A foot rest provides students with stability at the keys and promotes good technique. I always use something to support students’ feet. The Strongtek Foot Rest is a very sturdy option with 5 different levels for the shelf. The highest shelf is high enough for a really young student like a 4 or 5 year […]
Review: Strongtek Piano Foot Rest Read More »
One of the most important things I teach my beginners is to slow down and use their eyes and brain before using their fingers to begin playing a piece! The best way to avoid crashing after you take off is to follow a pre-flight protocol! Watch the video above to see how I teach my
Pre-Flight Checklist for Beginning Pianists Read More »
Young beginners in my studio often get confused about all the different ways we use numbers on the score. We use finger numbers, we write in counts for the rhythm, we have measure numbers, and we have time signatures. Then there are interval numbers, note value numbers, and so on! I like to show students
Finger Numbers, Counting Numbers, Measure Numbers, Oh My! Read More »
It’s a common occurrence in my studio for a beginning student to respond with a lovely scale when I ask for a chord, or a beautiful chord when I ask for a scale. We ask first and second-year piano students to learn so many new words! It’s understandable that they sometimes get them confused! I’ve
Piano Vocabulary: Scales and Chords Read More »
I have a new video up on my Youtube channel, and as promised, it’s all about footrests for piano students. I consider a footrest to be essential equipment, just as I do an adjustable bench. Students whose feet don’t reach the floor will tire out and succumb to frustration more quickly. They will practice longer
Footrest Solutions For Piano Students Read More »
This week’s ‘splainer video is intended for older students, piano parents, and piano teachers. If you have a child studying piano, or if you have people of varying heights all using the same piano bench, you need an adjustable model! Even adults of roughly the same height can need to sit at differing levels due
All About Adjustable Benches Read More »
My next ‘splainer video is up! This one shows all of my tricks for having a good hand position at the piano, and includes clips of me demonstrating them with students. These videos are intended to be resources for my students and yours between their lessons. You can assign them to your students to
New Video: How To Have A Great Hand Position At The Piano Read More »
There’s a new video up on my YouTube channel! This one is an explainer on how to read intervals quickly. I’m big on intervallic reading with my students, and in this video, you’ll hear how I teach them to move past the stage of counting lines and spaces when identifying intervals by number, and how
New Video and a Free Halloween Piece Read More »
I’m a month into our fall term with now 4 online students and 11 in person, and thankfully, no students have gotten sick – at least not with Covid. If you’ve read my previous posts about my cleaning and masking protocols, I’m happy to say that’s working out well. I’m thrilled to have 6 beginners
I’m Making Videos! Read More »
