Piano Parent Podcast

I love taking a break from the routine. Crossing the finish line of one thing and catching a breather before I start the next thing.Even as I type this, I’ve had a bit of a break from my routine over the weekend.  My older children left for their summer jobs at Pine Cove Camp in the City and Allaso Ranch and my husband was out of town on business. This left my youngest daughter, Tracy, and me to enjoy a girls weekend together.  We were able to focus on our relationship in a different way that we can when everyone else is home.I think the same is true with breaks in piano lessons. Taking a short break offers students a chance to use the skills they are learning. They can play music they want to play just because they want to play it! The question is, “What should you practice between sessions?”Here is what I’ve been telling my own students as we wrapped up the spring semester. Just play! One of the easiest and most satisfying things to do in between sessions or semesters of piano lessons is to simply play the piano. Play your favorite pieces, play pieces from books you’ve already finished, play pieces you might have skipped in your book.This is why we take piano lessons, right?! To be able to play the piano?Sometimes students don’t realize how much they’ve progressed until they take note of where they’ve been. If your piano kid goes back to play music from an old piano book, he might be surprised that he can play a piece that he once  thought was too challenging. Now it’s much easier because his skill and piano fluency have grown.If, when you child reviews old music, they don’t seem to be able to play it, then this is a good time to review and build up skills that might be lacking. Sometimes students keep moving forward in their lesson books before they’ve really mastered previous concepts. Use this time to lay a solid foundation by reviewing music they once knew. Get SMART with your music Once a child has mastered a piece of written music, give them the freedom to change the music in some way. This allows them to add their own personality and creativity to the music.

This episode was recorded the day after my 2018 Spring Recitals. My Spring Recitals are held the first Monday and Tuesday of May each year. Now that recitals are done, I’ve declared this day, “International Post-Recital Lazy Day” and you are welcome that I at least changed out of my pajamas to record this week’s show!

Lisa Donovan Lukas has been a teacher in the Los Angeles area for 15 years. Tell us your personal piano story as well as how you chose piano teaching as a career. I started formal piano lessons when I was about 5 ½, almost 6 years old, and studied classical music with the same teacher until I graduated from high school.  His name was Ed Willumsen and he was an excellent pianist and teacher, and he was also a composer and played popular, contemporary music as well as classical repertoire. As I advanced through classical repertoire, he would also have me play a pop song or a show tune or a standard at the end of the lesson, and he taught me to compose my own original music as well.  We had a piano in our house when I was really little, because my grandfather (who lived nearby) was a self-taught pianist and lived in an apartment building – and he was getting complaints about the noise…so he moved his piano into my parent’s house.  He would come over and play the piano and he also would make up little ballets that my sister and I would dance around the living room to, all dressed up in my grandmother’s petticoats.  I fell in love with that piano immediately and I remember my mother telling me that when I learned to read books I would have piano lessons as well.My mother was an elementary school teacher and taught 3rd and 4th grade, so she taught me to read before I went to kindergarten, and I remember I just couldn’t wait to learn how to play that piano.  I was very extremely shy and all through my childhood I think I thought of that piano like a best friend.  I just always loved it.I was a music composition major and graduated with a degree in music composition from USC, and I also studied piano while I was there, throughout my college years, and afterward as well.  After college, I continued to study composition and orchestration privately for another 4 years with a film composer and orchestrator named Albert Harris.  And I studied songwriting with Lehman Engel in a workshop called the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop.When I was a teenager, I dreamed of being like Joni Mitchell.  I wanted to sing and write my own songs.  And by the time I got to college, my goal was to be a composer.  During college, I worked as a singing waitress and played the piano and sang in a restaurant, and I also played a lot of piano bar gigs, weddings, restaurants, hotels.After college, I continued studying with my composition teacher, and worked in piano bars and restaurants until I finally got a job in the studios, working as a proofreader and a copyist for film composers.  I loved that work because I had the chance to study musical scores all day long.  I ended up doing that for about 20 years.Even though piano study was such a huge part of my childhood, I never intended to teach piano.  I always wanted to be a composer, and that was my total focus.  Being around music preparation did give me opportunity to write music and have some pieces placed in a film or tv show every so often, so I was always on that path of music composition.But, when my son was about 10, I decided to leave music preparation as my career.  The job could be very intense, lots of deadlines, lots of long days and nights, unpredictable schedules, and I felt I was missing out on my son’s life. So, I thought to myself, well, if I teach piano and work as a piano teacher, I’ll be home more and that will be a better career for me, while my son is young.  I loved music prep so much,

Every tenth episode is a list of ten music-y things Previous lists of ten music-y things include 10 things to watch for when you sit at the piano, 10 books to read with your piano kid, and 10 ways to encourage a love of music. To see the full list of tenth episodes, click here. Every year private piano teachers host piano recitals My studio recital is the cherry on top of the previous school year. I use it to recognize all the accomplishments my students have achieved throughout the year. To learn more of what I value in annual spring recitals, read this blog post.Recitals offer students an opportunity to showcase their newly acquired skills, listen to other students play interesting music, and share their love of music with the most important people in their lives – their parents.That is what our topic is today. You are the most important person in your child’s like. The things you do and say has a profound impact on their self worth.  Ten Positive Message You Give Your Piano Kid When You Attend Their Piano Recital * I am smart. My work on the piano is valuable and worthy of attention: attention from the audience and attention of my best effort to learn and polish the piece.* I can do hard things. Yes, piano recitals are difficult tasks. The music you learn for a recital is challenging, a step above your normal music. You are able to face this challenge.* I am not alone. My family will always be there for me. They are my biggest cheerleaders.* I am important to my parents. They will set aside other important things (job, meetings) to be at my piano recital with me.* I am valuable to my family. My mom and dad are in my corner. Even if they don’t live together anymore, my parents are able to put aside their differences to celebrate my accomplishment for one evening.* I make my parents proud.  More than must saying they are proud of me, my parents show their pride by their actions. * I am worth listening to. People want to hear me play. Musicians often battle mind games that tell them the audience is bored and isn’t interested in their music. Parents can offset that negative talk by attentively listening to their child play music.* I can bring joy to people with my music. I can serve others with my music and bring them joy. So many of the audience don’t know how to play the piano, they wish they did.

Here is the link to the Facebook live stream from the 2018 Helen Elbert Chamber Music Festival hosted by East Texas Music Teachers Association. The bulk of piano study is isolating for piano students. They practice alone and take their lessons alone.  Finding opportunities to collaborate with other musicians can be a big benefit to piano students. A few ways you can collaborate with other musicians:* Boomwhackers* Duets with other piano players (siblings should proceed with caution LOL)* Piano ensemble* Playing with other instrumentalists: piano/violin, piano/flute, piano/guitar, piano* Even playing the same piano piece with another student takes a great deal of coordination and concentration. When you play with other musicians….* you must keep a steady beat. Solo pianists often slow down or stop to fix mistakes.* you learn to listen and respond to other players.* you deepen your understanding of music theory by following chord progressions or transposing music.* you learn to focus and concentrate on your part while listening to the other music. What if you don’t have other musicians to make music with?Consider the use of technology like the app GarageBand or a simple video camera. Solo piano students can learn a lot about music collaboration by recording their solo piano piece and then adding percussion and other band instruments to different tracks on GarageBand.  Here are my Boomwhacker Arrangements:Eye of the TigerMinuet in G (In the Key of Cool!) Thank you and welcome to new subscribers to the website, Marilyn and Carrie. I am glad you’re here.Thank you, Wendy, for the encouging review on iTunes. Wendy writes,“Many of us put our kids in piano lessons, but if we aren’t musical ourselves, are limited in our ability to support them. Shelly is a passionate music educator and thanks to this podcast we are all able to take advantage of her wonderful wisdom and tools to ignite a lifelong love of music.”

How could Episode 88 be about anything other than the instrument that brings us together every week? The piano! Resources on the history of the piano: We first told you about a book explaining the history of the piano in Episode 080: Ten Books to Read with Your Piano Kid“The Music of Life: Bartolomeo Cristofori & the Invention of the Piano” by Elizabeth Rusch.The Metropolitan Museum: The Pianos of Bartolomeo Cristofori  Resources on the design of the modern piano:Steinway & Sons About Page“Every STEINWAY & SONS grand and upright is a masterpiece of craftsmanship and a consummate work of art. Each STEINWAY piano, consisting of more than 12,000 individual parts, has its own musical character and is as unique as the individual who plays it.”Steinway & Sons Artists Profiles  I am not a piano expert but I found this interesting video that explains some the specific parts of the piano keys. This video demonstrates the function of the piano pedals. This iconic piano piece celebrates its 208th anniversary April 27, 2018There is a lot of speculation and mystery about who the “Elise” was for which Fur Elise was written. Was it Therese Malfatti von Rohrenbach zu Dezza, a friend and former student of Beethoven’s? Could it have been Elisabeth Rockel, a German soprano, also a friend of Beethoven’s?This article from the History Channel offers more information.No matter who it was written for, Fur Elise is one of the most often played and requested pieces for pianists.“Ludwig van Beethoven’s most important achievement was raising instrumental music to the upper echelons of art, when it was previously considered inferior to vocal music, and literature and painting. Through pieces such as “Für Elise”, he showed how a simple piano composition could contain as much emotion as any other art form.” #PianosinunexpectedplacesSo far I have found pianos at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Crazy Horse Memorial,

A Wise Puritan Proverb A few weeks ago my pastor shared a quote from John Bunyan, the author of The Pilgrim’s Progress.  “You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.” Over time that quote has been condensed to “Pray until you have prayed.” How do you know if you’ve prayed enough? Pray until you have prayed.With the idea of piano practice – How do you know if you’ve practiced enough? Practice until you’ve practiced. Practice until there is marked improvement. One quick side note: Episode 87?? My how time flies!Let’s hear it for the Canton High School Class of 87!! I didn’t mention this on the podcast (so this is a special treat only for show notes readers) but I was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” my Junior and Senior years of high school. Chris Chambless, the male counterpart my junior year, is the co-founder of a major energy company. I’m a piano teacher. By some measures he has far out-succeeded me but every time a piano student masters a new piece or surges with pride after a performance, I count that as a major success and I smile. Chris, if you’re reading this, congratulations on your well-deserved success! Some practical practice tips Your practice should be more than a clock watching exercise. There should be improvement after each practice session. Here are two ways I encourage my students to practice.Play and repeat and repeat and repeat – but not more than four timesPlay the piece or small section of a piece once. As you play, actively listen for problem areas. Find places that are difficult for your fingers to get to or where mistakes are happening.Decide on one problem to fix and focus on the notes or measure where the problem occurs.  Play only those notes slowly and intentionally to fix the error. Now that you are playing the correct notes with the correct fingers, repeat that section slowly to train your fingers to play it correctly.Actively listen with each repetition to make sure you are still playing correctly and that your fingers are getting more comfortable moving to the proper piano keys.The trick is not to play/repeat more than four times. If you’ve been carefully focusing, four times will be enough. If you aren’t playing carefully, then you are only ingraining the mistake in your muscle memory.As my student said to me the other day, “Muscle memory works both ways.”  This year’s recital practice incentive My studio recital is held the first Monday and Tuesday in May. I do this so that students have the remainder of May off and are able to focus on other end of school year activities. All year, my students have been collecting beads. They earn beads when they complete a book or participate in extra piano events,

Piano is about so much more than piano Sebastian has been a student in my studio for many, many years.  I have learned many things from him.When I first met him, he was a very busy first grader; it was all I could do to keep him engaged in his piano lessons. Now, he is a very busy junior in high school. These days, his busy-ness is more about serving others and helping various organizations in his school and community.Sebastian is becoming a wonderful young man, full of character. You can thank and congratulate his mom, Alma, for that. “I think it is so great to see children work through challenges and persevere. It is such a character building experience like none other that they can get except through piano.” Why are piano lessons important for your family?Sebastian suffers from dyslexia and piano is a great tool to help him. It helps train his brain, helps with reading and math. How do you schedule practice between lessons?Home practice can be difficult at our house because we are involved in lots of different activities, academic and otherwise. It is a challenge to strike the right balance between encouraging your child and making sure they are responsible with their practicing.Your piano lesson is not your practice time. It is the time for your teacher to work on trouble spots in the music or give you new material to work on.What motivates your child regarding piano study?The different studio incentives are a great motivator for students. From collecting beads to piano parties to festivals and convention, positive reinforcement helps keep students coming back to piano lessons.For Sebastian, one of my rules for him is that he will study piano. But for several years we’ve been going to the Texas Music Teachers Association convention every summer. Playing in ensemble  is a major highlight of the convention. To be able to play on an ensemble team, students must pass a written theory exam.While he’s at convention, Sebastian likes to hang out with other piano students and work as a convention page.What struggle has your piano kid overcome through piano study?Piano has really helped him being in front of people. Performing for parents, other students, and judges is a great learning experience. As he grows, he will find himself in other situations that are challenging and not always positive. Learning how to deal with negative feedback and criticism will serve him well as he enters the workforce and heads to college.As a teacher, I intentionally offer students opportunities to perform in various settings to help them learn to deal with jitters and anxiety and even negative experiences.Share a mountain top experience your child has enjoyed because of piano.Moving from the intermediate ensemble team to the high school ensemble team was a wonderful achievement for Sebastian. He determined that he was ready and he grew through that experience.As a teacher, I have been able to enjoy some mountaintop experiences through Sebastian’s work and achievements at convention. He was recognized as Page of the Year in 2016 and 2017.The TMTA convention is a very large event that requires many volunteers. I love that they give students the opportunity to help out. I really enjoying watching Sebastian work. He interacts with teachers (who can be little high strung in stressful situations!). He takes care of nervous parents. He works with judges and students. He knows how to conduct himself and be of service to others.

PPP085: Looking at the Big Picture with Piano Teacher, Nicole Douglas Piano teacher, Nicole Douglas, has learned how to look past the symptoms of children not wanting to practice or try new music. She looks deeper and searches for the underlying causes, which may surprise most people. Resources mentioned in this episode CourseraPiano Teacher Institute with Joy MorinNational Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP)Music Teachers National Association (MTNA)Maslow’s Hierarchy of NeedsEpisode 042 with Piano Parent, Beth HughesPiano Pronto Series with Jennifer EklundNinGenius Nicole recommends listening to the 3rd Movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata Nicole recommends listening to Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2 Connect with Nicole Douglas Nicole Douglas MusicNicole’s Blog “Connected Life Learning” 

The Power of Dynamics In addition to all the other concepts your piano kid learns when they study piano – Piano Geography, Understanding the Grand Staff,  and Rhythm Patterns – they must also learn how loudly and how quietly to play each note. According to Webster’s Dictionary, dynamics is “a variation and contrast in force or intensity.” In musical terms, teachers use the word dynamics to refer to the rise and fall of volume in a piece of music. Dynamics are what gives the music its expression and emotion. The first dynamic symbols your piano kid will learn In the first few months of piano study, your piano kid will most likely learn about forte and piano. Forte is the Italian word which means strong. When there is an f marked in the music (located between the two staves), musicians are to play with much intensity. They should use the full weight of their arm to help the hammer make solid contact with the piano string inside the instrument. Piano is the Italian word which means soft. When a composer intends for the music to be played gently and quietly, he or she will indicate this by placing a p between the staves. Often these symbols are lost in all the other musical details your piano kid is observing To help my students relate to the various dynamic marks, I compare them to a typical day at their school. The photos below describe the most common suggestions from my piano students. A lot of the time, students think they are playing at a different volume but the contrast in sound is not that much difference to the listener. These suggestions and encouragement will help your piano kid have a larger contrast and a bigger difference when they play loud sounds versus quiet sounds. There is a big difference in sound between being in the library at school and being on the playground. Students readily understand this and can apply it to their music.       Many thanks to the newest subscribers to the Piano Parent Podcast website. Welcome, Laura, Karen, and Cheryl. I hope this podcast will be a valuable resource as you work with your piano kid, whether they are your own children or your piano students. Thank you, Mark, for your kind review on iTunes, “My two youngest play the piano. I’m looking forward to applying the tips on here to be a better piano parent.” A huge shout out goes to my beautiful friend, Stephanie, who listens to the podcast when she goes on her morning run. Thanks for listening, friend. Finally, I posted a Facebook live video while I was at the park recording this episode. Congratulations and kudos to the Garcia family for helping their daughter prepare and succeed in the UT Tyler Piano Skills Festival and for attending the Honor Recital as a family with lovely, well-behaved children.              

Piano parent, Erica Hyland is the mom of Emily, an 11-year-old student in my studio. Emily began piano lessons in first grade and continues to learn to express herself and gain more confidence at the piano with every lesson. Why are piano lessons important to your family? Music was always important to Erica but in the early days of parenting, she and her husband could not afford to purchase a piano. Her older son wanted to learn piano but without an instrument to practice on, he couldn’t take lessons. He was finally able to begin lessons in high school and Erica regretted that he didn’t get to start sooner. Because of that, she made sure Emily started lessons as soon as possible. Erica’s grandfather was involved with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as director and organist. Every child has limitations, every HUMAN has limitations. Rather than focusing on what we cannot do, it is better to build on what we can do. Emily’s dwarfism might make some physical activities more challenging but that hasn’t stopped her from enjoying life to the fullest. Studying piano is an activity that Emily can not only enjoy for herself but she can use music to enrich the lives of those around her as well. How do you schedule practice at home? With a busy, large family, Erica has to be a flexible mother. Trying to keep a regular and regimented schedule just would not work in their home. Erica also knows that Emily works best in a positive, encouraging environment so she doesn’t give her a time limit of practice or set a timer. Instead, she tells Emily to practice her assigned pieces a certain amount of times. This helps Emily have a specific objective to accomplish rather than watching the clock. Piano parents, be careful to avoid making piano practice seem like a punishment. Try different things to find out what works for your piano kid. Do what causes the least amount of stress for the whole family. Piano study shouldn’t become another point of contention; it should be a “soft place to land”. Home piano practice is a family affair for the Hylands. Emily will often FaceTime her grandmother to play her pieces and get feedback on how she’s doing. What a delightful thing to share between a grandparent and a granddaughter! When her older brother is home from college he helps her with her theory homework. Many members of the family listen to Emily practice and give her encouragement while she works. I love this photo of Emily playing a duet with her grandmother. Look at those smiles! What motivates your piano kid regarding piano practice? Emily is motivated by the fact that God has blessed her with talent that she can give back to Him. She can use it to share with others. Knowing the answers in her 5th-grade music classes makes her feel pretty special too! In the future, Emily and Erica hope she will be able to serve her church with her piano playing. What struggles have your piano kids overcome through piano study? As Emily’s teacher, she and I analyze each piece to figure out the best way for her fingers to play the keys. Sometimes we alter the suggested fingering in the music score. Sometimes we alter the notes or eliminate a note. This provides great discussion about which note is most important and must not be edited. I try to help her think through the physical requirements of each piece and take ownership of how she needs to adapt it to be able to play it. With shorter legs, it is important for Emily to have a footstool to rest her feet on and give her stability as she sits on the piano bench. When she began lessons with me, I upgraded my Rubbermaid plastic footstool to a wonderful pedal extender. The pedal extender not only serves as a footrest but also allows Emily to press the damper and soft pedals. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the pedal extender to our spring recital last year!

Andy Hodson is a piano teacher from Chicago, Illinois. He has been loving music and learning to play piano for longer than he can remember and he hopes to never stop learning. Highlights from this week’s podcast: Andy’s family tells him that when he was a toddler, he would hear jingles and tunes from television and be able to play them on his grandparent’s piano by ear. His grandparents encouraged his mother to enroll him in piano lessons. His mother was leary to enroll him in lessons because of his young age but she located a teacher who came highly recommended. One of the teachers saw the potential in Andy and agreed to work with him. Mrs. Mary Ellen Bartlett was instrumental in not only Andy’s learning to play piano from that point until college but also in his learning to become a teacher. Though he was a good student, Andy struggled with lessons because he wanted to move very quickly. He would understand a concept and be eager to move on but his teacher insisted that he slow down and learn the “why” and take his time building his piano skills. Mrs. Bartlett helped Andy build a strong foundation. Piano parents need to understand that there is so much students are learning in their piano lessons. Concepts that may not be evident when they’re practicing their recital piece. Student reminder:  “Practice makes proficient, not perfect.” Every time you play, you’re going to make a mistake somewhere…and that’s fine. That’s the human element; it’s what makes making music so exciting. For adult students, Andy reminds them that learning to play piano takes a lifetime. “Ancora Imparo – Yet, I am learning.” commonly attributed to Michelango at the age of 87. “What did you learn today?” ~ Andy’s mom Parent reminder:  Piano parents need to know that the process of learning to play the piano is unique to any other type of learning their child does. Often parents don’t understand why teachers have students involved in piano events or parents want to push their child into activities that won’t benefit them like they would hope. One parent in Andy’s studio was confused when her daughter didn’t want to participate in piano competitions. She asked, “Why are you taking piano lessons if you’re not going to do anything with it?” Andy asked this mother, “Does your daughter love to play the piano? Why can’t that be enough?” This communication helped the mother gain a new perspective on the value of her daughter’s piano lessons. Teacher motivation:  Andy is most motivated when a student suddenly understands something he’s been trying to explain for several lessons. That moment when you can see their eyes change and you know they get it. Once they get it, they just soar! Favorite Piece to Teach Students: “I love to teach pieces I’ve performed. Currently, I have a student preparing for college and working on the Gershwin Preludes.” For the most part, Andy simply enjoys teaching his students music that they love. To see them excited makes him excited to teach the piece. Apps and Technology: Andy admits that he is very old school when it comes to technology. He jokes that the most technological he gets is the metronome app on his cellphone. His conservatory training was very traditional and he enjoys passing that style along to his students. That being said, he is interested in the Player App that is available for students who study the Piano Adventur...

March Photo Challenge – but first, an introductionBeing a podcaster, I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you that I enjoy listening to lots of podcasts. Lately, I’ve been bingeing on James Clear. Although James is not a podcaster, (he’s a blogger and you can find him at JamesClear.com AFTER you finish listening to my podcast!) he is invited to guest on many podcasts, especially those about productivity, habits, fitness, and entrepreneuring.One podcast I listened to the other day focused on one of James’ blog articles, “The Difference Between Professionals and Amateurs.” You can read the whole article here. He starts the article with this paragraph:I’ve started to notice (partially because of my own failures), that there is one skill that is so valuable that it will make you a standout in any area of life, no matter what kind of competition you face.Then James spends some time setting up a great storyline to draw the reader into his article and wonder, “What is that one skill that is so valuable that it will make you a standout in any area of life?” For the purposes of my podcast, and because I’ve read the article, I will jump ahead and give you the answer.The ability to show up every day, stick to the schedule, and do the work — especially when you don’t feel like it — is so valuable that it is literally all you need to become better 99% of the time.This is great Shelly, but what does it have to do with my piano kid and a March Photo Challenge??One of the biggest challenges piano parents face is motivating their piano kid to get to the piano to practice.For a child to succeed at piano, they must follow James’ advice. They must show up every day, stick to the schedule, and do the work.James Clear admits that he wouldn’t have become a blogger if he hadn’t committed to posting a blog post on a consistent basis. He chose to write every Monday and Thursday. He didn’t write only if he felt motivated. He wrote because it was scheduled and he was committed.I have found the same thing to be true with my podcast. If I had only learned about podcasting and dreamed about podcasting and thought about doing it one day, that day would have never arrived. Instead, I determined to publish a podcast every Monday. Some are better than others but I am learning as I go and making gradual improvements. (It used to take me two or three hours to edit a 30-minute episode!!)I learned how to podcast by watching Pat Flynn’s free YouTube Tutorial “How to Start a Podcast”.Do you have a topic you’d like me to cover on the podcast? Please let me know about it in the comments section or by emailing me shelly@pianoparentpodcast.com.The same thing is true for your piano kid. They will learn to play the piano by playing the piano. The problem is that sometimes telling them to go practice is met with reluctance if not outright resistance. That’s where the March Photo Challenge can help.The March Photo Challenge can give you and your piano kid a new, fun reason to get to the pianoThe various prompts that Dawn Ivers and I put together will give your child a new incentive to sit down at the piano. They will also spark some ideas for creativity. Here are a few ideas for some of the prompts.Day 20 – Lento (a musical term indicating a slow tempo) you can photograph part of your child’s...

Ten Books to Read with Your Piano Kid Welcome to the Piano Parent Podcast show notes for Episode 080. Every tenth episode features a list of ten things to help you in your musical journey. Today’s episode is one of my favorites: Ten Books to Read with Your Piano Kid! Click here to listen to the other Tenth Episodes. Thanks to my co-host and fellow book lover, Dawn Ivers for offering her top picks. Book One Children’s Book of Music DK Publishing (Reference book for all ages) We like this book as it serves as a great reference for piano students to learn about musical time periods, types of music, and listen to great music. You can study a few pages at a time and enjoy different parts depending on what you interests you. Here is a YouTube video of Britten’s “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra” Book Two Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue Anna Harwell Calenza (Picture book with listening CD for ages 6-9) This book gives the backstory behind the composing of Rhapsody in Blue. The more history I learn about a topic, the more interested I become. This book tells an interesting story with lovely, colorful pictures. Gershwin’s masterpiece was featured in Disney’s Fantasia 2000. I just love this video! Book Three Nina: Jazz Legend and Civil-Rights Activist, Nina Simone  Alice Briere-Haquet (Short picture book for ages 4-8) In addition to telling the story of Nina Simone, this book also conveys the idea that music is for all people and dreams need to be taken care of. Highlighting the subject matter, this book uses lovely black and white illustrations. A moving book for children and parents alike, just in time for February’s Black History Month. Nina Simone was the recommended musician that Nicola Cantan referred to in her teacher interview in Episode 071. Book Four Becoming Bach Tom Leonard (Picture book for ages 4-8) A beautiful first book written by illustrator, Tom Leonard. Even if you aren’t interested in music, the book is worth a look for the illustrations alone. This book features patterns which are a mainstay of music while telling the story of Johan Sebastian Bach. These Bach pieces contain lovely pattern-based melodies that you and your piano kid might enjoy. Bach Cello Suite in G Prelude in C for piano Book Five

Hear Music, Play Music, Read Music I was reading this article on Psychology Today about whether music is a universal language or not. Here is the checklist I found at the National Institute of Health. You can compare your young child’s development with the typical progression of skills. Music is a language in the sense that it helps convey emotions by changing pitch, rhythm, and tempo.  Like any language, it can be learned by hearing and experiencing before it is read or written. Piano lessons often get this progression backward. We, teachers, tend to gravitate toward reading music, using books. Here is the episode I mentioned, Episode 075: Piano Doodling. Tips for Supplementing Hearing and Playing Music Listen to music in the car Sing in the car Listen to Episode 010: Ten Ways to Encourage a Love of Music Attend Concerts Sing at church and have your child involved in the church children’s choir Attend school musicals and concerts Watch these fun YouTube videos from Episode 040 Give your piano kid time to babble or doodle at the piano Let them “Get SMART” with their music (Episode 036 and Episode 039) The saying “See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil” has been popular in my family. Here is a silly picture that was taken with my father and Tracy when we visited the Ice sculptures at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas a few years ago. I’d like to extend a warm welcome to the following new subscribers to the website: Cametra, Susan, Luis, and Nistha. Thank you for being here! Thanks to eRinehart 93 for leaving this nice review on iTunes, “Getting some great value from this podcast as well as insights into the piano parents’ mindset…” Save this chart for the March Photo Challenge: