Each Friday on this blog, I will share some of my favorite finds from the past week. I absorb a lot of content in Feedly so I’m looking forward to helping you as busy teachers see what’s worth checking out! You will find anything from teaching articles, podcasts, music news, recipes, favorite pieces, and more. I promise to try to keep it under 10 items!
In this information age, we can only absorb and implement so many improvements in our teaching at once so I love when I come across unique posts that aren’t about materials or better pedagogical techniques but are still pertinent to piano teachers and my first two finds are just that!
2
Sara Campbell over at Sara’s Music Studio shared her 2016 Piano Recital Fun Mix playlist on Spotify. I’m excited to use this playlist as pre-recital and intermission music for my upcoming recital!
3
Apparently it’s “Get-to-know-Tim-Topham” week in the piano world! Hugh Sung did an interview with Tim as a part of his special podcast series on Musical Entrepreneurs, and Leila and Tim did a Google Hangout (watch on YouTube) which included a follow-up blog post. In Hugh’s podcast especially, you will get a sneak peak into how his past experiences have played into his current pedagogical philosophy and career aspirations.
4
Michele Cushatt, host of This is Your Life Podcast with Michael Hyatt just wrote a post that, even without children, still impacted me. When Career and Family Collide will be a post I will bookmark and read periodically to keep my life balance in check. It felt even more impactful finding out in the post that Michele has experienced a whole slew of career/family schedules including being a part-time piano-teaching mom(!) and an entrepreneurial home-office mom.
5
I just found composer Dennis Alexander’s YouTube channel! He is a gem in the piano world with his beautiful pieces and arrangements. There are only about 25 videos total but there are a variety of selections from Romantic Style, Jazzy Style, Favorite Solos, 24 Character Preludes, and the Premier Piano Course.
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My computer desktop is always beautiful and culinarily exciting with French food writer Clotilde’s monthly desktop calendars.
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Right on the heels of my post on Icing your Studio, came a post on Music Teachers Helps Blog on 6 Ways to Spruce Up Your Music Studio. Take a look around your studio and see what little tweaks you can make to spruce or clean-up your space. It’s a place where we’re meant to inspire so let’s make the space itself inspiring!
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Save this article to use in your newsletters throughout the year: 12 Articles that Prove Benefits of Music Instruction.
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Natalie has a giveaway going on of a rote-pieces book called Little Gems for Piano.
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I should have done this “find” last week but it didn’t dawn on me until Cinqo de Mayo was here that I should share my favorite go-to Mexican recipes! I’m a Mexican-food junkie who rarely makes the same food twice so you can count on the fact that if I’ve made it over and over, it’s good! I would consider all of these easy recipes too which is even better!
To start off, you must have…
- Guacamole! For me, when it comes to guac, less is more. Marcella Valladolid’s recipe keeps it simple with avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. White onion preferred.
- Guacamole Salad. This is so fresh and healthy. Eat it as a side with grilled chicken on use it as a topper for tacos or nachos.
- Along the same lines as the guacamole Salad, this Black Eyed Pea Salsa is super fresh and DELICIOUS. I made it once for my husband’s pitch-in at work and apparently it made me famous.
- I’m a sucker for Pulled Pork and love topping it with cilantro, avocado, cabbage, radish, queso fresco, and sometimes even simply salsa or guacamole.
- Cheesy Enchilada Casserole a.k.a. “Mexican Lasagna.”
- You can even have Mexican for breakfast with this super-simple and fast recipe for Baked Eggs with Salsa Verde. I don’t make my own salsa verde as their recipe suggests. Although it’s totally something I would normally do, we all need our “quick” recipes and I just use store-bought salsa verde. If you don’t make this for breakfast, then I am totally an advocate of breakfast for dinner!
Thanks for the link, Amy! I hope your students love the Spotify playlist!
I’m already enjoying it myself! Fun choices!
Nice collection of nuggets. Pulled pork = nummy!