Friday Finds #278

August 30, 2024
by Amy
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I would be remiss if I didn’t start this week’s Friday Finds with the most recent news shocking our community: The End of Finale.

While Finale was a leader in the industry for decades, I can understand the reasoning behind the decision. Several years ago, after doing a monthly subscription with Noteflight for years, I was considering whether I wanted to continue with Noteflight or move to Dorico or Finale. Between the latter two options, I would have chosen Dorico. My needs were minimal, however, so when Noteflight opened an option for a lifetime license, I jumped on board.

Natalie Weber has already written a helpful blog post on making her transition to Dorico.

Last year, it was Tonara, and now Finale. It makes me wonder… what will be the big shocker at the start of the 2025 school year?

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Friday Finds #277

July 19, 2024
by Amy
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58. That’s the number of items I have saved up to share with you in Friday Finds! I hate to be cliche but this summer has been crazy! I keep thinking I’m going to sit down and write one (which usually takes a 75 minute work block), but it just kept getting bumped. *sigh*

On the positive side, I always have lots of great things to share with you, and the more I have saved, the choosier I become. So, you really DO get the best of what I think is worth your time.

I hope you’ve had a great summer thus far – enjoy what’s left!

~Amy

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Beautiful Functional Furniture for Your Studio

July 14, 2024
by Amy
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As music teachers, our instruments are the most important piece of furniture in our studios (I love my Yamaha Grand!). However, a functional teaching space requires more than just our beloved instruments.

There are frequently used repertoire books to keep nearby, student files we may want to access daily, sightreading material, highlighters, tripods, pedal extenders, and more!

After five years in our new house, we finally finished my studio space this past January. Check out the finished product and get a full tour in this post: ➡️ Check out my Piano Studio.

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Check Out My Piano Studio!

July 5, 2024
by Amy
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Today is FINALLY the day you get to check out my piano studio – it’s tour time!

If you follow me on social media at all, you might have seen a few “in-progress” photos as we worked to finish the new studio space. It’s been six months since it’s been complete, and I’ve been dying to show you the end product!

Feel free to “snoop around” my piano studio at your leisure.

This is a phrase I state to any teacher who attends the Piano Pantry Digital Organization Retreat at my home in the summer months.

Why?

You know why! You LOVE seeing other teacher’s spaces!

In fact, I knew you loved it so much that I made sure it was the FIRST blog post I published in 2016. ➡️ Welcome to My Studio! (It wasn’t much of a “tour” but just a photo of my then-teaching space.)

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Assignment Sheet #23 – Practice Tips

June 3, 2024
by Amy
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Assignment Sheet #23 is here and it features practice tips and techniques! The assignment sheet bundle here on Piano Pantry continues to grow little by little.

The last time I shared a new assignment sheet was not long after the pandemic. It was a Star Wars-themed sheet. Check it out here.

After the closure of Tonara, switching practice apps greatly affected many of my students’ usage. I’m fine with not having all my students use the practice app, but a couple of students actually requested getting a written practice sheet again. (BTW If you’re interested, I moved to Vivid Practice.)

As of now, I don’t mind some students using the app and some using a written page. I do still struggle a bit taking the time to fill them out since it’s not something I do at every lesson.

The newest practice sheet features a practice schedule and practice technique tips to aid students in creating a varied practice routine. I find it works well for students ages 10 and up.

Download This Practice Tips Assignment Sheet

You can access this free assignment sheet as part of the growing assignment sheet bundle.

A Reading Guide for Piano Inspires KIDS Magazine

June 2, 2024
by Amy
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Today, I have a new resource for you – a reading guide to accompany the new Piano Inspires Kids publication from The Francis Clark Center!

It’s been three years since we first learned that Piano Explorer Magazine was being discontinued. It was a sad day for many who enjoyed sharing the fun and unique resource with students.

Luckily, in 2023, The Francis Clark Center launched Piano Inspires Kids – a similar publication!

Printed quarterly, each issue will contain feature articles on musicians, composers, musical styles, music in the news, practice tips, new music, theory lessons, creative activities, games and puzzles, and student submissions.

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Friday Finds #275

May 24, 2024
by Amy
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What Children Teach Us About Creativity (A Slight Change of Plans Podcast)

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If you’re still looking for a professional development event to attend this summer, consider the Music Teacher Turboboost Nicola Cantan is hosting in July. My friend Christina Whitlock and I were both invited to share as part of this event—Christina on Saturday and me on Sunday—along with lots of other great sessions put on by Nicola and her team. Hope to see you there!

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I tried the “6/10 Method,” and it’s Become My New Favorite Cleaning Method (The Kitchn)

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Friday Finds #274

May 3, 2024
by Amy
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Earlier this year, I splurged on something I’ve wanted to do for a long time: get a color consult. My wardrobe has been in need of attention for a few years now, and I wanted to approach it with a better process.

I hope to blog about this in more detail someday, but until then, if you’re interested, use THIS link or the discount code AMYCHAPLIN to get $20 OFF all products from Created Colorful, including consults, gifts, and the Love Your Closet Audio Course! (I am an affiliate, but purchasing through my link doesn’t cost you any extra.)

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A new reporting requirement from the US Treasury Department went into effect in January. Andrea Miller’s podcast episode #139 on the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Reporting Requirement was a great source of clarity on the subject.

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Utilizing forScore App Features: A Visual Guide

April 29, 2024
by Amy
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This post is a visual guide that follows up on a two-part podcast episode series published on The Piano Pantry Podcast in December 2023 on utilizing forScore app features.

Episode 097 – forScore (pt 1): Organizing Digital Scores and Setlists

Episode 098 – forScore (pt 2): Need-to-Know Features

In those episodes, I gave a lot of details and described basic features that I thought were important for users to know. As a visual person, I realized it might be helpful to follow up the verbal descriptions with some supporting visuals.

If you have never heard of ForScore, it is a digital sheet music app for iPad, iPhone, and Mac. It’s more than just a place to save digital sheet music, though. (In fact, I recommend still keeping master copies of your digital scores in your file manager).

You can create setlists, annotate directly on the music, rearrange, delete, and duplicate pages, enable half-page turns, jump in the score with a touch of a button, and more. The features of forScore are extensive.

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