The first thing I tell students to do is to find their position on the keyboard.  After they have found that, they should look at the time signature.  Determine what their counting will be like.  Depending on their ability, I may ask them to actually write in the counting in the music.  Then, they should find the dynamic markings and look for slurs and/or staccatos.  Thirdly, a student should examine the music for any problem spots.  This could be as simple as finding out intervals between notes, a rhythm issue, or fingering.  They should look at the music and try to determine beforehand how they will handle it.  Then, keeping a steady tempo, they should attempt to play the piece without stopping.

This will develop the ease at which they play their other music.  It is much easier to pick up a piece of music once you have heard it before, so if a student can plunk out the melody on a song, they will be that much further ahead when they actually play the song.  As I teacher, I try to help students by playing a FEW pieces for them–on occasion.  Once a student reaches a certain ability, however, it is necessary for them to “work it out on their own” instead of “parroting,” the song (what they heard played.)  They can now figure it out for themselves.

Some students are working out of a book called “Line – A- Day” sight reading by Bastien.  It is an excellent book to start out with.  They are leveled for the ability of the student and it takes a line of music to attempt to sight read each day, using the rules I mentioned above.

When students keep up their sight reading, they will be comfortable looking at new pieces instead of being intimidated.

The facility we had the recital at.  New Hope Christian Fellowship.

The Harvest co-0p choir singing “Great is He.”

Myles did a great job on his piece.

Hannah played “O Come All Ye Faithful.”

Rebekah is happy she played “The First Noel” so wonderfully.

Michelle jazzed up “Winter Wonderland.”

Asia played “Away in a Manger,” flawlessly.

“Do You Hear What I Hear?” was performed by Aurora.

Ashley did a beautiful job on “Up on the Housetop.”

Brendan played “We Three Kings.”

Megan also played “The First Noel.”

Annah, Elizabeth and Alex finished singing.

In all, the recital was a huge success!  Great work everyone!

Please have your child wear their “Sunday Best,” which would mean something they would wear to church on a special occasion.  Floor length gowns and tuxedos are NOT NECESSARY.  Please no jeans or sneakers.

The recital will begin at 3:30 sharp and we have the facility until 5:00.  If you want to take photos, you can take them after I give instructions before the recital or directly afterward.  I will be posting photos to my website, so if you are opposed to having your child’s picture up, please let me know.  (Only with first names, not last names.)

Many of you have already let me know that you will be attending, but if you haven’t let me know, please email me, give me a call, or you can just tell me at your next lesson.

All pieces have to be memorized, so the children need to make sure they have their song down.  I have already told the children my expectations, and most of them are memorizing their songs now.  Please make sure they can do their songs without music.  :)

Oh, I can play the piece all right.  I can play it in tempo with the right dynamics and the right rhythms and all that stuff.  The thing I am having a problem with is MEMORIZATION.  Do you remember when you were a child?  It seems like children have great abilities when it comes to memorization.  I could play a piece for a week and have it memorized.  I could learn my choir music easily.  But now?  Oh good grief!  I am having such difficulty trying to memorize this piece.  Is it age?  Did I really get old and forget how to do that?

The thing is, I expect all the students to have their pieces memorized by the time of the recital.  If I want to play this piece, I can only give myself the same expectation that I give my students, which is to have it memorized.  I have been working on memorizing the first page for a month!  That is crazy!  And I still don’t have it down.  There are only 3 pages!  Mrs. Rohr had better kick it up a notch so she can get this done.

If you don’t hear me play at the recital, it isn’t because I can’t play. (I play at church often.) It is because I couldn’t get the piece memorized!  :)

Look for your children to be coming home with some Christmas music soon.  I know you probably don’t want to hear “Jingle Bells” this early in the season, but if we want to have the music memorized, we need to start soon.

After having some problems with allergies and the like, we put down hardwood flooring and tile in the studio. There is much less dust and it will be easier to keep clean.  Come in and have a look!  I’m very happy with the way it turned out.

If you are the parent of a budding pianist, practice should become an essential part of your day.  You can schedule it just as you do homework and other things throughout your day.  I have several parents that have their child practice after they finish their homework on the weekdays.  My studio policy for children under 6th grade is to set aside a practice day 5 days a week.  You can take 2 days off, but you must practice on at least 5 of the 7 days.  I have a practice log for the children to fill in with tally marks.  They must practice each song 5 times each day.  So at the end of the week, they should have 25 tally marks.

As the student gets older, it is harder to gauge how much practice each song should get.  A good rule of thumb for older students is 30-45 minutes of practice a day, with two days off.  This way, the student can decide which song needs more practice and which songs they can master easily.  Of course, if you haven’t mastered a song, then you probably need more practice.  :)

I also find that children need to be taught how to practice.  It isn’t good enough to play a song 5 times each day if you are making the same mistake over and over again.  Children should start by playing each hand separately and making sure you are confident to play that hand by itself.  Then they play both hands together.  When they find a difficult spot, have them take a moment to circle that spot with a pencil.  Then they can practice that spot only until they can play it with no mistakes.  There are many more nuances to music and different things will need to be practiced each time they play a piece.  Fingering, dynamics and tempo are only a few of the things to remember as a child works on a song.

In order for a student to make progress, practice must be an integral part of their day.  A teacher can teach all they know, but until what is taught is put it into action, it is nothing.   Don’t expect to be able to play Beethoven if you don’t practice.  It would be nice if we could just sit at the piano and play whatever we want, but unfortunately, that isn’t how it works.  If it is valuable to you, then you will want to put the time in to learn that which you value.  And the way you do that is by practicing.  :)

It has been a great week!  Remember, there are no lessons on Monday, Sept 6th, due to the Labor Day holiday, but we will be back on track next week.  All other lessons will be on as scheduled.  Have a wonderful weekend!

The tuition will remain the same as last year, with discounts for families and people that plan to pay up front for the entire year.

Look for more information coming soon!  I can’t wait to start!