Author: J.C

Terrifying!! One main goal of piano teachers is to teach ourselves out of a job; students should be well versed enough in piano reading, literature and technique, that they can sit down and learn a piece of music without any extra input. However, getting to that place takes work! Here are some tips for those… Continue reading How to Practice a new piece – BY YOURSELF!

I have to admit, I've never been a fan of counting rhythm. I've always had an ear for music, and could usually guess the right rhythms for the music; counting rhythm out loud was the bane of my existence as a child! However, rhythmic awareness is one of the most crucial components of learning and… Continue reading Rhythm and rhythmic awareness.

No, literally: it's "Not Di-Fi-Cult". I was blown away by this simple solution to the challenge of playing straight notes VS triplets (also known as 2 vs 3) on the piano. Essentially, when taking a section of RH playing triplets and LH playing straight notes, the first two notes land together, and the next three… Continue reading 2 VS 3: It’s ‘Not Difficult’!

Todays short blog post will be a few tips and tricks for getting those trills in tip top shape! If you didn't catch last weeks post, you can find it here; I went over the common trills you see in music, and how to play them. Now, How to practice trills! Hold that note! Hold… Continue reading How to practice – Trills

Trills! Today i'm going to go over the types of trills a pianist will encounter in their music! Next week I will go over ways to practice these, for a quick and beautiful sound. Appogiatura Appogiatura's are written as a small eighth note, slurred to a longer (normal sized) note. Despite it being written to… Continue reading Trills, trills, trills!

I was going to write a paragraph about breathing for singers, but I found this wonderful link courtesy of Thefullvoice.com, and it did the work for me! Take a quick read and watch the linked video  - enjoy!

Scales: Everyone's best friend and worst enemy (frenemy?). I don't know a single person who loves playing scales, but they are SO essential for developing finger strength and dexterity, evenness of touch and tone quality. Here are a few tips to make practice a little less painful/more varied! First of all, try playing scales with… Continue reading Scale Practice Tips

There are so many fun apps that help students learn while gaming - a great way to practice without it feeling like practicing. Here are a couple you can try at home! Staff Wars: This game has the feel of a space based arcade game, where students shoot the correct note from their fighter jet… Continue reading iPad Apps to make piano fun

Vocal onset! One of the most important parts of vocal technique, vocal onset is the way a singer begins the sound. There are three types of onset, but only one of them is the best way - not just for beautiful tone and production, but also for the health of your vocal chords. Type 1:… Continue reading Todays Tidbit: Onset!

I've finally gotten around to a project i've wanted to start for a while - mini video tutorials on youtube! Hopefully these will help students as they practice through the week, and need a refresher on their pieces. Here's a link to the first video! Click me!