My photo-highlight this week is a little project I worked on this past week. It was an update of my One-Minute Club board. To read more about how I run this program in my studio, visit this post.
I must say, I was pretty proud of how this board turned out! The inspiration behind it was two-fold. First, one of my students asked who all had won in the past and while I told her names, I realized faces help us connect more. Second, the photos were also inspired by by the Varsity Musician’s Playbook series.
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Here’s the photo mat I purchased on Amazon for this project. I simply put it on small velcro rounds behind it and velcroed it to the board. The photos are taped from behind so I can easily remove the frame each year to add the winner’s photo.
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I finally got around to reading a couple of bookmarked articles I had from the new year. I was going to wait to share but decided they were too good to hold back even if we’re not in “new year” mode.
A few years ago I read the book “Piano Lessons: Music, Love, & True Adventures” by Noah Adams. In my quest to always minimize “things” in my possession, I was looking over a few books I owned and asking myself whether they were ones I would want to read again and take with me into my future.
This book, while I recall enjoying it, is not one that I necessarily would need to read more than once.
It’s a memoir by Noah Adams, long-time co-host of NPR’s All Things Considered. He writes of his journey with learning to play the piano over the course of a year.
I’m not a big reader of memoirs and biographies, but if you are, I’m sure you will find this book delightful!
Please keep in mind, what I’m giving away is my used copy. It’s paperback with slight wear on the outside and a few highlights throughout.
Rather than just donate it to a bookstore, I thought one of my readers might enjoy it. (It will be mailed within two business days of the giveaway ending via media mail at no cost to you.)
In order to enter this giveaway, please comment on this post and answer the simple question: Do you enjoy memoirs? (Even if you don’t, you can still win! 🙂 )
You can gain an extra entry by visiting the Piano Pantry page on Facebook.
Only those with a U.S. mailing address can win.
The drawing opens at 12:00 am on Tuesday, April 23 and ends at 12:00 am on Tuesday, April 30. The winner will be randomly selected.
OK, so you may find this a little bit of a strange feature photo for today, I don’t know, but it summarizes what I’ve been up to. If anything, the photo just makes me happy because the Scrabble word is just so cute!
Since July I’ve been working as the interim worship team coordinator for my church. Basically, (since I have another job at another church as well), it means I do all the scheduling (we use Planning Center Services), choose all the music, rehearse the band on Thursdays nights, and at 8:00 on Sunday morning. Then, I say “go” and the team plays for 9:30 and 11:00 services while I go play for the Lutheran church in our town at 9:30 and then come back for worship at 11:00 with my husband.
It’s craziness, I know. No wonder I just purchased the newest book from Michael Hyatt, “Free to Focus”!
We’re about to hire a new worship pastor finally, so my time is coming to an end in the next month or two. We had an appreciation dinner for our worship team last Friday and brought in BBQ from an amazing local BBQ joint.
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If I had another great photo to wrap up this past week in the life of the world, you know what it would be…the burning of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. 🙁
Access the Spotify playlist the NY Times created in celebration of his birthday here. (I listened to it while writing these Friday Finds. 🙂 )
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The presentation I gave to Kansas City MTA two weeks ago was held in a beautiful Steinway shop. Before I left, one of the workers gave me a copy of the most recent Steinway owners magazine. It was as hefty and beautiful as I would expect any publication from Steinway to be. There were three articles in particular that I found really fascinating that I found published online I wanted to share with you:
I was looking for a fresh arrangement of something to play for the prelude on Easter Sunday, so I purchased Leila’s newly-released arrangement of “Lift High the Cross.” Thanks, Leila!
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Wow! Heather has some really great ideas for one area of the recital no one really ever talks about: the welcome speech! Hmmm…now I feel convicted to try something different!
Last week I mentioned that my husband and I were on our way to Kansas City for a short 4-day getaway as an extension to a contracted session I had on Friday morning with the Kansas City MTA. I’ve been slow to get many photos up on social media from this trip, but we had a great time and the Spring weather was incredible!
One of the big sites we visited was the National WWI Museum. This photo is taken from the museum overlooking the city. The building you see front and center in the photo is Union Station which is absolutely beautiful inside. I thought this was a beautiful overview of the city to share with you today.
We first discovered electric water kettles when we lived in Australia. It was common for every home to have one as many homes drank instant coffee (yuck!). They are an absolute gem to have available and so convenient for boiling water!
We have the Capresso Kettle which is recommended by America’s Test Kitchen (at least it was at the time!)
I am determined to have green plants in my home even though I do not have a green thumb. Articles like this one on how to stop killing your plants are for people like me!
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At the 2019 MTNA Conference a few weeks ago, I attended a fantastic session in Pedagogy Saturday’s Teaching Artistry Track called “Do These Five Things Always and Forever.” The presenter, Veda Suponic, recently gave this session for an MTNA Webinar which can be accessed here.
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Jennifer has a great idea for your summer session. Check out how she does practice packets.
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Two weeks ago, Evernote launched the Evernote for Gmail add-on. I’m trying it out now and hope to write a review in the near future after using it for awhile.
One of my favorite recipes I’ve been making without a kitchen these past 4 months are these Spicy Chicken Soft Tacos. All you do is toss chicken tenders in a mixture of EVOO and Sriracha and bake them (I’m using a small countertop oven). Pre-shredded cabbage and plain yogurt are all we need to make a decent toping and dinner is done!
As this post is going up, I’m talking to a group of teachers in Kansas City on digital management strategies for independent music teachers like yourself.
My hubby came with me and we made a short 4-day weekend out of it. Rest assured we will be eating some BBQ! Follow me on Instagram or Facebook.
As your local group moves into the planning stages for your events next year, you may be interested in some of the sessions I have available. It would be so fun to come and talk to your group!
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In February I did a Zoom session with Raleigh MTA. One of the teachers there recently shared a beautiful video of her music with me and I wanted to pass it on to you. Visit www.marlowecarruth.com for more details!
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I’ve had Thai twice in the past 3 weeks and it’s been divine. Here’s a simple recipe for the iconic and easy go-to Thai dish, Pad Thai.
I created a playlist for Easter with more than 50 songs and 4 hours of listening. Available on Spotify, all you need is a free account to listen. Spotify has an app as well as a desktop client for easy listening.
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Every home should have a hand-held vacuum of some kind. They’re just too convenient! I have a Shark Vac at home and at my studio!
This week’s wrap-up post from MTNA 2019 didn’t include this photo, so I had to share it as the featured photo for this week’s Friday Finds. 🙂 I have a good friend who totally rocks high heels, so this photo was for her.
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Besides my own wrap-up post, there were a lot of other wonderful wrap-up posts written this week from the national conference in Spokane. Here are the ones I’ve caught thus far:
Christina Whitlock (author of the Varsity Musician’s Playbook on Piano Pantry)
Benjamin Steinhardt (one of the admins of The Art of Piano Pedagogy Facebook group)
An Easy Timeline for Creating Your Own Solo Festival. I’ve often thought about doing something like this, but have never taken the initiative to make it happen. I think it’s a great idea though. The fact that you can cater it to your own studio’s progressive plan, and it would be really convenient for students to not have to travel to a festival location and two the biggest reasons I would do it.
I’ve been experimenting more and being brave with doing some Facebook Live videos on the Piano Pantry Facebook page. I did five short videos on staying organized at conferences and have also recently done a couple of other videos, each one highlighting one item from the previous week’s Friday Finds.
Last week I attended the 2019 MTNA National Conference in Spokane, Washington. The photo you see is the one that spoke to my memories of the location the most.
As MTNA attendees flooded into Spokane, so did Spring! The river walk next to the conference center was beautiful and included this gigantic Radio Flyer Wagon. Fun!
(Click on the image below to see sixteen seconds of Joy Morin and I tapping into our inner child. 🙂 )
Every time I attend a conference, I like to write a recap post. Not only are writing these posts a good mental exercise for me in helping pull together the entire event, but it’s like putting the period at the end of a sentence. It gives a sense of finality and making a statement.
Attending conferences is really important to me and my professional development (and energy). I hope these posts may also convince someone who either hasn’t ever attended a conference, or does so infrequently, that they are worth every penny to attend!
If you’re interested in posts I’ve written about previous MTNA conferences, checkout out:
The biggest thing I wanted to share with you from the 2019 conference is the series of five Facebook Live videos I did on conference organization/management. These videos highlight a few of the tips I talk about in the post Conference Management 101.
I tried to keep them short and focused on one point.
(If you want to see the full post on Facebook, just click on the facebook icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the video.)
Yamaha’s NoteStar app is closing down on 3/31/2019. Check out details here.
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If you’re’ interested in learning more about Music Learning Theory and how to use Marilyn Lowe’s Music Moves for Piano method book series, then you’re in luck! Check out www.musiclearningacademy.comfor new courses and a podcast. I met the creator, Krista Jadro when Joy and I attended the GIML Professional Development Course in Boston a couple of years ago (she had way more experience than us at that point!) I know it will be wonderful!
Pre-Registration for the Keyboard Games A course is only available until the end of March and then the price doubles!
I heard about an old piano method in one of the sessions I attended at the MTNA Conference this past week. It was written by the daughter-in-law of John Curwen (creator of the Curwen Tonic Sol-Fa) and was called Mrs. Curwen’s Pianoforte Method. After a little more research, I came across this website: CurwenMusic.com. I’ve enjoyed browsing the site and learning a little more about her pedagogical approach.
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I always carry blindfolds and ear-plugs with me when I travel!
Awhile back I wrote an article for Alfred Music Blog called Learning Music in a Quick-Fix Society: 7 Tips to Foster Music for Life. In the article, I share seven ways we can help create an environment that fosters the mindset that learning music is more than just a short-term activity.
One of those seven items was that, as teachers, we shouldn’t feel frustrated when students come to lessons either without their books or having made little progress. (Of course, if it’s an ongoing issue, that another story.)
It can be very easy to get irritated at students and in turn, have the lesson take on a sour note and be a negative experience. On the other hand, if we keep in mind that life happens and music lessons are an ongoing commitment, we can look at it as an opportunity rather than a failure.
Here are 12 ways we can turn a potentially negative, frustrating lesson into a positive musical experience. You don’t even have to pick just one! Set a timer and tell the student every 5 minutes you’re going to switch activities!
I’ve been trying to do this a lot more this past year and it works quite well. Think about the different categories of life/work you have and focus on one area each day. For example, on Mondays, my mornings are dedicated to my current church worship leader work and Monday afternoons are my piano studio. Thursday mornings are Piano Pantry work and afternoons are Church Prep, etc.
It’s a short week. See you next week!
