Motivation in the Music Studio by Del Parkinson

It was a privilege to be able to attend a UVMTA music workshop recently presented by Dr. Del Parkinson, professor of Piano Pedagogy at Boise State. His combination of humor, genuineness and helpful tips was refreshing. It is easy to see why his student's mention these elements in his rate the professor remarks! Following are my notes from his presentation

Music Is Fun Elementary Lesson Plan

I volunteered to teach a music lesson in my son's elementary school classroom for Fun Friday.  With so many games to choose from in my piano game resource list, it was hard to decide which to use but I finally picked Susan Paradis's Music is Fun Bingo game as the basis of the activity and planned the following interactive activities to go along with each of the calling cards after doing a quick introduction of the music alphabet and white keys on the piano.  The activities highlighted in yellow are free activities for children to try out at home if they like.

Strategies for Fostering Musicality by Paula Clark

Does preparing students for festival cause you stress? At this recent workshop, Paula Clark gave some great tips about helping student prepare for festival performances as well as reviewing some effective practice drills and strategies to remedy common challenge spots in a variety of music samples.

Feeling Musical Pitch through Movement

Music and movement make great pairs!  To prepare students for the complexities of the staff I like to first incorporate some movement to music activities.  This not only matches the natural learning developmental process, but it also provides a meaningful energy outlet for young students who get fidgety being stuck on the bench for an entire lesson.

12+ Months of Free Music Group Lesson Plans

Planning Piano Group Lessons

Choosing a monthly focus topic for piano lesson not only simplifies lesson planning, but it also helps me ensure that students are getting a well-rounded exposure to musical concepts that can easily be overlooked like composition and ear training.

Festival Music Samples & Listening Assignment :Jazz Rags and Blues

For each piece write the name of the piece and then click it to hear it and answer the following questions:

Teaching Basic Accompaniment Skills

What skills are needed to become a proficient accompanist?  While the majority of accompanists are pianists, not all pianists have the ability to jump easily into an accompanist role.