Achievement is a step-by-step adventure!
Students “show what they know” and chart their progress with 300+ “Stickers that Teach.”
Fa La La!
The holidays are nearly here. In November we caught a breather by relaxing for a bit with that easy-going Thousand-Year waltz. But the scurry-hurry of December is now reflected in the lists, boxes, recipes, wrappings, and lights that seem to be everywhere. For many, December also means a gathering of relatives. And here they are […]
Two Thumbs Up!
Time to head off to the North Pole to check on the toy-packing and gift-wrapping. Some young people write letters with lists, and some might even try sending emails. But we’re going to hitch a ride for a little in-person inspection. And for that we need our thumbs! The thumb is such a useful, important […]
The Gift of Music
As we “march” in time toward the Winter Solstice, we pause to send musical greetings to friends and colleagues around the world. At the end of this excerpt from the Nutcracker Suite, you’re invited to make your own “magical music boxes” with our downloadable template.
Take Your Time
Some of us may still be regretting (but happily regretting) October’s Sugar overload. November, however, gets serious. There is so much to prepare for! Thanksgiving, of course. But soon after, the holidays, and maybe holiday recitals. If we had a thousand years to plan and prep, we might not be fully ready. But wait—we do […]
Listen to This!
In many places Autumn is the most beautiful season, with colorful leaves creating a kaleidoscope of whirling reds, yellows, rusts, and orange-browns, each with its own changing nuance as the days and weather shift. Nuance itself is a delicate word, implying subtlety and fine distinctions. And attention to playing with nuance can begin early. Yes, […]
Sugar Ahead!
October days can begin to seem grayer. The leaves, the ground, the sky all herald change. The Canadian novelist, Joy Fielding, calls October “the least dependable of months.” Yet, in October, we are bombarded with a single enticing message: Halloween! Sweets ahead! So now’s just the right time to sample Sugar, a bouncy arrangement of Maroon […]
With Abandon!
The Music ’Tis madness. Truly. To the Portuguese, who originated this musical form in the late 15th century, La Folia (Foh-LEE-ah) was music for singing and dancing, and the singing and dancing were often so riotous that the participants appeared “empty-headed.” The Folia was a 16-bar melodic and harmonic pattern, sometimes with a short coda, […]
How to Make an Impression
Most students dream of playing an as yet unattainable piece that represents what it means to be an artist at the piano. They imagine how they will sound when they can play such a famous composition. (Clair de Lune, perhaps?) And how do they get there? By beginning early with the very techniques needed to […]
A Tritone Treat
Ready for this? Camille Saint-Saëns, born on this date in 1835, began composing less than a decade after the death of Franz Schubert, and only a smidge over that from the death of Beethoven. Yet this brilliant and prodigious composer lived to rebelliously storm out of the premiere of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in 1913. […]
Gershwin’s Summertime
The South’s melting summertime humidity finds its musical counterpart in George Gershwin’s 1935 song “Summertime.” It’s a languid lullaby in the style of an early-1900s African American spiritual. Though the song’s legacy is so potent that over 25,000 artists have recorded it, “Summertime” originally cast its spell as an aria within Gershwin’s self-described folk opera […]
