At first glance, practicing scales and improvising might appear like opposite ends of piano education. But in truth, when done smartly, scales and improvising common ground gives students both structure and creative freedom—creating deeper musical fluency from early lessons. How Scales Support Improvisation Once these basic structures are internalized, students can improvise confidently—even if they’ve
When you think of the holiday season, one of the most prominent memories for most includes the presence of our favorite holiday music and carols to bring cheer and get us in the spirit for this joyful time of year. The stretch from November through New Year’s presents a great time for teachers and students
When we first purchase a shiny new instrument, we will often try as hard as humanly possible to keep it safe and protected. Instruments can be expensive and we want them to sound as good as possible when we play them. When a student purchases a guitar, they will likely purchase a case for it.
Turn My Brain Off I look out the window of the room where the lessons take place. Outside, it’s sprinkling and dreary. The house I’m in is not my own, though the more I visit, the more I feel at home, the more I feel invested here. My student is playing the piano- a piece
Before I became an experienced music teacher, I went to the University of Miami to study classical percussion. There, classical percussion meant studying concert snare drum, timpani, xylophone, vibraphone, crash cymbals, all kinds of shakers and wood blocks, but mostly, the marimba. I believe at least an introduction to the marimba is in order when
As a team of experienced private music teachers, many of us specializing in teaching young beginners, we know just how important the first steps are when learning an instrument. If you’re wondering how to start saxophone lessons for your child, our advice is simple: begin with the right teacher. A knowledgeable, encouraging saxophone teacher sets
You know the feeling—your name is called, the room gets quiet, and suddenly your hands feel like jelly. Whether it’s your first recital or your fiftieth, stage fright is something nearly every musician faces. But here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to hold you back. As private music teachers who’ve coached students of all
Time for voice lesson and my young student is so excited to perform the song that she’s worked on all week long. She has memorized the words and has been practicing with her CD and she knows that she can hit all the notes perfectly. It’s a song with a lot of range and we’ve
In many of my lessons, I get asked by several parents about songs and poems that my students have created, and not really knowing how to encourage their young songwriter. It’s something that’s quite difficult to know exactly how to offer the right things to say to be honest with your young songwriter and also
Halloween is right around the corner! While most people are getting their costumes together, running out find the perfect fabrics and face paints and making scary faces in the mirror, musicians can be figuring out their perfect “musical costume” for the holiday. What is a musical costume? You may be wondering what I’m talking about