Building Habits Or Correcting Mistakes?
Teacher: How did your practicing go this week? Student: Good. Teacher: How did you practice __________________? Student: I played it over and over for an hour everyday and always went…
Tangled Fingers
After the first couple of weeks of lessons, the theme of our semester is clearly fingering. I went to dig out my handy-dandy handout from 2005 and decided to share…
PA Shorts: Making An Egg
Many master chefs consider that the ability to cook an egg beautifully is the true test of a cook's skill. Being one with the humble egg tells more about a…
Those Awkward Disappointments
Zack Rosenblatt / Arizona Daily Star Last Saturday night, after our Wildcats lost to San Diego by a single point in overtime, there was a scuffle between students and police.…
The Ikea Effect & Teachability
I felt a jolt of electricity when I heard the NPR story, Why You Love That Ikea Table, Even If It’s Crooked. In the first place, I could happily…
What’s Up With This Memory Thing?
“What's up with this memory thing?”, asked one of my new transfer students. We talked about different levels of knowing and understanding and the fact that committing something to memory…
Middle Parts & Orphans
“I’ve played piano for over 30 years and nobody has ever told me to start in the middle of a measure,” said one of my adult students last week. She…
Vintage PA: Change, Change, Change
In my capacity as QOTS (you had to be there- if not, see my Essential Skills Series) I quite often need to be the instigator of radical change in my students. When…