PA Shorts: Give Yourself Permission
Ruth Reichl had a mouthful to say on the difference between an amateur and a professional on a recent episode of The Splendid Table. The difference between you and me…
Vintage PA: Yodeling Puff The Magic Dragon
It started with a performance of a method book piece with the word Yodel in the title. “It sounds weird,” said my young student, “and I don’t understand why that…
Becoming A Pianist: A Worthwhile Journey, Gloria Fast
Do you remember the instant you knew you were a pianist? Perhaps for you it was a gradual realization? The father of a former student of mine sent me this…
Vintage PA: What’s On The Inside
“Wow !” I said, “You are like a different pianist!” And she was. Before, there had been surges and awkward accents in the opening to her Intermezzo, impossible to remove…
Duty or Joy?
A gonga post by John Terrauds of Musical Toronto made me sit up and take notice last week. In it, he wrote about his experiences taking on a group of…
Guest Post: Dennise Ontiveros Rivera
In this post, Dennise describes her journey to music and teaching. When Dennise came to me at EAC, she told me that there were few teachers in the area of…
Guest Post: Teaching Students From Different Backgrounds, Neeki Bey
Those of you who know me, know that I am totally against, what my friend calls, "drive by arts experiences". These experiences can encompass a range of genres; the Chopin…
Guest Post: Ramblings of an “Older” Pianist
I invited my friend and adult student Marsha Foresman to come and speak to my pre-college students about her piano journey and why it's important for them to keep playing…