Do you ever come across a piece of music that grabs you so deeply that you never tire of playing it?
Over the past year, I’ve experienced this with one particular piece that I would like to share with you today.
Initially, I purchased it for myself as a fresh addition to my church repertoire stash. Even if I don’t have immediate intentions of using a digital download for students, I almost always purchase a studio copy just to be safe.
I’m so glad I did with this one especially because I loved it so much I’ve been handing it out like candy to every student that was willing/interested!
Fall time is here! Does anyone say “autumn” anymore? I kind of wish we did because it’s a much lovelier term. In August we had many days that felt like the new season had arrived and I was wingeing because I wasn’t ready.
On a side note, I just Googled the term “wingeing” because I wasn’t sure if it was spelled right. It also felt a little strange and I wasn’t sure why. Google reminded me it’s because it’s a slang term that is used more in Australia (where I lived for 3 years). Sometimes little things like that just become a part of you!
Now that we’re at the end of September, I’m ready to welcome the slightly cooler air, shorter days, and long sleeve shirts. Iced coffee is seeing its final days and I’m beginning to dream of warm drinks in the evenings curled around the fire. Over the next few days, one of my tasks is to pull out my tiny collection of fall decorations.
Alas, it is time to hand you my offerings for the week and let you take what you like and leave the rest behind.
I just finished a wonderful book by Canadian chef/author Laura Calder called “The Inviting Life.” It’s about home-keeping, entertaining, etc. so at one point she mentions the website Debretts. It feels so posh! LOL. I’m following them on Instagram now for fun.
Next weekend is our state conference weekend. With the conclusion of the conference will come the end of my two-year term as President. It’s bittersweet for sure but I have loved every minute of this job (at least most of them).
I’ll never forget preparing for my first meeting. It took me HOURS to put it together and work through the process of combing through previous meeting notes to see what needed to be on the current agenda.
At my 5th meeting this past June, I felt like an old pro. That’s how it usually happens; just as you get the hang of how things work, it’s time to move on!
At one point, our state we moved the Presidency to a 3-year term, but we realized after two rounds that it was too long and taxing for the person in the position. Now I understand why!
One more thing before we get to this week’s finds. I need your opinion. 🙂
For the Friday Finds posts this past year, I’ve been trying to use a photo from that week as the “featured photo”. Some weeks I just don’t have one, so I use the Friday Finds logo image. In a nutshell, I’ve been really inconsistent about it and would like to settle it once and for all.
The featured photos are usually images I post to Facebook anyway, so I’m thinking of going back to using the logo only.
Interested in travel? Music Matters Blogger Natalie Weber has started a new travel blog! (Music Matters Blog)
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If you feel like killing 10 minutes some evening when you’re chilling out, you’ve GOT to watch these 1980’s training videos from Wendy’s (the fast-food chain). They’re hilarious. (The Kitchn)
I’ve been trying to play catch-up on this past year’s issues of both AMT and Clavier Companion. In one of those issues was an article by Jeremy Siskind on a cool project he did with small house-recitals. (LOVE.)
Check out his YouTube Channel for some of these videos. I *think* they’re the videos that have (at_home) in the title. Definitely watch this video though where he talks about their group, the music they make and the setting they take their music to.
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A resource for reviews of individual piano sheet music.
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Alton Brown’s tip for how to store tomato paste. This sounds like a lot less messier way of doing it than my way which is to scoop it out into 1T. servings and freeze individually. I’m going to give it a shot. (The Kitchn)
Never mind the fact I had to order in Light Miso and Mirin from Amazon in order to make this dish. It was very good. I used boneless skinless thighs because well, they’re awesome.
Yum, yum, yum. I also had to order in Udon noodles from Amazon since I can’t get them from my local grocery, but this was soooo good. Not only do we not have Udon available, but we can’t get shiitake mushrooms without driving 30 minutes so I keep a large pack of dried ones that you reconstitute. They’re definitely not as good as fresh mushrooms but it worked.
This is one of our favorite fish recipes right now. Make it while you still have beautiful tomatoes this season! I served it alongside jasmine rice and steamed brussel sprouts.
I love this recipe but this time they turned out dry. I’m sure it wasn’t the recipe though because I’ve made these several times. I’m still getting used to my new oven and I used the convection bake setting which I’ve learned makes them much faster so they need less time!
In general citrus and protein are not a combination I enjoy. This lemon chicken, however, was quite tasty. I love how it used lemon zest, thyme, and salt as a kind of “dry rub.”
Today’s featured photo is of the beautiful artwork one of my students did for the envelopes that we use to keep Music Money in. Hmm…that just make me think that I should write a post on how I use Music Money sometime! LOL
As I type this, my Young Living diffuser is pumping out lovely bursts of “Clarity” essential oils. I’m feeling the Friday lull but have four siblings coming for piano lessons in just over an hour, so here we go!
I tend to find people like Tim Topham fascinating. (If you’re reading this Tim, yep, that’s you, LOL.) I love hearing how people like him manage such a large online presence. He spills a lot of that out in this post.
It kind of makes my head swirl seeing all those social media posts, but it’s certainly impressive!
These are based on a dive that was 45-minutes from our house growing up. The sandwich was called a Maidrite. We steamed the buns (small 100% whole wheat buns) in our new steam oven! They’re much better with steamed buns. Pickles and mustard are the best default toppings for this sandwich.
I cheated and used pre-shredded lettuce and cabbage/carrots, but it was still all good. We love the edamame in this. It would be even better with some toasted shaved almonds on top in my opinion. It needed some crunchies.
Walnuts and raisins made it into this loaf but my preference is about half the amount of what they call for. I’m not big on nuts in baked goods but my husband likes it.
Love, love, love grits. I only had 1 lb. of shrimp and it wasn’t quite enough. Definitely do the 1.5 lb. Otherwise, you’re left with a lot of extra “liquid/butter”.
Happy holiday weekend everyone! It’s our last official “hurrah” for Summer here in the states. Make the most of it and resist the urge to WORK on anything related to your daily job!
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This past week I experienced a first: calendar spam! Here’s a great link a fellow teacher sent my way after I shared my woes on Facebook.
Clean your piano keys. Really? Has anyone seriously ever tried that. I’m not sure I would even be willing to try.
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We finally got our oven hooked up and after six months of a small convection oven. The first thing I was excited to bake was cookies!
I’ve always wanted to do taste test comparisons where I make 2 or 3 versions of one type of recipe then decide which version I like the best. My first one was peanut butter cookies.
I’ve been catching up on podcasts lately including the Muscialit Now Podcast. I loved these three, all of which I listened to while pulling weeds for three hours around our barn. LOL.
I’m sorry but I just HAVE to lead this week’s finds with this because I’m SOOO excited I finally finished the project! 🙂
A shop is now finally open here on Piano Pantry! If you haven’t already, jump over and have a look at all the Music Lab materials that are posted. There’s lots of good stuff!
Can you hear me smiling?
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Everyone’s been going a little crazy over this article on Facebook and for good reason…
This post highlights some of my favorite iPad apps that I use for my students’ off-bench music lab time.
While these are all great-quality apps, most apps do not allow students to sign in and thus track their progress.
Consequently, I have designed corresponding tracking sheets that are all available in the shop.
Today we’ll talk about:
(1) Waay Theory / Songwriting App (2) Rhythm Cat HD (3) Rhythm Lab (4) Staff Wars
Waay (Theory/Songwriting app)
Waay is an app available on iOS that teaches music theory via four courses:
Melodies
Chords
[Chord] Progressions I
[Chord] Progressions II
The initial app fee is $5.99 and includes the first two courses. Progressions I and II are bundled as an in-app purchase for $4.99.
Each course is comprised of short videos and interactive practice exercises. Even more specifically, the app states that its intention is to teach “songwriting.”
While the app states that it is great for beginners, the videos and concepts move very, very quickly. My recommendation is that this app is actually best suited for late intermediate /earlyadvanced high school students.
(My impression is that the app is developed with the amateur adult musician in mind who is a “beginner” to music theory/songwriting concepts. It’s definitely not geared toward student-age beginner music students.)
Students will do best if they’re already familiar with the concepts presented in the app. The courses build on each other and progress in difficulty. Students assigned the first course should already be familiar with major and minor scale patterns in all keys.
The final two “progressions” courses are focused on teaching students how to use “tricks” to identify chords that fit together and identify the keys those progressions may be coming from. These are fairly challenging courses. Students assigned these courses should already have a strong understanding of chords built on scales degrees in all the major and minor keys.
Corresponding Music Lab Tracking Sheet
Each course can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes to complete (depending on how many times they repeat exercises for practice) so, using a tracking sheet makes it easier for students to remember where they left off from week to week.
(While the app will give students stars/scores for what they complete, if you are using it at your studio with multiple students, those don’t help individual students track their progress.)
This music lab sheet is 4 pages (one page for each course).
The paid version, Rhythm Cat HD (currently $4.99), currently includes 6 stages – each with 10 levels. If you are looking to use this as a lab for your students, then you will need the full paid version.
Please note that this app does not have a way for the student to hear the rhythm in playback. They tap the rhythm along to an accompaniment track. Often the accompaniment does not include the rhythm in any way, so students must have a solid sense of beat. If they miss just one note, they will receive two stars rather than three.
Stages and levels can only be unlocked by successful completion. So, you cannot assign stage 4 to a student until someone has successfully mastered and unlocked stages 1, 2, and 3.
Corresponding Music Lab Sheet
I would strongly recommend not to assign a stage until the student is proficient at the rhythms included.
For example, even though level one only uses whole, half, and quarter notes, some of the exercises must be executed at fast tempos.
This download is 2 pages, covering all six stages and ten levels.
Add this lab to your cart here.
Rhythm Lab
Rhythm Lab is a comprehensive rhythm app available for iOS (currently $3.99). Not only does it have an extensive amount of leveled exercises, but the app will allow you to create custom rhythm patterns. With so many levels, students could potentially use this app over several years of lessons.
There are two sets of pre-leveled rhythms already created for you. The A-1 rhythms are one-handed rhythms, and the B-2 rhythms are two-handed rhythms. Since they progress at about the same level of difficulty, consider assigning them simultaneously such as A-1 (Level 1A) and B-2 (Level 1B) before going on to A-1 (Level 2A) and B-2 (Level 2B).
Corresponding Music Lab Sheet
Rhythm Lab is one of the few apps out there that will allow you to create student log-ins to track individual progress and scores.
When you first install the program, you will want to set up usernames for students to log in.
Despite the app being able to track individual progress, manual tracking using this lab sheet makes it easier to assign work and view progress. It also includes detailed directions for students.
This download is 15 pages, covering 59 sets of exercises.
Add this lab to your cart here.
Staff Wars
Staff Wars is a note-naming app available on iOS (currently $0.99). As you can imagine, due to the play on “Star Wars,” this app is a hit for a lot of students.
As the notes are named faster, the game will speed up. They have three lives to lose before the game ends and they can try again. It creates a lot of energy and excitement as it goes faster and faster!
With eight different clef settings, students can go through a LOT of note-naming practice in a variety of ways. There are 7 pre-set “ranges” of notes available and as well as a manual version.
For the sake of simplicity and the fact that these labs are designed for piano students, this corresponding lab sheet only uses the treble clef, bass clef, and grand staff options and the manual range setting so the teacher can simply draw in the note range they would like the student to select. (You do so by using the up and down arrow selectors on either side of the little staff on the screen selector by using the left and right arrows.)
Corresponding Music Lab Sheet
This corresponding tracking sheet includes student directions, an easy way for you to assign students specific notes and clefs, and a section for students to track their scores.
While this lab only has 2 pages, there is no limit to how many times the game can be assigned. Simply reproduce the second page as needed – which is a full page of assigned boxes because it doesn’t include student directions.
Add this lab to your cart here.
Music Labs Made Easy eBook
Curious for more details on how I run my music labs? Get this 15-page eBook that is chock full of all kinds of “pro tips.”
We’ll talk about scheduling, set-up, and organizing labs. Laid out in an easy-to-read and understand format, this book will answer all your questions regarding music lab time!
For years, I’ve been collecting videos from all over the internet to use as part of my student’s music lab time. This has resulted in four major sets of videos that are available for FREE here on Piano Pantry:
Access all of these via the menu under “Resources” in the menu.
These videos can be utilized during group classes, as either part of an off-bench music lab time, or as an assignment using an online tool like Vivid Practice or Practice Space.
All videos in the series have some kind of accompanying guide (available in the shop) – whether it be a simple tracking sheet for keeping track of which videos the student has watched or a full listening guide with reflection questions. I also hope to eventually make CSV files available for those looking to utilize them as part of an online assignment tool.
>>January 2024 Update: A CSV File for the Expressive Movement Video series is now available. Find it here.
Both the Christmas and Halloween video sets are a little more in-depth listening guides that include fun facts and information about the piece, as well as reflection questions.
The Music Theory Videos series is a compilation of the best videos I’ve found online that teach music theory concepts.
While most of these videos teach individual music theory concepts, I was looking to use them to reinforce what students have already learned in lessons.
Here’s a sneak-peak at some of the videos included:
Comprised of 48 videos, they have been divided into four sets based on a rough/general order in which concepts are introduced in most piano methods. The order may not line up exactly, but you can assign videos based on what the student has already been taught in their lesson time.
From my own experience, I find it doesn’t work well to assign just one video at a time. If you’re using this resource as part of an off-bench / music lab time, switching to a new activity after watching just one video is not ideal (especially since the student generally does it independently). It’s much easier to wait until there are several videos the student is ready to watch and assign several at once.
Curious for more details on how I run my music labs? Check out the Music Labs Made Easy eBook in the shop.
Please know that the list of videos is in no way exhaustive. That is, a video may not be available for every music theory concept.
Since I was utilizing this as part of an in-studio music lab time and students weren’t watching videos weekly, I needed a way to track which videos they had watched. Thus, the corresponding tracking sheet!
The tracking sheet includes directions to the student, a place for teachers to “assign” which videos to watch, the video name, who it is from, its length (so they know if they have enough time during their lab to complete it), and space for the student to check-off once they watched it.
Add this to your cart now, or find it in the shop.
Fun Music Videos
The fun music video series is a compilation of a lot of…you guessed it… fun (and inspiring, I might add!) music videos. 🙂
When I started including off-bench music lab time as part of my students’ weekly lesson experience, I found that while there are a lot of apps and programs out there, sometimes you run out of things for them to do!
There were two main reasons I found this happening on occasion:
(1) Students can accomplish quite a bit in a 30-minute lab time.
(2) With younger students especially, you can give only so many lab assignments when they are beginners. Not only are they limited in the musical concepts they can play games for, but any assignment with too much reading and writing is just too difficult for kindergarten, first, and even second graders to do independently.
P.S. For a bit more talk on how to handle music lab time with younger students, visit this post.
My students enjoyed these videos, but similar to the music theory videos, I needed a way to track which ones they had watched. I wasn’t necessarily assigning them week after week until they finished the entire series; I was only assigning it every once in a while and using it as a “filler.”
Thus, the corresponding tracking sheet!
The goal was to keep it simple.
Yes, I was using it as a “filler” lab assignment, but I also didn’t want it to just feel like “busy work.” Not only that, but it had to be something I could assign to students of all ages – especially younger students. As I stated earlier, any assignment with too much reading and writing is just too tricky for kindergarten, first, and even second graders to do independently.
Thus, the tracking sheet includes directions to the student, the “set” name, the video name, the length of the video (so they know if they have enough time during their lab to complete it), and areas to rate the video and openly reflect/comment.
While I would love for it to include more background information and reflection questions (maybe someday I’ll create a more in-depth version for older students similar to the Halloween and Christmas video series), my main goal with this was an easy lab that students of any age could use and enjoy.
Be aware that students have been known to continually go back and watch some of their favorite videos several times when they’re supposed to be watching new videos. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! 😉
Add this resource to your cart now, or find it in the shop.
Music Labs Made Easy eBook
Curious for more details on how I run my music labs? Get this 15-page eBook that is chock full of all kinds of “pro tips.”
We’ll talk about scheduling, set-up, and organizing labs. Laid out in an easy-to-read format, this book will answer all your questions regarding music lab time!
Of those programs, there’s only one that I’m currently still using, and that’s Essentials of Music Theory, published by Alfred. You can purchase it on their website or on Amazon.
Because it is an older program, you don’t download it directly online; you must purchase the CD-ROM and upload it to your computer. While this feels antiquated, I still find the program a valuable addition to my music labs, as it is one of the most complete and comprehensive theory lesson programs out there.
The program comes in either a Student Version (single use), Educator Version (multiple students on one device), or Network Version (multiple computers).
There are 3 Volumes available that could be purchased separately or as one program called Essentials of Music Theory Complete.
If you are using the program in an independent studio setting for music lab time, then you will need to purchase the Educator Version – Complete. While it is one of the more expensive music theory programs to include in a music lab, it’s also one of the most thorough and comprehensive.
The program includes 18 units. Each of those units comprises four to five lessons, ear training, and a review test for a total of 75 lessons within the 18 units. For a detailed list of what’s included in each unit/lesson, visit this link.
As I mentioned in that post, when I started including a music lab eight years ago, there was only one “curriculum” product. While it was a great product, it just wasn’t working for me, and I didn’t want to have to purchase a book for every student for music lab time, so I began creating my own materials.
you don’t download it directly online; you must purchase the CD-ROM and upload it to your computer. While this feels antiquated, I still find the program a valuable addition to my music labs, as it is one of the most complete and comprehensive theory lesson programs out there.
