtually attend the 2022 MTNA Virtual National Conference from March 26-30, 2022. Although I definitely prefer in-person conferences over virtual conferences, I have to say that joining up with some buddies to watch the sessions together was a really excellent second option!

My friend Amy Chaplin (of PianoPantry.com) was kind enough to offer to host us in her home…and even cook for us! The rest of our crew included Christina Whitlock (of The Beyond Measure podcast) and Janna Williamson (intermediate repertoire guru offering a fantastic YouTube channel for piano teachers).

Oh, and I also took Aria, my 2-year-old daughter, along for the visit. Here’s a photo of Aria enjoying a delicious muffin for breakfast as we watched a conference session on the TV.

We enjoyed a lot of great meals, conversations, and professional development together.

I’m so glad it worked out for us to create our own in-person element to our conference experience this year!

There were too many great conference sessions to highlight, but in case you missed a few of these sessions I’ll mention a few.

Janna and I were honored to be part of a panel discussion, organized and moderated by Lynnette Barney, alongside Sarah McCaffrey Ritchie and Becki Laurent, entitled “Teaching Students to Fish: Developing Independent Learners from the First Lesson.”

Christina and Amy were involved in a couple of sessions, too. Christina gave a thoughtful and helpful presentation called, “Anxious Students/Anxious Teachers: How to Cope with Anxiety in the Studio.” Amy’s session, called “Reset and Refresh: Tidying Tips for Studio Teachers,” was a practical and positive talk with tips for keeping organized.

I’m sure I’ll have more favorites as I go back and watch more of the session videos, but here are a few more sessions that were especially memorable so far:

1. The opening session and recital with Adrian Anantawan. Very inspiring!
2. Sara Ernst shared a series of lesson videos as the “Elementary Piano Master Class,” interspersed with helpful commentary and discussion.
3. Benjamin Steinhardt presented “Playing Deliciously: The Legacy and Teachings of Dorothy Taubman.”
4. Kate Boyd gave an extremely well-presented session called, “Rhythm and Meter in the Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach.”
5. The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) showcase session provided a peek into the new 2022 edition of the Celebration Series (revised every seven years), to be released later this month. The Celebration Series is already a favorite resource of mine, but I am beyond excited to check out the new editions because of the inclusion of more repertoire from BIPOC and women composers than ever before.

Amy spoiled us at every meal. If you’d like to see what she made for us, click here to check out the post on her blog where she shares photos and recipes.

To wrap up this post, here’s a couple more quick links to share.

First of all, be sure to check out Janna’s post-conference reflection blog post here. She wrote a really nice recap!

Second: During our visit, Amy talked us into recording a “teacher talk” episode for her Piano Pantry podcast. It turned out great! I hope you’ll take a listen to our episode (about 30 minutes in length) to get to know us a little bit better and laugh along. You can take a listen to Episode #15 of Amy’s Piano Pantry podcast here or search for it in the podcast app on your phone/tablet.

Finally: MTNA is making the conference session videos viewable to registrants through December 15, 2022…which means it’s not not too late to register and enjoy the videos yourself! If you’re interested, get more info about registering here.

Happy teaching to you all, and I hope to see you at an in-person conference someday in the future!

I’ve recently had two questions from fellow piano teachers come through my “Ask Me Anything” form asking for advice regarding music notation software. Thinking there might be others of you out there wondering about the same thing, I thought I would publish my thoughts in today’s blog post!

Introduction

Once upon a time, the two main options for music notation software were Finale and Sibelius — plus a free open-source software called Musescore. Nowadays, we also have online-based software as well as apps for phones/tablets to consider.

While I can’t claim to be familiar with ALL of the options available today (especially the variety of apps out there), I am happy to share my experience and personal recommendations below. If you have additional recommendations, I hope you’ll share them with us in the comment section of this blog post!

Let’s get into it. I’ll start by recommending what I consider to be good starting points for students or teachers who are newly interested in composition and/or music notation software. Then, I’ll get into what I recommend for serious or experienced composers who wish to invest in professional-grade software.

Part I: Recommendations for Getting Started

1. NoteFlight.com

My go-to recommendation, for any student or teaching colleague new to composing and/or music notation software, is a website called NoteFlight.com. Because it’s online-based software, it is easy for users to access from pretty much any device — as long as you have internet access — just by logging into your own account. No installation required!

NoteFlight is fairly easy-to-learn and offers a free plan where users can create up to 10 scores. The paid NoteFlight Premium plan allows for a unlimited number of scores in addition to a number of other features. There is also a plan called NoteFlight Learn, which is a plan for classroom music educators and groups of their students. You can learn more and compare these plan options here.

At first, you’ll probably find yourself selecting every note and rhythm from the toolbar and clicking them one-by-one into the staff. Over time, you may decide it’s worthwhile to memorize NoteFlight’s keyboard shortcuts (see the guide here). More advanced programs tend to offer super efficient quick-entry methods as well, where you can memorize shortcuts on the keyboard in order to enter notes much more quickly.

At with most music notation softwares, NoteFlight allows you to hit the “play” button to hear the piece, print, and export in a variety of file formats (such as PDF, MusicXML, WAV, and MP3).

Bottom line: NoteFlight.com is a great place to start when it comes to music notation software. You might might it fulfills all your needs perfectly. Or, once you’ve gotten your feet wet with Noteflight and have bumped into the limitations of the software and/or the free plan, you might find yourself ready for something more advanced and powerful. Either way is a win!

Check out NoteFlight.com right here.

2. MuseScore

MuseScore is a completely free, open-source music notation software. After downloading and installing the software to your computer (Windows, Mac, or Linux), you can access MuseScore without having to be online. Similar to using a word processing program like Microsoft Word, the files are saved onto your computer.

I have not personally used MuseScore for quite some time, but my impression is that it is a full-featured music notation software and is as popular as ever. It’s definitely a great option to recommend to students and to consider for yourself, also!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that MuseScore has versions available for iPad/iPhone, Android, and even Kindle Fire. Like the main software, these apps are free. But please note that the apps may have certain feature limitations compared to the full version for computers. Links: iPad/iPhone | Android | Kindle Fire.

For many users, MuseScore provides everything one could possibly need in a music notation software! And with a price tag of FREE, what’s there to lose? It’s definitely worth a look. Learn more about MuseScore here.

Next up: Here are my recommendations for you or your students who are experienced or serious composers and are wanting to invest in professional-grade software.

Part II: Recommendations for Experienced or Serious Composers

1. Finale

Developed by a company called MakeMusic, Finale (available for Windows and MacOS) is considered to be industry standard and is used by many major publishing houses. Because Finale was the software used in the computer lab at the university I first attended as a music major, it is the first music notation software I learned. When I became quickly became interested in composition and started taking compositions lessons during my college years, I decided to purchase a copy of program for myself (around 2009). I’ve been a Finale user ever since!

(If you’re interested, you can check out a few of my compositions available for purchase here. Feel free to take advantage of my once-a-year 20% sale, now through March 31st, 2022, using the promo code 13YEARS during checkout.)

Finale currently offers three main versions: (1) a free download called Finale NotePad, (2) a pared-down, affordable version called Finale PrintMusic, and (3) the full-featured, full-priced Finale software. Most teachers and students will qualify for the special academic pricing Finale offers. If you or your students plan to create only smaller-scale works (no symphonies, for example!) and don’t need the “speedy-entry mode” I described earlier in this article, you might be perfectly satisfied with NotePad or PrintMusic. I recommend checking out the list of features carefully to get a good sense of the limitations before purchasing PrintMusic. Otherwise, I think it’s wise to invest in the full software. I learned speedy-entry mode during college and use it today — and it definitely speeds up the notation process (read about it here).

New versions of Finale are released every 1-2 years, although if desired you can choose to upgrade less frequently than that. If you own a previous version of Finale, you can usually take advantage of special pricing when you do upgrade (as long as you don’t wait too long between upgrades). I tend to upgrade to the latest version of Finale every 2-3 years. If Finale is something you use frequently, it’s always nice to get the newest features.

Finale offers a searchable online User Manual as well as a community forum for posting questions. Whenever I can’t remember or figure out how to accomplish something in Finale, I do a Google search and the appropriate article tends to come up immediately. Finale is incredibly powerful, allowing you to customize nearly any aspect of your score’s appearance. It may take time to learn how to use Finale, but the results will be worth your effort especially if you use it regularly.

Bottom line: Finale an option worth considering for anyone experienced with or serious about composition.

2. Dorico

Dorico is the new kid on the block, relatively speaking! Released in 2016, Dorico quickly joined the ranks of professional-level music notation programs along with Finale and Sibelius. When the developer, Steinberg, announced the project back in 2013 on their blog, they quickly generated a lot of attention within the music community. I was no exception; I found myself quite intrigued and closely followed the blog updates written by Daniel Spreadbury over the years until the first program release.

The first few releases of Dorico did not include certain features necessary for pianists, such as fingering and pedaling. But once those features were added, I decided to make the investment. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Dorico the past few years. Depending on the project, I sometimes use Finale and other times choose Dorico.

With Dorico, many aspects of music notation software have been rebuilt or reimagined from the ground up. Overall, I’m pretty impressed with it. The initial installation process was a little bit tricky, but it did not take long to learn to navigate the Dorico program and memorize the keystrokes for quick-entry of notes (find a cheat sheet and tutorials here). Compared to Finale, I find Dorico to be an incredibly snappy and stable program. In addition, I find that Dorico does an amazing job compared to Finale of automatically making sure dynamics, articulation marks, note stems, and more do not overlap or looked crowded on the page. This saves so much time when it comes to the engraving stage for producing a professional-looking score!

I’m not aware whether any of the major publishing houses have made the switch to Dorico, but it wouldn’t surprise me if some already have or will at some point in the future. Steinberg has been very forward-thinking throughout their development of Dorico. Their team is responsible for creating something called the Standard Music Font Layout (SMuFL) standard — a consistent way of mapping the musical symbols used by music notation software into a single font that can be used by a variety of software designers. This important improvement, benefitting the entire industry, was first implemented into MuseScore, then Dorico’s first release, and then into Finale (source: Wikipedia).

Like Finale, Dorico offers a number of options: (1) a free, pared-down version called Dorico SE limited to ensembles involving one or two players, (2) a paid version Dorico Elements allowing ensembles up to 12 players, and (3) the full, professional version called Dorico Pro. Dorico is more affordable than its competitors, plus it offers academic pricing for teachers and students. And if you can show proof of already owning a license for Sibelius or Finale software, you can save even more with Dorico crossgrade discount. Learn more about Dorico’s academic pricing by scrolling down on this page.

I haven’t tried it yet, but Dorico does offer an iPad version that offers most of the functionality of the full computer software. It’s free to download, and then you can unlock more features with an inexpensive, optional in-app subscription. Link here: Dorico for iPad.

Overall, I highly recommend Dorico as another excellent option for anyone interested in professional music notation software. Learn more about Dorico here.

Conclusion

Learning to use a music notation software takes time and effort, but there’s nothing like seeing your own compositions professionally notated! I hope this article has helped you determine which software/apps might be right for you and your students.

Your turn: What music notation software/apps do you use and recommend? I’d love to hear. Please leave post in the comment section below.

Thanks for reading! Have your own question to ask? Submit it here, and your question could be featured in a future blog post!

Aria’s shirt bears the latest news around here: we are expecting baby #2! It’s another girl, and the due date is early September. <3

We’re thankful for this gift! And I’m feeling happy to move beyond the first trimester symptoms (for me, fatigue and nausea)!

I had originally been planning to offer a session of my online course for piano teachers, Excellence in Piano Teaching, this summer (see institute.joymorin.com), but I’ve decided to put this on hold for now until after baby. Sorry to anyone who was hoping to take it this year! If you’re on my email list, you’ll be sure to receive any updates about when the next offering will be.

Despite dealing with first trimester symptoms, I’ve tried to prioritize keeping up work on a particularly exciting project which I hope to be able to share more about in the upcoming months. I won’t say more at this point, but I hope your curiosity is piqued and you’ll stay tuned!

In the meantime, I’ll still be blogging here-and-there. I also invite you to follow along with my occasional personal updates and everyday photos HERE on Instagram!

Thanks for reading!

It’s time to announce the thirteen randomly-selected winners of our giveaway celebrating ColorInMyPiano.com’s 13th birthday. Congrats goes to Benjamin, Phyllis, Lynn, Emily, Karen, Lori, Debbie, Susan, Naomi, Renee, Elizabeth, and Valerie! Winners, please check your inbox for an email from me.

Everyone else — thank you so much for entering and THANK YOU for the thoughtful comments! It made me smile to hear about which resources have been your favorites over the past few years.

Here’s hoping to many more years talking about piano teaching here at ColorInMyPiano.com!

PS: Don’t forget — my once-a-year 20% off sale continues through March 31, 2022. Enter the promo code 13YEARS during checkout to receive 20% off all items in the shop! Take a peek here. I hope you’ll find something for you and your students to enjoy. Thanks for supporting my work!

Just a friendly reminder to enter the giveaway before time runs out! As part of our celebration of ColorInMyPiano.com turning 13, YOU could win any item of your choice from my shop. 13 winners will be randomly selected on Monday, March 7, 2022 — so enter now!

What could you potentially win? Well, here’s a quick highlight in photo form:

To enter, visit THIS POST, scroll down, and then leave a comment there telling us how long you’ve been following my blog and something you appreciate about ColorInMyPiano (a favorite printable, things you’ve learned, etc.). 

Good luck, everyone!!

Hello friends, 

Guess what: Today, February 28, 2022, marks the thirteen-year anniversary of Color In My Piano. It’s hard to believe this blog has been around for that long!

As is tradition as part of our blogiversary celebration, I usually share a little bit about myself and the origin story behind ColorInMyPiano. I’m not one to talk about myself a lot, but I do like history and I do like my readers to know the story behind my blog’s name, for example! And as usual, I’m also running my annual 20% off sale (applies to EVERYTHING in my shop), and finally, a big giveaway. Keep reading to find out more!

The Beginnings

I began ColorInMyPiano in 2009, while I was finishing up my Bachelor’s degree in piano performance at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. At that time, I was running a successful piano studio of about 20 students out of my parents’ home and teaching group keyboard classes at the local YMCA. I was finding so much inspiration and helpful resources from other blogs — including Natalie Wickham’s Music Matters Blog and Susan Paradis’s Piano Teacher Resources — and had also begun creating some of my own worksheets and other printables. I felt I wanted to give back and share in the same way, and so on February 28, 2009, I wrote my first blog post: a welcome and brief statement of purpose. 

On July 9, 2009, I decided that I was enjoying blogging enough to go full swing: I came up with the name “Color In My Piano,” paid for the ColorInMyPiano.com domain name, bought a year’s worth of web hosting, and gave the site a new look.

The name “Color In My Piano” was coined thanks to an essay I wrote during my senior year at Hope College. The class assignment required that I reflect upon my life and summarize my worldview. Not surprisingly, much of my essay centered around my beliefs regarding music and the role of the piano and teaching in my life. One of the themes that arose as I wrote the essay was my commitment to never allow music-making and teaching from ever feeling like merely a job or a requirement. I strive to keep “color in my piano” for both my students and myself. 

This is still an important life goal for me and helps provide a framework for what I share about on this blog. Personally, I find that I am able to keep myself invigorated in my work when I am open to learning new things, improving as a teacher, and striving towards excellent piano teaching for my students. 

That summer, my husband of one year and I moved to mid-Michigan to attend graduate school at Central Michigan University. Despite my responsibilities as a Graduate Assistant accompanying fellow music majors and teaching Class Piano, I made it a priority to teach between 5-10 private students each week. Teaching has always my primary motivation! I kept the blog going during those two years, too.

Years of Growth

After graduating with my Masters in Piano Pedagogy in May of 2011, we moved to Northwest Ohio (so my husband could begin another Master’s program in English), where I started my studio again from scratch. We rented a charming little house with a dining room that worked perfectly for my studio and I bought a piano. Sometimes, I missed being in the academic environment of college, but most of the time I felt thrilled to be “living the dream” and running my own piano studio!

Because it took a couple of years to build up my student roster, I found I had plenty of time for blogging. I continued sharing ideas and free printables — usually publishing new blog posts five days per week. Color In My Piano grew a lot during these years. I even added a shop to sell digital resources, such as my new-at-the-time music history lapbooking curriculum.

My studio eventually grew to 35 students, which I considered “full”! My husband finished his Master’s degree and was hired as the Public Relations & Communications Coordinator at a science museum for kids in Toledo, Ohio.

My blog has led to a number of interesting outgrowth projects I had never anticipated. One is public speaking. I never expected to enjoy public speaking, but I discovered it’s an incredibly fun way to share ideas and research with others. Now, I give at least a handful of presentations for local, state, or national-level events each year. (See my calendar and session topics here.)

In 2014, I started a new endeavor: offering online courses for piano teachers under the name Piano Teacher Institute with Joy Morin. Creating the curriculum for my flagship piano pedagogy course, “Excellence in Piano Teaching”, was a tremendous investment of time and energy. My goal was to combine the best of what I learned during my pedagogy classes in college while also including many practical aspects of piano teaching not typically covered. To date, my six-week course has been offered over ten times to small cohorts of teachers (over a hundred teachers total). I find it so rewarding to interact with and mentor other piano teachers in this way. (Learn more about my course and join the email list here.)

In 2017, I came up with the idea to host a summer Piano Teacher Retreat at my home. Thirteen teachers attended — I was thrilled! The theme we explored was “piano method books”. In the summers that followed I held two more retreats, each centered around a different theme. My retreats are currently on hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but I plan to offer them again when it becomes feasible. (Join the email list if you’d like to receive information when the time comes.)

Recent Years

In December of 2019, my husband and I moved from Bowling Green, Ohio to Saline, Michigan, just outside Ann Arbor (see a tour of my piano studio here). We always wanted to move back closer to our families in Michigan, and my husband was already commuting to Ann Arbor for his job in marketing at University of Michigan. Part of the impetus for this move was also the expectation of our first baby’s birth in February, 2020!

After my daughter’s birth and a six-week maternity leave, the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns hit in March 2020. I started up my students’ lessons all online. Today, my Ohio-based students’ lessons remain online while I’ve gradually begun accepting in-person Michigan students as my schedule allows.

Being a parent has been such a joy for my husband and I. My daughter brings so much joy to our household! I’m finding that my teaching is informing my parenting, and my parenting is informing my teaching.

Today, I am still as dedicated as ever to Color In My Piano. I am never at a shortage of projects and ideas to write about, and try to find time to put up 1-3 posts per week. True to its original intent back in 2009, I still think of my blog as a way to journal my piano teaching adventures, writing for myself to clarify my thoughts and to document things I was learning and doing. Thirteen years later, I find that my blog has also become a platform for helping other piano teachers like me teach effectively, organize their businesses, and have fun in the process. I never could have imagined the outgrowth of projects and opportunities that resulted, thanks to writing a blog and gaining a wonderful readership base. 

So, many thanks to you, my dear readers! I appreciate you coming along for the ride, and for your kind attention and interactions. I am deeply grateful for the things I’ve learned over the past thirteen years of blogging and for the wonderful lessons and friendships that have resulted. And I’m very excited to share with you a couple of exciting new projects in the next year. Stay tuned!

Here’s to a wonderful thirteen years, and hopefully many more to come. Thanks for celebrating with me! 

–Joy

Giveaway & Annual 20% Off Sale

To celebrate our thirteen years together, I’m running a special giveaway and a sale! Use the promo code 13YEARS to receive 20% off any item in the shop. If you’ve been eyeing my favorite Ice Cream Intervals game, rhythm cards, composer lapbooks, my original sheet music, or are thinking ahead to music camp curriculums for this summer, now’s a great time to buy because this is the ONLY time of year I ever run a sale. It starts now and lasts through March 31, 2022. Browse the shop now here.

Here’s the details about the giveaway: THIRTEEN randomly-chosen winners will receive ANY single item of your choosing from my shop! To enter, leave a comment below on this blog post telling us how long you’ve been following my blog and something you appreciate about ColorInMyPiano (a favorite printable, things you’ve learned, etc.). On Monday, March 7, 2022, thirteen lucky winners will be randomly selected and notified. 

Good luck, and I look forward to reading your comments!

Hi there! In this blog post, I’ll briefly discuss both the usefulness and shortcomings of mnemonic devices (such as “FACE” and “All Cows Eat Grass”) when it comes to music reading and then share with you a new FREE printable, pictured above.

Mnemonic Devices for Music Reading

In most cases, I tend to avoid having students use mnemonic devices as a tool to identifying notes on the grand staff. How about you? If I DO use mnemonic devices with a student, it’s in only certain circumstances and we use them only lightly.

If I can help it, I’d rather use almost any other way to build students’ understanding of how our musical notation system represents the music we hear. My approach is a bit eclectic according to what I think each student needs, but I try to put a heavy focus on building students’ ears first. Understanding notation becomes easy when it’s approached as a way of representing something we are already familiar with, versus approaching it as something that must be decoded as a pre-requisite to experiencing music in the first place.

A few of my current students came to me already reading music, but showing signs of not having a very clear understanding of how the grand staff is used to represent pitches. Here’s a few examples of such signs, which I’m sure you’ve sometimes seen students exhibit.

• When students often go to the wrong octave on the keyboard for a note they’ve “identified.” This is a clear indication that students aren’t getting the big picture.
• When students get stuck on the same notes they saw earlier, even just a measure or two prior.
• More generally: When you get the sense that students seem to view notes as single identities, rather than as part of a whole. These students often mis-identify notes, because they don’t have an easy way to confirm what they read or see how the notes fit into a context.

It takes time to help students un-learn their previous processes and re-learn something new. But of course, it’s always worthwhile! We work on the ear, and we work on recognizing familiar patterns, intervals, direction, contour, etc.

Anyway, coming back now to mnemonic devices… In those rare cases where I allow students to use mnemonic devices, we use them lightly. It’s almost more of a way to help them see how their current methods may not be serving them well, and start them on a path towards something more effective.

When we DO use mnemonic devices, we only use two: “FACE” for treble clef spaces and “All Cows Eat Grass” for bass clef spaces. This is enough for figuring out any note on the grand staff, and is far less confusing than trying to keep four different mnemonic devices straight (you know…for the treble clef lines, treble clef spaces, bass clef lines, and bass clef spaces). Even if it’s what they might have learned at school, from a previous teacher, or from a parent, I always discourage students from using four different mnemonic devices. (Have you known many students who can manage to keep all four straight?)

In all best case scenarios with mnemonic devices, we don’t rely on them for long. Ideally, students quickly move on from this and become fluent in recognizing what they see in notation as something familiar for their ears and bodies at the piano!

Free Printable: Grand Staff Reference Sheet – Naming Space Notes

Recently, I kept finding myself wishing for a simple reference sheet to help a couple of my newest transfer students. A music whiteboard works great while students are with me during their lessons (read about the whiteboard I got from MusicEscapades.com here), but I wanted something for them to use at home. I think this is going to help one of my students in particular break out of her current note reading processes and get on a better path to understanding how the grand staff relates to sound and the piano keyboard.

I designed this printable so there are two half-sized reference sheets printed on each sheet of paper. After cutting them apart, I laminated mine and have one sitting on my iPad stand ready for my student’s next lesson. (This iPad stand is seriously the best, by the way! If you need one, look no further!). I’ve also got one ready for my student to take home with her.

Have any students in mind who could benefit from this printable? To download this free reference sheet, visit the Printables > Other Resources page and scroll down to the G’s for Grand Staff Reference Sheet – Naming Space Notes. Hope you enjoy!

Your turn: What techniques do YOU use to teach your students to read music fluently? Share your tips and favorite resources in the comments below.

Back in February 2021, I shared 12 podcasts for piano teachers to follow. There’s some really great podcasts in that list, so if you haven’t seen it I definitely recommend checking out that post before reading on below!

Since then, a number of new podcasts have launched — some of them very recently. In today’s blog post, I’d like to share with you another selection of 12 podcasts that are new or have come to my attention in recent months. I’ve included links to subscribe via Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, but these podcasts are also available at Overcast, Spotify, or whatever your favorite podcast app. Just search them up by name.

I’ll begin with my must-listen recommendations, and then move into some podcasts I tend to follow only sporadically or am still checking out. I hope you find a few podcasts shows that might interest you!

1.

First of all, I’ll tell you about The Piano Pantry Podcast — a brand new podcast from my good friend, Amy Chaplin of PianoPantry.com. As on her blog, Amy plans to discuss a combination of topics: teaching, organization, cooking/baking, and more. She has released two episodes so far, and I can’t wait to hear more! Subscribe at Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

2.

All Keyed Up with Ben Kapilow is an interview podcast in which Ben speaks with a wide range of professionals about topics that are pertinent to the field of piano teaching. Ben always does his homework thoroughly before interviewing each guest, which clearly shows in the quality of the conversation in each episode. Highly recommended! Subscribe at Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

3.

For Piano Teachers is a podcast with Edmund Dawe, a pianist, teacher, adjudicator and lecturer in Canada where he shares his perspectives on piano teaching. Having taught piano and piano pedagogy for over 3 decades, Edmund shares his ideas, experiences and research in his podcast launched in February 2021. To date, there are 12 episodes available. I’ve really enjoyed the quality of each episode and the variety of topics covered so far. Learn more about Edmund here. Subscribe at Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

4.

Teaching Studio Stories is newly released — a second podcast coming from Nicola Cantan of Vibrant Music Teaching. This podcast will feature conversations with everyday piano teachers sharing their stories, experiences, tips, and things they’ve learned. I’m looking forward to relating to these stories and gaining new ideas and perspectives! Subscribe at Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

5.

7-Figure Music School is a podcast for music school owners who want to create fantastic margins, hire energetic teachers, and leverage their team’s time and talent to create a sustainable business. The episodes feature conversations between co-hosts Daniel Patterson, Founder & CEO of Grow Your Music Studio, and Nate Shaw, Co-founder & CEO of Brooklyn Music Factory. Although my own piano studio happens to be a single-teacher business (just me!), I’ve enjoyed listening to the first few episodes to gain new ideas and perspectives on mindset, vision, and improving business operations. Highly recommended! Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

6.

The next few podcasts are ones I’ve been following sporadically or only recently checking out.

Sounds of Encouragement with Melissa Slocum seeks to provide encouragement from musicians and music educators. You’ll hear interviews with music teachers and musicians along with calming and topical encouragement as you face the challenges of everyday life. Find out what sounds and songs encourage other musicians and what keeps them hopeful, moving forward, and creative. Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

7.

Did you know that the longtime music studio management tool “Music Teachers Helper” has a new CEO and has been rebranded as Duet? (Learn more here.) And Duet has launched a podcast, providing insights from industry experts on how to start, run, and grow a successful music teaching studio. Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

8.

Teacher Zone. The Teacher Zone with Chris Bates and Tyler Marolf is a podcast for performing arts schools and teachers who want to grow their business. Chris and Tyler are not only fellow music school owners, but they have also created a digital management system for music schools called Teacher Zone. This podcasts features conversations between the hosts as well as some of the best and brightest minds in performing arts education and business. Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

9.

Enhance Life with Music with piano teacher Mindy Peterson is a podcast offering “a holistic look at the power of music in our everyday lives.” Mindy explores the power of music through the lens of science, medicine, sports, education, entertainment, business, service, and history. Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

10.

Music Lessons and Marketing with Dave Simon is a podcast for music studio owners or instructors looking to grow their music teaching business. This podcast will teach you how to apply marketing and business fundamentals so you can get and retain more music students. Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

11.

Music Lesson Business Academy is a podcast offered by professional drummer for the band, Face to Face, owner of The Music Factory School of Music, and marketing consultant, Danny Thompson. This podcast brings you marketing and business tips for the modern music teaching business owner. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

12.

The Business Side of Music podcast is an interview show designed to help independent artists and songwriters better understand and navigate the music industry. 45-year industry veteran Bob Bender talks to successful guests from every corner of the industry about their careers to discover the things they did right as well as the lessons they learned from any mistakes they made. Not all of the topics discussed on this podcast are directly applicable to what I personally do as a piano teacher and blogger, but I’ve listened to few really interesting episodes here-and-there. Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

Are you into podcasts? Please share your favorites in the comments below!

Hello, friends! As previously announced, I recently released a new resource to my shop: The 12 Days of Christmas Project — a kit to help you and your students create a collaborative video performing the traditional carol, The 12 Days of Christmas. I know it’s an odd time to be talking more about it, because Christmas has just passed. But I wanted to share just a couple more things about it before I let it rest.

First of all, you might remember in my last blog post I had put out a call for music teachers who might be interested in being part of a “music teacher edition” video of the 12 Days of Christmas. We ended up with 26 music teachers total who participated! Here’s our resulting video. Hope you enjoy!

Second, I wanted to let you know that I created a walkthrough video that gives you a peek at what’s included in The 12 Days of Christmas kit. You can check that out here.

Finally, I wanted to remind you that the special introductory discount for this resource expires in a few days. If you think you might like to do this project with your students next year, you might be interested in taking advantage of the using the promo code “12DAYS” during checkout to receive $8 off your purchase. Offer expires January 10, 2022. Visit my shop page here.

Happy January, everyone!