A wonderful friend and teaching colleague of mine is preparing for an upcoming move and downsizing her piano studio. She’s planning a big moving sale for this weekend, and for any of you who aren’t in the Kansas City area, an internet “garage” sale. If you need some new music for your library, this is a great chance to take advantage of some garage … Continue reading
I first became acquainted with the music of Glenda Austin through our local association’s annual Multi-Piano concerts. We’ve featured several of her compositions and arrangements over the years, including one of my all-time favorite duet pieces, Valse Elegante. Her duets are always a hit with my students – most of them sound much harder than they really are! I was delighted to learn about a … Continue reading
Has anyone met a piano student who doesn’t LOVE sheet music? There’s something especially exciting and motivating about the stuff. My students love to play it… and some of them also love to MAKE it. During summer lessons, I make an extra effort to encourage creative projects in my studio. Many students opt to compose a piece or two (or three…). Once they’re satisfied … Continue reading
Another year… another success! We wrapped up our local association’s Multi-Piano concerts this past weekend, and I promised last week I’d share some of my favorite repertoire from this year and past years. I actually decided to just put together a list by level of some of my all-time duet favorites. Most of these were originally programmed on Multi-Piano concerts; over time I’ve built up … Continue reading
Anyone who teaches picky teenage students will be excited to learn about a fresh new series of books by composer Dror Perl. The Color Book Series contains three books: Red, Blue and Purple. Each contains a collection of original pieces: the Red and Purple books feature jazz, blues and funk styles, and the Blue book features modern sounding piano solos, described by the composer as … Continue reading
At the end of the summer, one of my elementary students asked me if he could learn the songs of some of the branches of the U.S. Military. He’s one of those kids who is ALL boy, and the right “boy” song goes a long way in motivating him! I thought it was a great idea, so went about finding music to give him at … Continue reading
I was in need of a little creative retreat this weekend after a LOT of hours of office time this week, so spent an afternoon at the piano re-working a handful of sacred hymn arrangements. The new files are posted in the free sheet music section on my website. All of the arrangements are written at an early advanced level. Preview recordings of the … Continue reading