Piano Playground

'Fall'ing Back Into Teaching~ A Ramble of Sorts

2012-09-20T21:25:00.003-03:00

It's fall....

That time of year when students come crunching to our doorways and let a wave of brisk, autumn air into our homes. As they come to my door, my students see the last of our ripening tomatoes, which are hanging on until the first frost rings the timer on the term "vine ripened."

I can't believe how fast the summer flew by! As evidenced by how long it's been since I blogged on here, it was a busy one for me and my family! While being busy, though, we had a lot of fun being together, serving in our ministry, traveling to various places, and taking a break from the normal schedule.

I've 'fall'en back into teaching, as most of you probably have. I'm really enjoying my students, old and new. This year brought a flip-flop of sorts, and I have a few more adults than children. I can honestly say that I enjoy teaching every age group....well, except the pre-readers. I do find those weeks challenging, but thankfully they are short-lived! One of my students has taken the plunge into the Royal Conservatory program, and we are enjoying the challenge together.

My husband and I recently made a decision about our son concerning piano. Last year I taught him, and it went ok. But just ok. This year we decided to put him with another teacher. He's had a few weeks of lessons, and he's doing great. I take him and sit in during his lesson so I can stay on top of what he's learning. (A side motivation is his teacher's Steinway grand, which I get to STARE at for 30 minutes each week). :) At home, my husband or I sit with him for 15 minutes daily (usually after lunch or supper) and coach his practice time. I'm thrilled to be able to do that, and it is rewarding to watch his progress.

This post is a ramble of sorts- just to let you know I'm still here. Hopefully in the coming weeks my blog will become more active as my studio becomes so.

If you're still out there, give me a shout out in the comments!

And Happy Fall, Y'all!

Posted by Leah@Piano Playground

My History Exam is History!

2012-05-22T14:59:00.000-03:00

It's hard to believe that just over a week ago, I swallowed the lump in my throat and attempted the History Overview exam with the Royal Conservatory! We've been on a little anniversary getaway (celebrating 7 years), which explains my delay in relaying to you how things went with said exam....I know, I know....you've been anxiously waiting to hear how it went! lol

When I arrived at the examination centre, I was the only one taking the exam that day. I was actually relieved not to be disturbed by the rustling of other exam-takers, and enjoyed 2 1/2 hours of mental solitude (with the exception of Margaret, the moderator). Physically, this exam was exhausting. Not to mention the mental stretching, my often carpal-tunnel afflicted arm underwent a definite flare-up while I was writing. Seriously, in this technologically advanced age, can they not provide us with computer screens so we can type our 3 essays, instead of insisting that we leave the exam centre and go straight to the chiropractor!? :) And the not drinking any water after noon didn't work so well either for 'this little bladder mine.' And my moderator was drinking water the whole time....how did she do it?

I'm pleased that the exam overall was easier than I expected- that's a good sign, right?! But like with any exam, after I left the room I checked my book on a couple of things I hadn't been sure about (key signatures, mostly- those pesky things!!).

Now I get to imbibe myself in summer and await the 6 weeks to see my mark...and the 2 months to see the actual exam. Studying in every spare moment had become such a way of life that I keep having to remind myself that I don't have to study! I am so grateful for my husband, who on several occasions arranged childcare so I could have hours...even days of uninterrupted study. It made all the difference in the world in how much history I was able to soak in.

Even more than the mark is the satisfaction of all that I learned. I now look for music history links everywhere I go, and judge every historical figure based on which composer(s) lived during his/her lifetime. My husband tells me I'm obsessed. Maybe I am....but I learned so much.

History 2? A few months ago it was "no, never!" Now....bring it on!! .....But not until the fall. :)

Posted by Leah@Piano Playground

Why I'm Invisible These Days....

2012-03-27T11:52:00.000-03:00

I'm pretty invisible these days because.....

I am taking another exam soon! Yeah, I know I'm crazy....

So, some of you know I took my Advanced Rudiments exam in December, and passed with a happy 95%! I guess I was on a roll, because in January I started back with my amazing teacher, Peggy Craig (Instructor at Mount Allison) with the Royal Conservatory's History 1 course. My exam choices boiled down to either May or August.

Seriously, who wants to spend the summer cramming while everyone else is swimming, biking, sunning, gardening, and all sorts of other things that end with "ing!?" NOT ME. So May it is, which leaves me with about 6 weeks left to get ready for this. For those of you who think that sounds like a long time, it's not. I have been in "information overload" mode for weeks and still don't quite know how it's all going to come together for me. My teacher tells me that hardly anyone gets an A on this one....hmmm, knowing that fact really takes the pressure off, eh? Not. ;)

So, although I'm busy teaching and learning, much of it will have to be invisible until this history cloud passes by. :)

Have any of you taken this History exam? Did you find it hard? Any tips on helping all those facts come together in your mind?

Salty Notes Practice Game

2012-03-02T08:56:00.002-04:00

I have an unusual number of students who play by ear. One of them is a young girl who reminds me so much of myself when I was her age! She spends hours playing on her piano at home- improvising, making up arrangements…..just using her ear to her heart’s content. My goal with such students is to balance their skills by bringing their eye skills to match or even exceed those of their ears.

Students who are strong in ear often have trouble connecting the note position on the staff with the actual piano keys. A drill to learn where notes are on the piano is sometimes a waste of time. But they need lot of reinforcements on the staff.

Enter the “Salty Notes” game, which was actually inspired by Pinterest. The original pinner used it to review ABCs with Kindergarten students in a school setting. When I saw the picture, I immediately thought “That would be GREAT for piano students too!” So here is my version of this game, created especially with my dear “ear” students in mind.

I half-filled a sturdy tray (actually the top of one of those heavy board photo boxes) with salt. Why did I use salt? Because I knew my little students would be tempted to eat the game!

On one end of the box, I attached one of my nifty curly paper clips, to hold the flashcards.

Here’s how to play:

Teacher puts a card in the clip, and student writes the letter of that note as quickly as possible. There are many variations for playing this game. Last night I did all treble notes, then all bass notes, then treble and bass combined. Once the student got the hang of it, I put the timer on to add a bit or pressure.

The only complaints I had were from students who didn’t like the feeling of salt in their fingernails…..maybe they wouldn’t mind so much if it were sugar, eh?! Over all, it was a winner, and one I’ll keep handy for some impromptu note review!

Have you designed any new teaching aides/games lately? Leave a comment and share them!

Outside The ‘Music Box’: A Different Sort of Piano Lesson

2012-02-27T09:06:00.001-04:00

This past Thursday I gave a piano lesson that was unlike any other I’ve ever given….and it was so rewarding that I want to share it with you!

While I am a firm believer in keeping lessons professional, I don’t ever want that to stop me from being sensitive to the needs of my students.

I teach several students from the Bible Institute at our church. One of these is a sweet young lady who spent her whole life in Brazil. This past September she came to Canada to attend college. She has has been a delight to teach, but lately more and more I’ve seen evidences of the culture shock that she is going through. In talking with her mother recently, I realized just how difficult being in Canada has been on her. She is a strong young lady, and has never complained. But she has struggled.

In thinking of how I could encourage her, I began to realize that while it is important to be professional, sometimes it’s good to let even our students know, in a practical way, that we really care about them and about what’s going on in their lives.

So what was this “outside the music box” lesson like? Well, my student came to my house as usual. I greeted her as usual and opened her assignment notebook as usual. I asked her to play her scale for me, as usual. Then I told her that the lesson was on me, and asked her if she wanted to go to the mall with me. I needed to go to Bath & Body Works, of course! She ~~reluctantly~~ happily agreed.

It worked out perfectly since she was my last lesson of the evening. We drove by her dorm and picked up her roommate (who is also my student) and headed to Wendy’s for a bite to eat. Then we hit the Bath & Body Works store (new to our part of Canada and our mall) where I treated them to some girly stuff. We had a great time! I did a bit of shopping too- you can’t let those 3 for $10 and 3 for $5 deals go when you have a party of 3 people!

I don’t know if or when I’ll get the opportunity to have a “lesson” like this again, but it sure was rewarding to try something different and connect with my students on a different level. I do realize that this is impractical from the standpoint of a busy studio and professionalism….and it probably wouldn’t work with kids. But for me it was one of the outcomes of striving to see each student individually – when they are on my bench, they are my world.

How do you show individuality to your students? Have you ever had a lesson that was “outside the music box?” Leave a comment and share your idea!

Piano Valentines For Students and Staff

2012-02-13T22:42:00.000-04:00

This is the first set of the little Valentines I made for my students this year. I thoroughly enjoyed making them, thanks to Joy at Color In My Piano, who shared her super-cute idea and even gave us the printable and instructions!

I decided to use Hershey kisses for the candy part, and was surprised and glad that they don't weigh so much that they close the lid of the tiny baby grand. ;)

This is what I wanted to do originally- use kisses as the legs of the piano. But I couldn't figure out how to get them to stay, so I just enjoyed looking at it and then scrapped the idea!

While making them for my 10 students, I thought of some other people for whom these would be perfect- our church pianists! We have about 7 pianists who rotate on the piano schedule I make every 3 months or so. I really appreciate all the effort they make to be at their respective instruments when they are scheduled. So on Sunday, 5 of them found these little pianos in their mail boxes at church! (The other 2 pianists are my husband, who is the music pastor, and myself, so I think I'll leave us out this time) :)

I was having a little fun with this first "batch" of Valentines....I arranged them in concert order for another photo shot. They were unbelievably patient while I photographed them.....they are just oh, so cute!

Posted by Leah@Piano Playground

From My Heart: My Tribute To Grandma

2012-02-08T08:57:00.000-04:00

This might be the hardest post I've ever written. At the same time, it comforts me to share my memories with you, my readers. This post may be longer than most of the ones I write, but I need to share my heart this way today.

My Grandmother, Eleanor Maxwell, went to be with the Lord on Sunday around noon. She was 94 years old! And I'm thankful that I, her granddaughter, got to be a part of the last 30 years of her life. I have so many memories of being with her and being at her house, that it would take a ton of blogs to write about everything. So I'll just highlight a few special things about Grandma:

*Her Faith: Grandma always talked about the Lord, and made sure to involve us in her conversations. If we were at her house for breakfast, she included us in her daily devotional reading. And she always, I mean always had her short wave Christian radio station playing in her kitchen. Many times when I was over to her house, she wanted me to play the piano for her. Her piano was never tuned, but she didn't care- she just liked hearing me play. I usually ended the "concert" by spinning till I was dizzy her piano stool.
As we grew up and made spiritual decisions in our lives, she was always excited to hear about them and to encourage us. She was so happy when she found out that my husband to be was going to be in the ministry. And I'm thankful that she was alive when my son, her great-grandson, got saved last Christmas.

*Her Hugs and Kisses: The hugs were tight and the kisses were wet. We used to rub them off and then she would say "You just wiped my kiss off!" As soon as we came in the door her arms opened wide for a hug.

*Her Food/Cooking: Grandma grew much of her food, cultivating a large garden every year and canning hundreds and hundreds of jars (that is not an exaggeration). She had a row of Rabbit Eye blueberry bushes that yielded large quantities of fruit each year. Our job was to pick them, and as you can imagine, we ate ~~more~~ as many as we picked for her.

Who doesn't remember Grandma's cooking? I could spend an hour here, but I won't for your sakes. I'll just say that she made the best cornbread ever (that's Johnny cake for Canadians) and always had a bag of homemade cookies in her freezer. We got to have one...or two or three....after we finished our chores. Grandma was always health conscious (the Vitamin Queen!) and made healthy soups and breads.

*Her House and Land: Her house was up on a hill with a knoll. The knoll had a swing on it. Her driveway curved around the house and up a steep hill. There was another swing by the side of the house that we spent hours on, until the tree that held it up for us died. Parallel with the driveway was a bubbling creek, where we loved to play- splashing, building dams, making mud pies, and catching crayfish.

We spent time each week working around Grandma's house- cleaning, gardening, raking, bird-tending, whatever needed to be done. After we finished, she would press some money into our hands and say "The labourer is worthy of her reward!"

*Her Birds: Grandma had a unique love for birds. She always had her binoculars and a bird identification book on her kitchen table, ready to grab if she saw a beautiful fowl. Much of her backyard was bird cages, where she raised different types of chickens and quail. She had a bird that was rare and from another part of the world. And always there were the peacocks- she loved peacocks and kept her own little brood of them. When the eggs started coming from her birds, into the incubator they would go, and in about a month there were baby birds in cages around the house and porch, being cared for.

One time she got her hands on a triplet of Canadian Geese. I don't know if she wanted them, but we children fell in love. We named them Winken, Blinken, and Nod. Those 3 geese followed us everywhere for an entire summer. We gave them baths in a tin tub outside, and we loved to walk down the driveway watching their little wings flap as they tried to catch up with us!

*Her Husband: I never knew Grandma's first husband, my Dad's dad. He died around the time my sister was born. I remember when Daddy told us kids that Grandma was getting married again. I wasn't too happy. I don't know why. But when our family moved to NC and got to know Mac better, I grew especially close to him. He was an excellent wood worker, specializing in carving birds so that they looked life-size. He had a "shop" out by the garage where he did his work, and I used to love to go out and help him. He made a wooden rocking horse and told me it was mine. I helped him finish it just days before he died. He also made my bowed psaltery, a Biblical instrument that I still like to play. He bought one at a show and proceeded to make on exactly like it. It is one of my treasured possessions, as is the rocking horse.

Oh, my, I got caught up in memories of Mac! The real reason I mentioned him is because Grandma took such good care of him. He had arthritis so bad that he was completely bowed over. He didn't let that stop him, though, and he and Grandma had some good years together. They would finish dinner and Mac would say "Good dinner, Hun." I'm thankful to Grandma for giving us a grandfather for about 9 years.

*Her Communications: Once I got married and moved to Canada, phone calls and letters were the new way to communicate. I always loved to hear her soft voice when I called and said "Hi Grandma...It's Leah." She would say "Oh Leah!! Hi Leah!" And we would chat for awhile. Right before we hung up, she would say "I love you very much!" I treasure those memories of her voice. And I treasure the files of her letters and cards, chock full of newsy bits of bird visitors to her yard, the latest thing she had been baking, and always ending with a verse or a blessing from the Bible.

I don't want to stop writing. My heart is full of sweet memories. I'm sure after I post this, I will have so many things in my mind that I'll wish I had included.

I have never known life without Grandma. But I'm so happy that she's in Heaven now and that I'll see her again. What a blessed hope we have in Christ!

These pics are from our visit with Grandma in November:

Charity giving Grandma a hug

Grandma loved my husband and children

I would be remiss if I did not mention my Daddy, who faithfully took care of many of Grandma's needs for 20 years. She was active and mentally sharp until the last little while of her life, but her property required much upkeep through the years and she had many needs that we all pitched in to help meet. But no one did as much as Daddy, who gave up his own time to go and take care of her needs. I'm thankful for the quality of life that Grandma was able to have because of Daddy's commitment to her. He is a great example of a devoted son, and I pray that God blesses him for being that to his mother!

Today at 2:00 Eastern time is Grandma's funeral. It's killing me that I can't be there- for my Dad, in the loss of his mother, and for my Mom, with the overload of responsibilities she has right now. I'm praying for my Uncle (Grandma's other son) who will be hearing the Gospel clearly presented several times. I know she wants to see him in Heaven.

I'm thankful for the comfort of God's Word, and for a loving husband who held me Sunday night while I cried my heart out and shared my memories of Grandma. He even woke up through the night to check on me and put his arms around me while I slept. I am so blessed.

If you have read this whole thing, I truly appreciate you. Thank you for taking the time to share in my memories and for caring enough to read about a lady you've never met. Thank you for letting me share my heart- it really helped ease the pain. I've been amazed at all the memories that have come flooding back- ones that I haven't thought about in years. And I've been thankful for how healing it is. I've been blessed to be Grandma's granddaughter.

Posted by Leah@Piano Playground

Valentine Matching Game For Note Review

2012-01-31T09:21:00.001-04:00

I've been brainstorming again, and this game is the result of my musical musings. :) It started with one of my students who plays by ear, but has trouble connecting the notes on the piano with the notes on the staff. I wanted to find a game that would help her, but that would also be useful and fun for all of my students.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and Michael's had some ca-ute glitter foam hearts on 60% discount (already!)...well, that did it for me!

Here they are close-up- aren't they just chock full of eye candy?! I don't know about you, but I just love anything that glitters....I can't stop looking at glitter. :)

I peeled the backing off of each heart and stuck them to a piece of heavy cardboard. I had originally intended to leave the backing on and use it to write on, but some of them were crinkly and didn't look so nice. So off came the backing!

They are super-sticky, so I had no trouble getting them to stay in place. Next, I cut a square around each one, creating a game-piece look. (I tried cutting some out as a perfect heart shape, but it was very difficult and didn't leave much room for writing.)

Here's how I marked the backs of the heart game pieces: I divided them into pairs and wrote the letter name on one heart, and the actual staff and note on the other. I chose to use "bass" for all notes from bass C up to middle C, "middle" for all notes from middle C up to treble C, and "treble" for all notes from treble C to treble E.

Here are a few pairs with one heart showing the back, and one heart showing the front. I made all three pairs of "Cs" with the double hearts (pink on white) as guide notes in this particular game.

Here is how the game will look as the students are playing, although they will be playing with anywhere from 8-18 pairs, depending on their level.

Basically, they are a fun way to do flashcards in a matching game style!

Did you develop a game or worksheet for Valentine's Day? Leave a comment below and share it with me!

Leah

Posted by Leah@Piano Playground

12 Pianists, One Piano

2012-01-27T13:18:00.000-04:00

This is completely amazing and delightful! Watch the whole thing and be inspired!

Posted by Leah@Piano Playground

The Piano: To Decorate Or Not To Decorate...

2012-01-16T10:02:00.000-04:00

....This is the question! But I think I've finally come to a conclusion on the best way to decorate my piano.

Here's the deal- I teach some young children who in the past have been very distracted by all of my musical knick-knacks that lined the top of my piano. It wasn't cluttered- but that little pan flute just screamed to be tried out, and the little grand piano that rings when you push the keyboard- well, it was meant to be pushed! Not just pushed, but pushed every 5 minutes! And the old fashioned school bell- everyone wants to hear that sound again. You get the picture.

SO. I decided that a more abstract and less-appealing-to-the-childish-eye decor was in order. And you know what? It's working! Not a single child felt drawn to the top of my piano last week during lessons.

Here's a peek at what I did:

I found this candle holder at Value Village for $3. It was exactly what I had in mind when I went to the store to look- I actually looked twice to make sure it was really there.

I found this candle at Wheaton's, marked down to just under $3. I had in mind a more beige shade of colour, but this works just fine since much of the other decor (and the wood of the piano) has brown tones.

On the left I put a vase of pine cones leftover from Christmas, along with my wooden baby grand and one of the inspiring wood blocks I got at a craft show for $1.

On the right is another inspiring wood block, and a lantern that I've had for ages but still love. That lantern has graced many places in our home since we've been married.

Intertwined around my decor is some greenery- I was actually looking for ivy, but couldn't find it, (except for the starter vine growing on my kitchen windowsill!) And wound throughout the greenery are some clear twinkle lights, which create a wonderful glow, especially at night. (Who said that twinkle lights are just for Christmas?)

I'm pleased with the results- a homey feel above the keyboard, making the piano one of the most inspiring places to be in our home (if you're a pianist). :)

Teachers, do you decorate the top of your piano(s)? Pianists, what do you have on your piano to inspire you as you play?

Posted by Leah@Piano Playground

My Exam Results....

2012-01-13T09:56:00.000-04:00

Many of you know that I took my advanced rudiments exam on the 9th of December. It's been one long month waiting for the results. I almost didn't want to look- scared!! But I did, and this is what I saw:

95- First Class Honours with Distinction

I'm dying to know what I missed- probably something I'm going to kick myself for! But I'm also soooo happy with the results.

THANK YOU to all of you who have cheered me on in this endeavour. Now on to music history!

Posted by Leah@Piano Playground

Homemade Alpha-Gems for Notespelling & Chord Building

2012-01-11T10:43:00.000-04:00

There's nothing like making a teaching aid to jump-start motivation for a new teaching term! I've had the supplies to make these gems ever since Joy posted about the ones she made. They were really quite easy and fun to make!

I started out with a bag of floral gems from Michael's. They have a flat side and a convex side.

I simply typed up the letters of the piano alphabet on different colours of cardstock, and printed them off.

Then I traced a gem around each letter and cut out the circles.

I tried using craft glue, but found that it kind of "glumped" when it dried, and the outlines of glue could be seen through the gem. So I opted for a tiny ring of super glue around the edge of each gem, which dried quickly and invisibly!

I made 2 sets of the music alphabet, to facilitate both treble and bass review games.

The only downside is that the gems are too big for the piano keys. However, they are perfect for my large dry erase grand staff. And I can envision them being used to build chords....and inversions....Next up is to make a sharp and flat set so that we have every possibility of chord- even dominant and diminished 7ths! Oh, the fun!

Did you make any teaching aids over your holiday break?

Posted by Leah@Piano Playground

We Are Now Dot Com!

2012-01-06T09:33:00.000-04:00

The new web URL is as follows: www.mypianoplayground.com All of the posts should automatically re-direct. However, in the process of re-designing and changing the name of my blog, I'm quite sure I lost some followers when the feed address changed. So spread the word in blogland! And regular posting will resume very soon!

Happy New Year to all! And here's a little musical humor for you....

Posted by Leah@Piano Playground

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T11:43:00.001-04:00

I want to wish my fellow piano teachers pianists a very Merry Christmas! I've enjoyed some time off from teaching in order to spend time with my family and to reflect on the wonderful gift that was given to each of us- Christ! I'm so glad He came for me- I can't imagine life without Him. I hope you take some time to rejoice in the Christmas story, and that you have the opportunity to make special memories with your loved ones during this season!

Goodbye To 'For Love of Piano'

2011-12-23T16:13:00.004-04:00

I've been wanting to give my blog a facelift for awhile, and I finally got a few free moments to spend sprucing it up! I still have a few changes in mind, but one thing at a time, right?!

It's time to say goodbye to "For Love of Piano" and hello to "Piano Playground!" My studio website is also the piano playground theme, so I wanted them to match. The new blog address is www.mypianoplayground.blogspot.com

While the title and blog addy have changed, I'm still figuring out the feedburner stuff! For those of you who subscribe by email and/or have lost the feed, here is the new feedburner addy: http://feeds.feedburner.com/PianoPlayground

Posts should still come up in your feed as normal. If they don't, please let me know and I'll do my best to fix that!

I hope you and your studios are enjoying a much-needed break for the Christmas and New Year holidays!

Posted by Leah@Piano Playground

It's Over!!

2011-12-09T19:37:00.000-04:00

My exam is over, and I feel like it went well! I didn't get 'stuck' anywhere and I had 40 minutes left to proof my work. It was just me and one other person taking an exam, so we had a nice cozy setting. Margaret has a huge, furry black cat with a long fluffy tail. His name is Max, and he wandered around while we worked. For some reason I found it comforting to hear him crunching on his food once in awhile. :)

After I finished, I had the privilege of touching and playing a few notes from my favourite piano make ever- Steinway & Sons. What a gorgeous, clear tone! Too bad I didn't have time to stay or I might have forgotten why I was there. :)

Now to wait the 4-6 weeks before my exam mark is posted online. At this point, I'm just glad it's in the past! It's been nice to have a bit more free time this evening- for once I don't have to have my nose buried in my theory book!

Thanks everyone for the well wishes and encouragement!!

Twas The Day Before Exam Day....

2011-12-08T09:07:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I go to the home of Margaret Wood to ~~die~~ take my Advanced Rudiments Exam. I'm kidding about the die part- I really do feel prepared for this. I'm most nervous about those tiny, stupid notation errors that are so easy to make!
I want to give a shout out to the best teacher ever- Peggy Craig, from Mount Allison University. She has spent countless hours with me (and with my homework) helping me prepare for this. She thinks I'm ready....I hope she's right! :) At this point I'm ready to get it over with and move on to the next step towards ARCT.
After tomorrow my blog should become more active, now that I'm not consumed with theory facts!

What I've Been Up To...

2011-10-13T10:53:00.000-03:00

Besides being a homeschooling Mom and teaching piano, these two pictures will explain what else I've been busy doing:

Sacred composer John W. Peterson's Christmas cantata "Night of Miracles" is, in my opinion, one of the best works he ever wrote. Our choir is practicing already to do this cantata mid-December. It's 64 pages long, front and back, of music to become familiar with.

This is my theory book....I am living in this book. Thank goodness there is food and a bed inside...haha!

I am taking the RCM Advanced Rudiments exam in December. Enough said, eh? LOTS of studying and refreshing going on here!

For those of you who have taken this exam, do you have any suggestions for categorizing all the musical terms for memorization?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-10-10T10:42:00.000-03:00

To all my fellow Canadian teachers....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fishbowl Scale Chart

2011-09-12T08:58:00.002-03:00

Did you see Susan Paradis' printable fish the other day? What a fantastic idea for learning scales! I took it a step farther and created a fishbowl for my students' fish to live in while they learn. I had so much fun creating this!

Each child has a major and a minor fish. When they learn a certain scale, I will write the letter name of the scale in one of the 'scales.'

The bottom of the fishbowl. I spread some glue, dusted it with sand, and stuck some little jewels on the sand. The seaweed I cut from green foam, and arranged to look 3-D.

Found this cute felt rick-rack to use for the water level

The perfect spot for our fishbowl. I drew a fishbowl shape on white posterboard, then traced the bowl on blue posterboard and stuck it to the white, leaving a water level at the top.

The sign above

The finished bowl. Total cost of materials (that I didn't already have on hand): Only $3
Time Spent: 1 1/2 hours

The Rewards of Organization- My Studio Is Ready!

2011-08-31T15:35:00.001-03:00

Find cute bookshelf for lending library...check!

I found this bookshelf at Salvation Army for just under $10. It even has a glass door on the front- perfect for
keeping toddlers out of it. :)

Organize and label music for lending library...check!

The label cards I made on the computer. They are inserted into plastic card holders I found at the dollar store

Create check-out method for lending library...check!

This notebook will serve my check-out purposes until I get my library entered into Music Teacher's Helper

Buy teaching resource bins...check!

Found these super-cute bins at the dollar store

Label teaching resource bins...check!

These are labeled the same way as the lending library cards. I used some wispy pink ribbon to hang the cards from the inside of the bin and then taped them down. The polka dot decor came from my scrapbooking supplies.

Set up bulletin board and incentive charts...check!

At this point, I use incentive charts for child students only

Buy and label practice notebooks...check!

These are labeled the same way as all my other labels, and attached with scrapbooking photo squares. I still have some more of these to make.

Organize teaching aid shelves...check!

The basket holds music theory games. To the right of it is my "Music Box"- my prize box, which I hope to fill with all sorts of surprises! :)

Take picture of finished living room studio...check!

Teacher Shortage!?

2011-08-20T11:52:00.000-03:00

It seems that our city is experiencing a teacher shortage. It amazes me how a studio can grow from one year to the next, even without active advertising- word of mouth works wonders! This year I find myself overwhelmed with students to the point where I am trying to refer them to other teachers, and they are swamped too.

I am taking on some students for a teacher friend of mine, which is maxing out my student capacity for this time in my life. Even so, it's more than double what I had last year. My husband will love me when it's time to babysit while I teach. :) (Just kidding- he fully supports what I do!)

Just when I thought things were settling into a schedule, my neighbour approached me. He is a piano teacher also, and lives at then end of our street. "Do you want some more piano students?" he asks, and then explained why he needed to refer his students. "I have 10," he said. Gulp!

I'm also seeing a trend in the music academies in our city. Some of our music stores have studios on the upper floor, and guess what? They are short on teachers too. A teacher friend of mine got a call from them just before I asked her if she wanted some of the ones coming my way. For various reasons, some of the teachers in our area (including myself) are not keen on recommending students to the music schools. But what to do with all these students?

I have had to resort to a "first come, first served" policy. I leave slots available for our church people, but for the general public, I still can't get over the fact that I am turning students down.

Thoughts for discussion: Teachers, how do you handle a rush of students? Who do you refer them to? Do you recommend your city's local music schools?

Multi-Cultural Music

2011-08-05T13:43:00.000-03:00

Two weeks ago Moncton hosted their annual multi-cultural festival downtown. Last year we were taking French with the multicultural association, and made many friends from all over the world. This year we enjoyed going back and catching up with them. We also enjoyed the booths set up in the streets- I even got a henna marking on my wrist. :) It lasted about 10 days and then disappeared.

One of the highlights of the festival is the multi-cultural music. We made a special effort to go hear the African children's choir on Saturday morning at the farmer's market. They did a great job of blending together, and it was amusing to watch as they switched places in their rows while they sang, and then ended up right back where they started.

Here is a pic of them singing "Soon, oh, very soon....we are goin' to see the King...":

For Love of Musical Food: Piano Birthday Cake

2011-08-01T22:35:00.000-03:00

I made this cake last week for my husband's birthday. Although I am not Wilton-trained (but hope to be someday!), I really enjoy making fun cakes for our family birthdays. Here are some pics and simple instructions on how to make this piano cake:

I started with a plain white cake mix, and baked it in a 13x 9 pan. I measured actual piano keys to get the right size and cut two squares of cake. Then I fit them together so they made a long keyboard and iced it with white icing. The Kit Kat bars, although longer than actual black keys, do nicely on a cake like this!

I used Scribblers to write the message on the cake- I had just enough keys to write "Happy Birthday."
Underneath the keyboard it says "to a # pianist."

I found these adorable tiny rose candles at our local farmer's market. They looked so cute on this cake. It would have been a bit cuter with green stems...next time!

The sharp is made from black licorice

Here is the finished product. It was really hot the day I made this, and the icing was melting. The "black keys" were threatening to slip off the keyboard so I had to get it in the fridge quick!

My husband declared the cake a winner! :)

Studio Supplies: Printer Ink Review Post

2011-07-25T09:47:00.001-03:00

Remember this post, where I told you about the amazing deals on printer ink at Printer Filling Station? Well, I got my order weeks and weeks ago, and I've never been so anxious for my printer to run dry so I could try this refill method out for myself. I was a bit nervous around my bottle of black ink, but it was super easy and not messy. Here are some pics of the process:

They send you everything you need- small drill, needle for filling, syringe, and refill ink- tons of it!

Simply use the drill to enlarge the air hole in the top of your cartridge. Insert the needle in that hole, then insert the syringe of ink into the top of the needle. Push the ink in until the cartridge is full.

My cartridge started dripping, and that's how I knew it was full.

Then you let the cartridge rest for 30 minutes before putting it back into your printer. They advise to run a cleaning cycle, and wait 8 hours before using it. I didn't wait quite that long (because I was printing off the score to a classical song I really wanted to play it!) and it printed off just fine.

There are two things that aren't explained in the instructions for this process: The measurements are a little off as far as how much ink to use. So I didn't know when to stop filling, until I saw it dripping. Not a problem, really. And the ink cleaned up so well- no staining or spreading. The company sends plenty of extra filling supplies, and the ones I used washed out perfectly for next time.

Also, I did have some streaking problems when I first started using this ink (as in some of the lines not printing). After contacting the company, I received the answer to this problem. If you let the cartridge remain empty for too long, it gets clogged with dry ink. Likewise if you let the empty one sit out in the air, the same thing happens. I had to hold my cartridge over a steaming kettle to loosen the dry ink. Once the ink began to run, I knew it was unclogged. Now I just keep it at least half full and don't let it go dry. I haven't had any streaking problems since and I've done a lot of printing (as in a few hundred sheets for various projects).

I spent $39 and some change, plus shipping, for 20 refills of color and 12 refills of black. But you know what? There are WAY more refills than 12 in that black ink bottle. I can't even tell that I took any ink out of it! This is definitely worth checking out for your studio supplies. (BTW, they didn't ask or pay me to write this review). :)