Friday Finds #237: Best-of-December

December 16, 2021
by Amy
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Happy End of 2021 everyone! Unless I just end up having a big list of goodies pile up by New Year, I plan for this to be the last Friday Finds of 2021!

 

Christmas Treats

 

1

I have been connected to and following fellow teacher Daniel Light for quite some time and especially love his #thingspianostudentssay hashtag. It wasn’t until recently I discovered he has quite a lovely website and fabulous piano arrangements including some Christmas ones!

 

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My new favorite Christmas candy – Andes Peppermint Crunch! I grabbed a bag of these randomly while at the story early in the season and they did not last long, oh my!

Peppermint + white chocolate + Andes brand = heaven to me.

 

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How to Wrap a Gift the Williams Sonoma Way

 

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As you continue to tickle your ears with all kinds of Christmas music, try some of my holiday playlists including Christmas Jazz and Christmas Classics, and Christmas Worship.

 

Holiday Eats

 

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A few things I’m looking forward to trying in the next few weeks:

Dill Dip (The Kitchn) Always with cucumbers. Always.
The Very Best Chocolate Cookies (Pinch of Yum)
Cranberry Pecan Bread (Smitten Kitchen)
Maple Glazed Ham (Cook’s Country) This is the ham I make every Christmas
Cauliflower Fried Rice with Ham and Egg (The Kitchn)

 

A Year in Recap

 

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A year in review from some fellow piano teacher friends:

The 5 Best Books I Read in 2021 (Ashley Danyew)
A 5-Point Countdown of the Best of 2021 (Amy Chaplin | Piano Pantry)
2021 in review: 10 Resources You Might Have Missed (Chrissy Ricker)
My 2021 Studio Snapshot – A Music Teacher’s Guide to Measuring the Year & Setting Goals (Janna Carlson | Studio Rocket Web Design)

 

In the News

 

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Inflation hits highest level since 1982 (NPR)

 

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I mentioned this in last week’s Advent Friday Finds, but you still have until the end of the month to catch the 50% off sale over at Prima Music.

 

Music Notation

 

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The Big Free Music Notation Image Library (Midnight Music)

I was very late to the game discovering Katie Wardrobe and her podcast, Music Tech Teacher. Ever since, however, I’ve been enjoying her email list. this month she shared a great Advent calendar with lots of goodies including this free music notation library!

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Speaking of music notation image files, Joy Morin also has some great hand-drawn music-notation images as well as Music Symbol PNG Files

 

Podcast Episodes

 

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The Three Santa’s of Slovenia (99% Invisible)

A fun podcast to listen to this holiday season! Kids in Slovenia don’t have to settle for just one santa! Each santa has had his moment in the spotlight—each in a different period of Slovenia’s complicated history.

 

12

James Clear Discusses Personality Types and Atomic Habits (Typology)

I’ve been a fan of James Clear for years – even prior to his famous book Atomic Habits. This podcast is for anyone who has an interest in the Enneagram and is hosted by Ian Morgan Cron, author of the famous book The Road Back to You

 

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The Life and Legacy of Stephen Sondheim (The Daily)

Around Thanksgiving, the musical world lost a great. This podcast is a nice reflection on his life and all the beautiful creations he left behind.

 

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7-Figure Music School

Friend and colleague Daniel Patterson of Grow Your Music Studio along with Nate Shaw of Brooklyn Music Factory has launched a new podcast for music school owners.

 

A 5-Point Countdown of the Best of 2021

December 16, 2021
by Amy
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Do you often find yourself wondering what happened to the last 12 months.? Life can move so quickly!

While it may feel a bit cliche at times, the clear distinction in time as the end of the year approaches really does make for a wonderful opportunity for reflection.

Every year when I start this process I go into it thinking that I’ve not accomplished as much as I wanted. Making the effort to look back puts me in my place every time because there is so much we can easily forget!

Whether you’re going through blog posts like I am or scrolling through photos on your phone, take a moment to feel gratitude for what life brought in 2021. I won’t pretend life is always warm fuzzies but we made it. We’re here and life is moving forward.

Here is a 5-point countdown to some of the best from me to you here on Piano Pantry in the past year. This year I also celebrated 5 years of this blog! Wahoo!

5 New Products

Happy Birthday By Ear: The Ultimate Teaching Resources

Enable your students to always be prepared to play Happy Birthday at request – without music.

Flexible for students of all levels, this step-by-step guide boost the confidence of both teacher and student on playing the piece by ear

A Big One-Minute Club Update and Two Free (Landmark Note) Downloads

The One-Minute Club is a great studio-wide note-naming challenge. One of my teacher friends told me the free landmark download is the prettiest they’ve ever seen! 🙂

A Sequenced Assignment Series for At-Home Practice with Note Rush

This product was a result of wanting to give all my students well-sequenced, note-naming assignments to do at home each week that focused on small groups of notes at a time with lots of repetitions. Rather than creating these assignments manually for every student every week, I sat down and designed an entire well-sequenced set all at once.

Teachers will find it especially useful when using it in conjunction with any kind of online assignment tools such as email, Google Docs, or Tonara.

Consulting Sessions with Amy

Would you love to “pick the brain” of a fellow savvy IMT on something you’re struggling with? Fresh inspiration and helpful feedback are right at your fingertips. I’m really excited to now be offering consulting sessions!

The Most Versatile Christmas Book You’ll Ever Own

This unique and versatile Christmas book is a format like no other.

Students will walk through the process of what they hear in 8 famous Christmas tunes, learn to play from a chord chart, and create a variety of variations.

 

4 food-focused Posts

Food Prep and the Studio Schedule – Three of my best food prep tips for keeping your meal-time work efficient and organized so when you walk in the door late at night, you can breathe easy knowing dinner will be ready in a jiffy!

Music Teacher Eats: A Week of Easy, Healthy Meals (Fall Edition) – A new series designed to ease the burden of meal planning as a studio music teacher!

My Trader Joe’s Shopping List – Any other TJ fans out there? If so, here is my go-to list of items when I am lucky enough to make the trek to my favorite grocer!

My Perfect Homemade Student Christmas Gifts: Homemade Hot Cocoa – Soooo easy and students are always delighted.

3 Big Organization Tips

Sync Student Birthdays to your Calendar with My Music Staff

Purging Old College Notes and Professional Magazines

Organizing Your Hardcopy Music Books

2 Discontinued Resources

It was a sad day for many when we discovered that Piano Explorer Magazine and the RCM Theory Apps were both discontinued!

1 New Assignment Sheet

A Star Wars-Themed Assignment Sheet

Do you have any particular resources that were a huge win for you this year? Share in the comments!

Thank you for a great year, my friends and I look forward to what 2022 has to bring!

~Amy

WRAP-UP POSTS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS

2020 Top-10  Countdown

The Fabulous Five: Top Posts from 2019

Top Posts from 2018: The Best of the Best

Top Posts from 2017: Your Favorite Topics All in One Place

Piano Pantry’s Best of 2016 

A Star Wars-Themed Assignment Sheet

December 13, 2021
by Amy
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Do you have any students who are Star Wars fans? This Star Wars-themed assignment sheet might be just what they need!

It’s been over three years since I posted a new assignment sheet in Assignment Sheet Central. With many returning to in-person lessons following the pandemic, I decided it was time to fulfill a request I had for this themed assignment sheet.

Due to copyright issues, the font and clip art are not exact Star Wars replicas, but I got it as close as I could to give it the overall feel.

Access this assignment sheet as part of the growing assignment sheet bundle!

Friday Finds #236: Advent

December 10, 2021
by Amy
2 Comments

 

1

There are several online piano teacher friends sharing Advent Calendar goodies. Check back every day for new finds, resources, and giveaways!

Midnight Music (Katie Wardrobe) 

Vibrant Music Teaching (Nicola Cantan)

Francis Clark Center for Piano Pedagogy

 

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Christmas Freebies on MusicNotes.com (Chrissy Ricker)

 

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December is a time many of us have fun holiday group classes. Check out Lauren’s piano ensemble music:

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

Jingle Bells

 

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A Holiday Lap-Tap Duet on We Three Kings (Teach Piano Today)

 

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We’re halfway through and I already shared this in Best-of-November, but here is an Advent playlist on Spotify for your enjoyment through the rest of this season.

I also have several Christmas playlists including Christmas Jazz and Christmas Classics, and Christmas Worship.

 

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Recent recipe finds:

Slow Cooker Bang-Bang Chicken (The Magical Slow Cooker); serve with rice.

Mississippi Pot Roast (The Magical Slow Cooker); serve on top of a baked potato or alongside rice, quinoa, or mashed potatoes.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal (Sweet Savory and Steph)

 

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Did you hear? Prima Music is going out of business! So sad! Prima was my go-to for quite a long time. Pop over there through the month of December for 50% off EVERYTHING while supplies last.

 

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5 Fresh Christmas Arrangements for Church Pianists (Chrissy Ricker)

 

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Deck the Halls piano duet (Natalie Weber | Music Matters Blog)

 

Consulting Now Available – Get 15% off

November 26, 2021
by Amy
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Are you looking to make some changes/improvements to your business?

Do you wish you could get some advice and direction for the next step in your growth as a teacher?

Would you like to work side-by-side with another teacher to improve one specific area of your studio?

I love hearing from you and working with you and am now excited to offer a new consulting service!

While I am confident and well-versed in many areas of piano pedagogy and running an independent music studio, topics of particular strength/interest include:

  • Studio business management (communication, payments, policies)
  • Studio marketing and social media
  • Productivity & Organization
  • Email management
  • Building rapport with the current families in your studio
  • Music Learning Theory application for piano
  • Piano methods, materials, and resources
  • Speaking and presenting skills (at a professional level)

 

What is a Consulting Session like?

(1) Purchase your 45-minute consultation session

(2) I will contact you within 24 hours to set up a time for our online session

(3) Prior to the meeting, I will send you a questionnaire so I have context about your background, teaching experience, and area(s) of inquiry

(4) During the meeting, I will focus the discussion on your area(s) of concern, including personalized advice, observations, and suggested resources

(5) After the meeting, I will send a follow-up email summarizing the ideas and suggested resources discussed during our time together

 

FAQ’s

Is this like coaching?

Kind of but rather than an ongoing, recurring setup, a consulting session is a great way to get a little direction and freshen up an area of your teaching/business without a big financial or time commitment.

Why individual sessions?

Taking the next step or working to improve areas of our teaching and business can feel overwhelming because our profession requires we wear many “hats.”

A single session will allow us to focus our time on one struggle you are having so implementation and growth feel achievable and productive.

Can we do more than one?

Yes, of course! If after the first meeting, you would like to work more together on the topic at hand or address another area of growth, recurring sessions will be made available at request.

 

Launch Discount

In celebration of the launch of these consulting services (and since it’s Black Friday!), you can get 15% off.

Use code CONSULTLAUNCH15 at checkout.

This offer expires on Saturday, December 4, 2021.

P.S. You simply have to purchase by this date. The consultation session will be booked for a later time. 

Friday Finds #235: Best-of-November

November 24, 2021
by Amy
2 Comments

Happy end of November! Here are a few photos from my family’s gathering. We love turkey day!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and will take time this weekend to rest and recharge for the season ahead.

Now I can say, welcome to Advent/Christmas! 🙂

 

1

A Holiday Wishlist for Music Teachers and 10 Supplemental Collections for Intermediate Piano Students (Ashley Danyew)

 

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10 Films About Piano Players You Might Want to See (Doug Hanvey | Portland Piano Lab)

What a wonderful list!

 

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My next public playlist on Spotify: Advent.

 

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Two baked oatmeal recipes we recently enjoyed: Chocolate Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal and Cinnamon Raisin (Sweet Savory and Steph)

 

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After reading my post on organizing printed music, Natalie has been cleaning out and updating her own music files. Check out her before and after photos and get a free download of folder labels. (Natalie Weber | Music Matters Blog)

 

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Piano Recital Showdown: Zoom Recital vs. Playlist Recital vs. In-Person Recital (Rebekah Maxner)

 

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Create a Virtual Holiday Recital in 5 Minutes (or less!) (Chrissy Ricker)

 

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Chrissy also has a great round-up of holiday resources including ear-training activities, improv, lead sheets, and more. (Chrissy Ricker)

 

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Speaking of holiday resource round-ups, I’ll add mine to the mix – December Fun: Christmas Games and Activities for Your Studio (Piano Pantry)

 

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A few years ago I started choosing a new devotional book to read each Advent season.

This year I choose a book recommended by my pastor – Clarifying Christmas by Mike Edmisten.

Do you have any favorite Advent reads? Share in the comments!

 

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A new worksheet on Identifying Ledger Lines and Who buys the music books – teacher or student? (Joy Morin | Color in my Piano)

 

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10 Rules for Holiday Gift Giving (The Lazy Genius Podcast)

 

Big Discounts on My Favorite Recipe and Password Manager Apps

November 22, 2021
by Amy
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I recommend many resources and tools here on Piano Pantry to help you be more organized and productive in your personal and studio life. Find a list of those resources here: Recommended Resources.

Two of those are LastPass, my favorite password manager, and Paprika, my favorite recipe app.

Both of them have big sales going on this week.

 

All four versions of Paprika are on sale from now until the end of November.

Sale prices will vary by country, but the currently displayed prices on their website, the App Store, and the Play Store are indeed the correct prices.

Some of my favorite features of this app are:

  1. You can purchase a desktop version
  2. It has a built-in browser, so you can browse the internet directly in the app and download recipes directly from there
  3. You can download a browser bookmarklet so you can download recipes from the browser you use on a daily basis.

iOS and Android apps are currently 40% off:
Paprika 3 for iOS
Paprika 3 for Android

MacOS and Windows apps are currently 50% off:
Get Paprika 3 for macOS
Get Paprika 3 for Windows

 

Gone are the days of repeating the same password over and over or using the same one but changing one number every month, or, like my dad, writing it down on a half-dozen index cards (oh my!).

Some of my favorite features of the premium version of Last Pass are:

  1. Get access to all devices.
  2. Generate passwords that are secure and customizable
  3. It’s more than just for passwords! Save:
    • Health Insurance Informaiton
    • Drivers Licenses
    • Credit Cards
    • Bank Accounts
    • Wi-Fi Passwords

Save and secure personal information in one location.

 

Get 25%

On November 23-29th, 2021, LastPass is running a 25% off sale for annual plans.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity!

Signup here. 

My Perfect Homemade Student Christmas Gift: Hot Cocoa

November 15, 2021
by Amy
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If there’s one type of gift you will likely never see me give students, it’s a hand-made craft. Don’t get me wrong; there’s absolutely nothing wrong with those types of gifts – I think they’re fabulous. I am just a TERRIBLE crafter!

Luckily, we have Joy Morin at ColorinMyPiano.com for those types of student gifts. 🙂 She has many great homemade ideas on her site, including paper ornaments, glass ornaments, and mittens.

What my students WILL get from me is some kind of baked good or food item. My favorite is a homemade hot chocolate mix because what kid doesn’t love hot chocolate?!

Let’s pause for an important question.

Do you call it “Hot Cocoa” or “Hot Chocolate”?

I usually say, “Hot Chocolate.” I only used “Cocoa” in the title because it was shorter. Ha! LOL

Tell me what you call it in the comments! 🙂

This post will show you how to put together this fun homemade gift!

Recipe Considerations

Since I’m not exactly a recipe website, I’m not sharing the recipe directly but have recommended ones online you can use (like I do!)

My favorite recipe is from Cook’s Country, but since it’s a paid recipe service, here are some other versions you could try from Pioneer Woman and AllRecipes. 

Consider recipes made with powdered milk, so students only have to add hot water.  Along those same lines, I would advise you to not do the layered-type cocoa mix where you have to dump the whole container into a pot to mix.

What all these recipe mixes have in common:

  • Dry milk powder
  • Unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Confectioner’s sugar (dissolves better than white sugar)

(P.S. The only addition to this Cook’s Country is white chocolate chips and a bit of salt.)

Since the Cook’s Country recipe uses white chocolate chips, they have you mix the recipe in a food processor to get the chips into smaller pieces so they will dissolve better/quicker.

Unfortunately, this happens when you process dry powder stuff in a food processor. It’s a blustery mess! LOL

Continue reading

Music-Themed Bookmarks for Student Christmas Gifts

November 15, 2021
by Amy
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What are some of the most typical Christmas gifts for students you can think of?

Ornaments, candy, and hand-crafted goodies likely came to mind, am I right?

In this post, Christmas Gift Ideas for Music Students: Who Couldn’t Use Another Idea even, I shared many ideas in these same gift categories (well, except hand-crafted because that is not me!).

In this post, I want to share an idea that I had never considered giving as a student Christmas gift until I learned magnetic bookmarks were a thing!

Magnetic Bookmarks

I don’t know how long magnetic bookmarks existed before I discovered them, but whoever invented them must be the most brilliant person ever. Ha! OK, I exaggerate, but how smart is that?!

When I saw these music-themed magnetic bookmarks on Amazon, I thought they could make the perfect gift!

At $3.95 per pack, they are admittedly on the pricier side of a student gift, but if time is a highly valued commodity as opposed to cost or if you have a smaller studio, these would be fun to give out.

They might even be something different you could do for your adult students vs. your younger kiddos.

Another option would be to not necessarily give each student a whole pack but simply lay them out and let each student choose one.

You could put together a little goody bag and include 1-4 of these, a music-themed pencil, and some candy. Done!

Bookmark/Ornament?

Three years ago, I gave my students a metal treble clef bookmark, but I thought they were ornaments at the time of purchase. Oops! Ha!

The tassel means they actually could function in this manner, though. At $13.00 for a pack of 10, you can’t go wrong with such a cute, economical gift!

These bookmarks on Amazon are listed as wedding favors, packaged in a cute little box. Here’s another set I found but haven’t given out myself (yet!).

Don’t forget Etsy is always a great play to look for students’ gifts, including music bookmarks!

If you want more ideas, check out this Christmas Gift Round-Up post.

 

Have you ever given your students musical bookmarks? If so, share links in the comments!

 

Friday Finds #234: Thanksgiving-Style

November 12, 2021
by Amy
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1

Even though we’re approaching Thanksgiving, as music teacher’s we’ve already started on Christmas music. Here’s a great post from Janna Williamson: How to Teach Holiday Music.

P.S. She recommends my new Christmas By Ear book as part of her first tip!

 

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It’s time to cue up our Thanksgiving listening playlist! Mine is Thanksgiving playlist is public on Spotify which means you can enjoy it as well! Here’s a sneak peek:

 

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Thanksgiving piano music:

Now Thank We All Our God arranged by Leila Viss.

A Thanksgiving Prayer (elementary solo) by Wendy Stevens

 

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As you know, the minute Thanksgiving is over, the world moves onto the Christmas/giving season. As you consider where you might be able to give even amidst rising prices in our own lives, consider these 10 Music-Based Organizations on #givingtuesday.

 

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Our book club selection of the month is Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist.

I’m only a few chapters in, but I can say without a doubt, it is a great book to be reading this season!

I can’t believe it was published in 2013 and I am just now reading it.

This book speaks to my soul so much! Highly recommended!

 

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Eight Thanksgiving-themed games activities from Susan Paradis.

My two favorites from her I pull out every year at this time are Chasing the Turkey and Save the Turkey

 

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From my kitchen to yours, here are some of my favorite holiday recipes, music, kitchen gadgets, and more. 

 

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For your group performance classes: Pumpkin pie listening thermometers

 

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Two songs I love to sing this time of year:

Come Thou Fount (I Will Sing) by Chris Tomlin. It beautifully combines the best of the timeless hymn with a contemporary bridge (I Will Sing).

This next song, written by Keith and Kristy Getty, focuses on spiritual blessings.

My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness by Keith and Kristyn Getty.