500 Years of Keyboard Instruments

December 8, 2022
by Amy
14 Comments

This past fall, my husband and I had the privilege of traveling to Europe for the first time. Countries visited included Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (London), and France.

If you want to get a little peek into this adventure, listen in on episode #47 of The Piano Pantry Podcast!

The entire trip went quite smoothly. The only transportation hiccup we encountered was traveling via train from the Netherlands to London. One of our trains out of the Netherlands was delayed, causing a missed connection from Brussels to London. Luckily, they could get us on a train later that evening, but it meant we had an eight-hour overlay in Brussels, Belgium.

What at first seemed to be an inconvenience turned into a wonderful opportunity as we could spend an entire day exploring the city! A delay of two or three hours would have kept us waiting at the train station.

As we walked through the city, we passed a beautiful building, its splendor making me pause in awe to take it in.

A closer look revealed it was a musical instrument museum!

(As a side note, my husband and I noticed schoolchildren on field trips in multiple places, each wearing yellow vests. Brilliant!)

Aren’t the details on this building gorgeous?

Since this blog is about piano teaching, I selected around 25 favorites from the keyboard segment of the museum to share in this post – just a fraction of what the museum held! (Plus a couple of fun other instruments.)

They’re listed in date order through the 1500s, 1600s, 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s. A few of the instruments in this post are featured here on the museum’s website. Those that are, I also directly linked below each image.

Enjoy this phenomenal collection!

1500

Fretted Clavichord – Italy, c1587

 

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Friday Finds #254

December 2, 2022
by Amy
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1

A nice simple visual of different types of artificial Christmas trees.

 

2

Creating a Seamless Music Experience (Daniel Light)

In this blog post, Daniel shares a variety of creating transitions between songs in different keys for a seamless musical experience in Christmas service music. Beautiful!

 

3

In Daniel’s post, he mentions the Carpenters Christmas Portrait Album, which has a seamless musical experience. I’ve never listened to this album, so I’ve added it to my list and am really enjoying it!

Other holiday playlists that are currently on my rotation include Shadow & Light Advent from Tsh Oxenreider as part of her advent book I’m doing and my own personal Advent playlist.

 

4

Transparent sticky notes?! I knew there were transparent tabs but not large post-its like this! Thanks to teacher Rebecca Brown for sharing this on Piano Teacher Central on Facebook. Mine are already on their way!

 

5

Holiday Activities for Your December Group Classes (The Piano Pantry Podcast).

One of the items I mention is piano ensembles. The resource I’ve always used is Hal Leonard’s Christmas Piano Ensembles. This year, however, I’m excited to try out another resource – Lauren Lewandowski’s Piano Ensemble Music.

She has three Christmas ones (Jingle Bells, Jolly Old St. Nicholas, and Carol of the Bells). At the time that I’m writing this post, they’re discounted from $14.50 to $8.50 – I purchased all three!

 

6

A free source for hymn lead sheets and more.

 

7

Music Teachers Helpers Helper was the very first online music studio management software (that I was ever aware of, at least). A couple of years ago, it was bought out and is now Duet Partner.

I really enjoyed hearing the story in this interview on the Music Studio Startup Podcast with the new owner and CEO, Neylan McBaine.

 

8

“The Musical Communication Podcast” was created as an extension of the Ploger Method. In this podcast, Marianne and her producer, Karen, explore her method, music perception, and cognition as well as how we can develop fluency in our musicianship.

 

9

My husband and I really like cooking with cast iron and both enjoy following this Cast Iron Cooking group on Facebook.

 

10

Should We Measure Our Student’s Musical Growth

Interesting thoughts from Eric Bluestine, author of one of my favorite books, How Children Learn Music.

 

Friday Finds #253

November 18, 2022
by Amy
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1

Items that I’m making for various holiday gatherings over the next week:

Dry-Brined Turkey with Roasted Onions (Smitten Kitchen)

I have never made this turkey recipe so I can’t vouch for it, but I’ve been a Smitten Kitchen fan for years. Also, this past year we made a few recipes that used Gochujang sauce (a fermented chili paste) and we really liked it. I don’t think it will make the turkey spicy or “Asian-food” flavored, it will just give it a nice deep “Umami” flavor.

Arkansas Green Beans (Bubba Pie)

Dijon-Roasted Brussels Sprouts (Recipe Center)

Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow Topping (Cook’s Country)

Apple Fritter Cake (King Arthur Baking)

Citrus-Cranberry Tart (The Kitchn)

Cranberry Rosemary Shrub Cocktail (Good Life Eats)

 

2

My favorite password manager, Last Pass, is celebrating Cyber Week by offering 25% off on Premium, Family, Teams and Business accounts. Offer is valid for new purchases only and runs between November 21st , and November 29th.

 

3

I haven’t had to stop a podcast to write down so many quotes in a long time like I did with Kate Bowler’s recent interview with Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering.

 

4

Check out all the wonderful Free Resources available on Creative Piano Teacher!

 

5

I binge-watched through a couple of playlists recently. The first is a series of videos of vocal artist Natalie Weiss giving private coaching sessions.

The second is a series of videos of MLT-trained teachers demonstrating how they “teach a tune.” Mostly this is geared toward Music Education but I still find it inspiring and helpful to see their process.

 

6

All YouTube Creators are getting their own handles.

Mine is YouTube.com/@amychaplinpiano.

 

7

If you’re on Spotify, fill your holiday week with this super fun Thanksgiving playlist!

 

 

 

Friday Finds #252

November 11, 2022
by Amy
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1

While working on one of my speaking sessions, newly available this year, I discovered a highly useful tool on Canva.

It’s a Color Wheel. You can input one color, and it will give you a variety of other colors that can be used in combination with that color. This would be super useful if you had a studio or brand logo with a color and you wanted to add more colors to it.

 

2

Canva is part of my daily work flow. While working on slides however, I wasn’t sure at first how I could use their slide templates but then easily change the color scheme without changing each item one by one. I knew there had to be a solution. As always, I just had to Google it! The place to do it is at the bottom of the page and I didn’t even see it until I read about it.

How to Quickly Update All Colors in Canva with Just One Click | Anchor Design Co.

 

3

While I’m only one chapter into it, I’m already thoroughly enjoying this short little book by Anne Lamott.

Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers

 

 

4

I purchased this and another book for the first time on ThriftBooks.com. It was a great way to get a book in good condition for half the price! Reduce, reuse, recycle!

 

5

In the first chapter of the above mentioned book, Lamott mentions The Merton Prayer, a beautiful, raw prayer we can all relate to at some point if not frequently in life. I printed it out immediately.

 

6

Interested in being part of saving standard time and ending the switch to daylight savings time forever? Help take action here. 

 

7

Thanks to teacher Abby Maser for introducing me to matte-texture screen protectors!

If you could call the feel of something “delicious,” this is it!

Supershieldz iPhone 12 Tempered-Glass Screen Protector

 

8

Practical advice from Jennifer Foxx: Opening a Zip File

 

9

White Bean Pumpkin Turkey Chili | Skinny Taste

Thanks to Christina Whitlock for recommending this recipe. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely make again!

 

10

Does getting students to sightread feel like pulling teeth at times? Consider Rebekah Maxner’s idea of a “YOYO” assignment instead.

P.S. Guess who’s going to be in the next Teacher Talk episode (#45) of The Piano Pantry Podcast?! 🙂

 

11

Should Piano Students Memorize Their Repertoire? | Janna Williamson

 

12

In high school I remember being the fastest typist in my computer class. There were two reasons I was successful with typing early on. First, I taught myself to type on my parents electric typewriter in middle school. Second, it has to be because of piano lessons too, would you agree?

Awhile back, I saw piano teacher Clinton Pratt share a link on Facebook for a free typing test. I hadn’t taken a test since high school so I thought it would be fun.

I’m happy to report those fingers still do me well – 97WPM, 99% accuracy. Wahoo! So fun.

 

 

 

Random Observations from Our European Travels

October 24, 2022
by Amy
4 Comments

My husband and I recently took our first-ever European trip (and first-ever month-long vacation!).  After week one, we realized we should start documenting our observations – little things we especially felt were fun, interesting, and good to know and remember for the future.

Throughout the trip, we continued to add to the list. I thought it would be fun to share it here as both a way of passing on our knowledge and experiences and also simply for the sake of documenting it for ourselves for the future.

To make it easier to digest, I organized our random list into the following categories: food and water, language, bathrooms, money, gear, mannerisms and miscellaneous, and transportation.

A few disclaimers:

  1. This has nothing to do with piano teaching (hope that’s OK 🙂 )
  2. It is in no way exhaustive.
  3. As the title states, this list is completely random and consists only of our thoughts and opinions.
  4. While we know it’s important not to overgeneralize, sometimes there are just things that “stuck out.” We realize it doesn’t mean an entire population/culture is that way, it’s just little things that we noticed or found interesting from the moment in time /location we experienced.
  5. Our opinions were formed by the places visited including Germany, Netherlands, London, and France.

If you have had the same experiences and observations or found this post useful for your travels, I would love to hear about it in the comments!

Enjoy!

Food and Water

  • A basic French breakfast at a restaurant was a pastry, a hot drink of choice, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
  • Fresh-squeezed orange juice is a staple in France. They have machines in grocery stores, restaurants, and even on small portable food carts.
  • Mineral water (sparkling water) is a staple beverage, perhaps even more than tap water – especially in restaurants. Tap water is referred to as “still” water in places. Don’t expect to be served free tap water at a restaurant in Germany or the Netherlands or to get a glass of water with ice anywhere. In France, it is at least normal to have a liter-size glass bottle of cold tap water brought to the table. You have to ask for it, though.
  • Anything that was “sweet” – whether it was juice, a pastry, cake, candy, or other desserts – always tasted less sweet than the same item might taste in the US. It was great!
  • In Paris especially, the whole city felt comprised of 50% restaurants, 25% stores, and 25% business, this is a shot in the dark, but the point is that everywhere you go, it feels like all you do is walk past restaurant after restaurant. Food and hotels are very expensive in Paris, and while “fast food” or just “hole-in-the-wall takeaway food” exists, it wasn’t as easy to come by as sit-down restaurants.
  • Most of the time, restaurants and cafes are fine for you to sit and just have a coffee, but we did witness instances where restaurant staff turned away people who were only looking to sit and have coffee.
  • In general, coffees were always small, whether it was an espresso or a latte – except in London, where we could get a larger cup of black coffee. If you wanted something similar to a black cup of coffee in the US, you had to order a “long black.” A short black is a shot of espresso, a long black has hot water added – basically what we call an “Americano,” except they were still never more than 6-8 oz
  • Our friends in France told us what kind of coffee they drink based on the time of day. In the morning, they’re more likely to have a cafe au lait, a coffee with milk, or a latte. After lunch, they have a shot of espresso – a “short black.”
  • In France, they choose alcohol at meals based on the course they were eating, so you might have a glass of champagne with the appetizer, a glass of red wine with the meal, a glass of white with the cheese course, and a coffee with dessert.

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Friday Finds #251

October 21, 2022
by Amy
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Welcome back! After a bit of a break from Friday Finds following #250 (which you should check out because it includes fun finds from other teachers), I’m excited to get this series going again!

While I strive for it to be a weekly series, I’ve learned that it’s better for life not to put those restrictions on myself, so if you want to make sure you get the latest delivered to your inbox, signup for my email list here. (Be sure and check the box that says “please send new posts to my inbox.”)

Enjoy!

 

1

Irina Gorin’s Tales of a Musical Journey method has received an update! I’m excited to see the changes. You can order from her website here.

 

2

Over 25 Music Podcasts Music Educators Can Follow (Jennifer Foxx | Music Educator Resources)

 

3

Earlier this year, as we began planning our trip to Europe, the first thing we did was purchase Rick Steves: Europe through the Back Door book. 

It was incredibly helpful in choosing sights and getting lots of travel and packing advice.

 

 

4

One thing I missed the most food-wise while in Europe for a month was Mexican food! The first night we got home, I tried a new recipe: Slow Cooker Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup (Recipe Runner)

We really enjoyed it! I made a few additions, including 1 chopped chipotle in adobo (about 1-2 T.), which gave it a soft smokey flavor with just the tiniest bit of spice. I also toasted up some soft burrito shells that needed to be used up, then threw them in at the end right before serving, creating a nice thickened texture.

 

5

I’m a Dietitian, and My Son Eats the Same Lunch Every Day – Here’s Why That’s OK (The Kitchn)

I love the perspective presented in this article for children and adults – our health is not just about one meal but an overall big picture.

 

6

[PODCAST EPISODE] Simplified Organization for the New School Year (Ashley Danyew | Field Notes on Music Teaching  Learning)

 

7

This Map Can Tell You When Fall Foliage is Peaking in 2022 (NPR)

Very cool!!

 

8

We enjoyed watching the Netflix series “Inventing Anna,” based on the true story of major con artist Anna Sorokin. Miss Sorokin was recently freed but faces deportation (NPR).

 

9

Piano Teacher Scams: How to Protect Yourself Against Fake Students, Free Piano’s Celebrities, and More (Rebekah Maxner)

 

10

The Best and Worst US Airports for Cheap International Flights in 2022 (Scotts’s Cheap Flights)

 

11

Check out how Natalie is using her new Apple HomePod Mini’s in her studio this fall!

 

12

How to Prepare for College Auditions (The Piano Prof)

 

Friday Finds #250: YOUR Favorites!

September 9, 2022
by Amy
2 Comments

Here we are! 250 Friday Finds posts since March 2016. I’ve been soooo excited to post this one for a while now.

The twist is that this list is a culmination of items you sent to me that you either discovered and loved from this weekly series or were items you would include if you were to publish your own list! I hope you enjoy this special celebration week.

I also wanted to give you a heads up that this will be the last Friday Finds for a couple of months as I will be out of the country with my husband for a month-long trip to Europe to celebrate our 20th Anniversary. I’ll be back with the series in early November and look forward to the next 250!

 

1

Submitted By Rebekkah Maxner

The Friday Find I wanted to mention that touched my heart was about a mom who had cancer, but she and her husband chose not to tell their kids about her prognosis. They maintained a home atmosphere that spared their kids from worrying or making choices based on their mom’s illness.

I felt that was so selfless and likely contributed to her prolonged quality of life. What a gift to have given her kids — years of living in sunshine instead of under a cloud. She gave them a childhood defined by innocence.

“My Wife Was Dying, and We Didn’t Tell Our Children: The choice was unusual but loving: We wanted them to live without the shadow of their mother’s mortality hanging over them.” (from The Atlantic)

(From Friday Finds #121)

 

2

Submitted by Eva Marie Coyne

I absolutely love, love, love your Friday Finds. The one that sticks out in my mind was on Canva from Friday Finds #241.

10 Canva Features You Probably Didn’t Know About (Midnight Music)

 

3

Submitted by Janna Carlson

This Oven Baked Chicken and Rice recipe has saved me a few times over the past couple of months. We recently moved, and my time, energy, and ingredients have been extremely limited (I won’t even talk about my baking dish situation…okay, I have ONE glass baking pan.). This recipe only requires one dish, the prep is super simple, and the flavor is fantastic—perfect teaching night meal and super cozy for fall.

 

4

Submitted by Shelley Pritt

This is not directly related to Friday Finds, but your emphasis on developing a piano teacher community has struck a chord with me…

…Your encouragement through examples in the podcast episode #013 How to Make Music Teacher Friends) pushed me to extend to real-time teacher relationships in my state. I’ve joined my local MTNA, and I’m looking to host a group of local non-MTNA teachers in the fall!

 

5

Submitted by Abby Maser
Simple Modern 28oz tumbler – doesn’t spill easily, contains a lot of liquid, easy to take a sip in lessons, AND it fits in my cup holder.

6

Submitted by Alicia Gaggioni

I loved your One-Minute Club, and I started working on this idea this Fall. I prepared in ziplocks the cards for every level, so I have them ready for every class. Thank you!!

 

7

Submitted by Christina Whitlock

I have many favorite things from Friday Finds (you can probably guess what they are!).  Here are the things that come quickest to mind:

1 – The Good Earth Sweet and Spicy Tea
2 – The Sanuk Yoga Joy Flip Flops (Friday Finds #134, #150, #245)
3 – The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast (Friday Finds #240)
4 – The Cheesy Egg Casserole (Friday Finds #201)

You KNOW Friday Finds are my absolute favorite email.  Thanks for delivering us all the goods over the past few years!

 

8

Submitted by Carol Lescinski

The first thing that came to mind was the Churro Brownie recipe (Friday Finds #243)!! I’ve made it numerous times already!

 

9

Submitted by Abby Maser

Creature Comforts USA – What is Art? [Video] 

Creature Comforts USA – Art from ART 110F on Vimeo.

 

Friday Finds #249

September 2, 2022
by Amy
4 Comments

Don’t forget – I need your help! Next week will be #250 of this series. My goal is for it to be a culmination of the best items YOU’VE discovered from this series.

You can drop me an email or comment directly on this blog post. (It would also help me greatly if you could include any links.)

Thank you so much for taking a moment to share back with me and other teachers who enjoy this series!

 

1

I’m a sucker for trying out different visual scale fingering charts. Here’s one I came across recently from Nancy DeHaven. It gets high kudos from me for its visually clean and simple design.

 

2

Some of my favorite fall-time recipes:

Fall Harvest 3 Sisters Soup

Healthy Pumpkin Bread

Spiced Pumpkin Raisin Cookies

 

3

Natalie has a new advanced piano solo arrangement out of “Jesus Paid it All with Wondrous Love.” At $3, it’s a bargain I didn’t pass up!

 

4

Some recent fun TV watches:

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC) – A fun, lighthearted show/tv musical.

Echoes (Netflix) – A riveting mini-series “thriller” about twins who switch lives.

 

5

In celebration of my birthday and podcast episode #034 How to Play Happy Birthday By Ear, get 10% off my Happy Birthday resource through the end of September. Use code 34TAKE10.

 

6

A tomato truck spill makes a major California highway a marinara mess.  (NPR)

 

7

The Ultimate List of Halloween Sheet Music for Piano Students (Creative Piano Teacher)

Favorite Sheet Music Piano Solos for Halloween (Piano Pantry)

A Halloween-Themed Listening Activity (Piano Pantry)

Halloween Favorites: Games, Resource, Graphics, and More (Piano Pantry)

 

8

A grant I wish I had known about when I was a teacher starting out: Studio Teacher Fellowship (MTNA) (due Nov. 1)

 

9

What’s the Difference Between Corn Oil, Canola Oil, and Vegetable Oil? (The Kitchn)

 

10

An Autumn playlist from me to you on Spotify:

 

How to Create Student Birthday Postcards in Canva [Video]

August 31, 2022
by Amy
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Sending students birthday postcards is something I’ve been doing for years and have posted about several times in the past:

After ten years of mailing postcards, I’ll admit I needed a break last year. (While it’s wonderful to do little “extras” for our students, it’s OK to need a break.) A year off was just the breather I needed, and I’m excited to do it again this year.

Part of my excitement is that one of my favorite digital tools, Canva, now offers printing services. I wanted to try designing my birthday postcards this year using the new studio logo I had redesigned last year.

In this video post, I will show you how to design and order postcards in Canva. At $18 for 25 cards, I thought their prices were very reasonable!

 

Friday Finds #248

August 26, 2022
by Amy
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Can you believe we are 248 posts into this series?! Writing a weekly “goodies” series was one of the first things I wanted to do when I started this blog in 2016.

As we approach the next big milestone, I need your help! I would love for #250 to come from YOU. Specifically, would you share the BEST items you discovered from a Friday Finds post? 

It could be a recipe I linked to that is now a staple for your family, a new resource, a fun video, one of my Spotify playlists…ANYTHING.

You can drop me an email or comment directly on this blog post. It would also help me a lot if you could include any links.

I’ll gather your favorites over the course of the next two posts before the big #250 hits. Thank you so much, teacher friends, for your continued enthusiasm for this series!

 

1

A few online teacher friends got some updates to their websites. Check them out!

 

2

Apparently, the secret “11 herbs and spices” of KFC has been revealed???

My husband is dying to try it. Fried chicken this week, anyone?

 

3

In our technology-driven world, one of the best things we can do for ourselves is to be intentional about learning how to use the programs we use daily well. Shortcuts can be a powerful tool for smooth workflow and productivity.

Here are a few useful tips if you use Chrome as your browser:

Tips & Shortcuts for Better Browsing (Chrome)

 

4

It’s the time of year some of you are updating your policies. Jennifer Foxx has you covered with her “Studio Policy Script Starters” resource.

 

5

A few podcast episodes I’ve particularly enjoyed recently:

 

6

Speaking of podcasts, I’ve been looking for a new news podcast for a change of pace. My brother recently recommended The Last Debate Podcast. I’ve really been enjoying it! It drops twice a week and is a well-balanced look at what’s going on in the news from both sides in a 100% non-confrontational way.

 

7

Any Friends fans? An actual Central Perk Coffeehouse is coming soon! (The Kitchn)

 

8

16 Ideas for First-Time Music Festival Adjudicators (Chris Foley)

 

9

Six Things I’ve Learned from the Amish About Living Living Intentionally (Becoming Minimalist)

My mom grew up in Northeast Ohio around large Amish communities, and our area also has many Amish communities. There is something very peaceful and nostalgic to me about learning from their practices.

 

10

As I started building and mapping out our upcoming European trip, I came across this video of some great Google Map Features from my favorite YouTube tech guy.