I remember watching the movie Shine twentysomething years ago. In it, “Rach 3” (Rachmaninoff’s Third piano concerto) is presented as the great white whale of the piano repertoire. The...
There’s a time and a place for practice. But when practice isn’t happening, that’s not the time to introduce guilt or forced practice into the equation. There’s no better...
If your piano lessons are exactly what you expect them to be, what are you getting from them? There’s a general lack of musicianship in our adult population. We’re...
One of the great insights I’ve gained from studying the work of music learning researcher Edwin Gordon is that music is better understood when listening for content within a...
In my last post I talked about the importance of looking at piano students in the context of their communities, not in isolation. Today I want to talk about...
Last week a friend of a friend posted on Facebook lamenting the diminishing possibilities for the music school graduate. He’s graduating from one of the best music schools in...
Music literacy is rare and private lessons are not addressing the issue. It’s important when music educators are planning curricula for our students that we consider how activities contribute...
46 years, wow! So much has changed, and so little! Thanks for the birthday wishes! I’m really feeling the love this year. I’ve got more students than I’ve ever...