February 2018

What Goes On in the Theory Lab?

The first hour of our students’ lessons is relatively conventional—they sit down in front of the piano with a teacher, study pieces, and learn about musical playing. However, another equally important part of their lessons is their time in the Theory Lab. We know that the study of music theory, or how music is created, […]

Piano Practice Tips: Practicing SMARTER

Practicing can be really fun, but occasionally, after practicing so long, students can start to feel stuck or that they can’t do what their teachers are asking them to. Yes, practicing is hard work, but is there a way to make it more effective? According to Peter Brown, there is! In his book Make it Stick, […]

YouTube Competition 2018 – It’s Recording Week!

It’s almost the end of February… which means we are closing in on deadline for the Piano Marvel YouTube competition! If you missed it last year, here’s how the competition works: Students of any age (and this year, adults too!) can learn a piece using Piano Marvel, record themselves playing it, and submit the video […]

Recitals are Over…Now What?

We are so proud of all of our students who participated in our recitals this weekend! Everyone prepared so well and performed excellently. Now, many of our students may be thinking, “What’s next? I’m done with my piece, so what do I do now?” The week immediately following a recital performance is […]

The Power of Perseverance–by Sidsie Vaughn

Sometimes life is hard, and that’s a fact. We are often faced with situations and tasks that we really don’t want to deal with. So what are we supposed to do with these hard times? I often have the temptation to quit or to take it easy for a while. But that would defeat the purpose of […]

Using Slow Practice Before a Piano Recital

Our February recitals are coming up, so we’ve been hearing lots of practice performances around the Academy lately! Students and parents sometimes ask us, “What’s the best way to prepare for a piano recital?” Of course, there are lots of great answers, but one that sometimes gets overlooked is slow practice. Why use this strategy? It […]

The Results are In: Winners of the SASR Challenge!

We had tons of fun focusing on sight-reading in January, and we’re excited to announce the winners in each category! First, some overall statistics: 101 students participated in the competition Several faculty members used the SASR to practice sight-reading as well At least one person took the SASR every single day in January (except New […]

51 Ways to Tell Your Child “Good Job!” During Piano Practice

Piano practice is hard work… so kids need a lot of encouragement! Whether you’re sitting with your child for the whole duration of their practicing, or just listening from afar, you can help them enjoy the process and want to continue. Lots of the time, though, parents (and teachers!) can get stuck in the same […]

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