Good practicing

So summer's almost over and school's about to begin. Schedules are changing, and it can be hard to fit in time to practice the piano. Practicing for about 20-30 minutes for beginning students is ideal, but on the days where that may not be practical, spending 5-10 is still good. Even though you may only get to practice for a short time, it will be time well spent. For those days that you do get to spend more time, try to follow somewhat of a routine. Start out with scales and your finished song from last week as a warm-up. Then, continue to work on last week's song and try to make the little changes we talked about in the last lesson. If you passed all your last songs, then begin working on the new one, trying each hand separately until you feel confidant with each one. Sometimes a new piece of music can be frustrating to learn. If you feel like a piece is too hard to do on your own at home, try putting it aside for a little bit and try one of your favorites that we've worked on before. Sometimes taking a break and then going back to a hard piece will actually help make it easier! :)

My style of teaching

In all my years of taking piano lessons, my teachers emphasized playing classical music through all four major periods: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary. However, when I began college music theory classes, I realized how important theory, sight reading, and ear training are for really understanding music and playing the piano. As I teach students, I try to introduce classical music, as well as the three elements of theory, sight reading, and ear training. I also believe that it is important to have students play music that they enjoy, and so I try to bring in songs that the children know and like. Sometimes students can become burned out with learning how to play the piano, so keeping it fun and engaging is important. Developing a love for music is so important, and if nothing else, I hope that my students come away from their time learning from me with this love and appreciation, which can also hopefully be life long.

Welcome!!!

Hello, and welcome to The Piano Place. This is my blog for the students I teach piano lessons to, as well as their parents, to find out what's coming up for them in lessons, helpful tips on playing the piano, and other useful information. Keep checking in regularly to stay up to date, as I will be putting out reminders and anything I forget to mention during the lessons. Thanks for stopping by!
~Hannah