It’s Friday morning of Spring Break here, and because I will be attending the MTNA National Conference in San Antonio the first week of April, I’ve been teaching all week although with a much lighter schedule, which has been refreshing.
Last night I played for a Maundy Thursday service. I’m sad to say it was the first time I’ve ever attended one! Some Christian denominations observe this as an integral part of Holy Week, but growing up in the Church of Christ, we didn’t observe it as we did Good Friday and Easter.
The independent Churches of Christ don’t focus on the liturgy of the church year as do our Lutheran and Catholic brothers and sisters so when I accepted a job playing at the Lutheran Church in our town, it was quite an experience. It took me several months to get used to the layout of the service and to be comfortable with the liturgy (simply knowing when to play in the service).
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After exhausting much of my piano solo music, I purchased What Can I Play on Sunday the Complete Collection and just in time for Lent! What a great resource this has been and at a Late Intermediate level the repertoire is “meaty” (if you can call repertoire “meaty” that is…), but I can easily sight-read the pieces or master them with just one or two run-throughs. Alfred’s Sacred Collection is amazing. You can purchase this book in smaller volumes but why? Go for the complete set!
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An interesting timeline of what happened on Good Friday.
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I’ve already ordered and am loving many of Joy’s sheet music suggestions to use for my Spring Recital from her post My Favorite Sheet Music Solos for Piano Students.
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Snapchat in a music studio? Hmm…Check out Daniel Patterson’s How to Bond With Your Students Using Snapchat.
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Some great Easter Brunch ideas. I love brunch, but it never happens for me on Sunday as I play for one church at 9:30 and then attend our home church service with my husband at 11:00. This post stole my heart because she talks about some of my favorite breakfast foods: quiche, french toast, eggs benedict, a good cup of coffee, and of course, bacon (except use THIS recipe – Maple-Candied Bacon it’s my favorite and is to DIE for!). Just make sure you put parchment paper on the bottom of your baking sheet to bake the bacon on, or it will be a nightmare to clean up!
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I just discovered Doug’s Portland Piano Lab blog about six months ago and am enjoying his clear and fresh writing style. A nice short post on the theory of Why Some Chords are More Stable than Others.
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The 15 Best Podcasts for Entrepreneurs highlights 3 of my favorites; This is Your Life with Michael Hyatt, Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn, and The Tim Ferris Show.
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Like Leila, I too have toyed with using different terms for my theory lab/computer lab/music lab, whatever you want to call it. It may seem silly but picking the right term is important and so is highlighting the uniqueness of the lab time in your studio in making you stand out!
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I can’t wait to make Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. Don’t be scared, garlic turns sweet and caramelizes when roasted, so it sounds bad but is oh, so good!
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Looking for some more Easter food ideas? Check out my Pinterest “Spring-Easter” board for lots of eye-candy and inspiration.
Happy weekend!
