Little Giants – Kids Are Whole People I love kids and always have felt they deserve to be treated as whole people, not half people, as so many adults behave toward them. Children have all the understanding of the universe; I marvel at their free thought and fearless confidence. They...
Hitting The Wall! Clearly you love making music. You love the sound of it, the creative aspect, the participatory and social facets of it, and the joy it brings you. It feeds a part of your core in an important way. At certain stages we feel our skills improve fast and...
At Some Point, Just Stop Thinking! The other day at a ukulele lesson I was teaching a cool fingerpicking pattern to a very devoted student and her dad – he shares her weekly sessions. This girl is a great player; an accomplished songwriter too. She loves to strum her 6-string...
Music Also Listens A 10-year old student comes to his piano lesson this week after the tragic and untimely death of his close friend and schoolmate. A boy, his own age, was taken by cancer. A few weeks earlier this same student missed his lesson to focus on a power...
Use It, Don’t Lose It! Learning to read and play music utilizes several parts of the human brain. There is the part that is emotionally moved by the sound of music, capturing its power to let us feel passion and excitement. There is the part that perceives pitch, tune, harmony...
Slower Makes It Faster! At his last lesson, a very eager and talented middle school student is rapidly pounding out the pivotal musical theme from the film Pirates of the Caribbean, preparing for an upcoming Music Party at the Rum Tum School. He delivers its percussive phrases on the piano...
Jitterbug! For those who feel a touch of nervousness at a lesson, please remember you are here to learn and experience that deeply human joy inherent in playing a musical instrument. You are not here to exhibit musical perfection. I too am a student of music and always will be....
Smile, And Your Brain Smiles With You Did you know that the simple act of smiling alters brain chemistry? Think about it. Smiling actually changes your thinking, mood, perceptions and attitude. Flashing a smile can be the quickest and most sure-fire way to feeling okay in any given moment; hence...
Hard Is The New Easy As a student of music one of the greatest discoveries you will have is learning for yourself that something you truly want to do that feels hard now doesn’t have to stay that way. Most of us avoid difficult tasks, whether we are children or...
Piano Student Practice Tips. Play 3 favorite songs a day that you already know. Read the music for a new song to see how it feels to start a piece on your own. Look at the first notes and finger numbers to determine what position on the piano keys your hands...
