PA Shorts: Soulful Stuff
A young student and I have been practicing and improvising with 5 finger and chord patterns in all keys. This week we began to explore the minor keys and delighting in how…
Vintage PA: Leaving People Better Than You Found Them
It's easy to teach when everything is going well, when families support each other, when children are perfectly behaved, when students are healthy. It's a lot tougher when parents are…
I Just Like It
Why music and piano? The question has come up many times over the years, asked by relatives, teachers and mentors, and people in business who clearly thought I needed a…
Playing With Wolfgang: A Romantic Accusation 2
“You’re a romantic!” said my teacher in a surprised voice, as though this explained everything he found perplexing about me. I had never been accused of being anything but a…
Vintage PA: Great Expectations
Last weekend I ended up in the ER and subsequently the hospital with serious anemia. With plenty of time to do nothing, I tried to brainstorm ideas for blog posts…
Great Job!
Being specific with our praise phraseology isn't anything new. Social media is full of articles on parenting language. It helps if we as teachers also think carefully about our language. The student…
Teaching To The Test: A Rant
One of my adult students, whose grandchildren are taking piano lessons, came to me with concerns that the children were not doing anything in their lessons that wasn’t a part…
PA Shorts: Fortune Cookie Advice
Happy, happy Holidays to all you piano addicts and many, many thanks to each of you for reading and supporting the blog. On our recent trip to Las Vegas, we went…