Friday Finds #278

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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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10+ Exciting Google AI Music Experiments for Music Teachers (Katrina Proctor | Midnight Music)

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My Go-To Plan for First Piano Lessons (Ashley Danyew)

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We are big-time into the whole “Chili Crisp” phase that’s been around the internet in recent months. So much so that I went searching for ideas on what to do with it besides just Chili Crisp Fried Eggs and came across this Miso-Parmesan Pasta with Chili Crisp. We liked it! There are a couple of ingredients you might have to track down, but if you enjoy the crisp and a little heat, you’ll like this.

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The New National Music Standards (Eric Bluestine | The Ways Children Learn Music)

I agree with what Eric has to say. The updates are disappointing overall.

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People Are Just Finding Out About the Major Difference Between PYREX and pyrex (We Had No Idea!) (Kiersten Hickman | the Kitchn)

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Podcast Episode: The Science of Motivating Your Kids (And Any Young Adult) (The Art of Manliness)

From the description:

If you’re a parent, teacher, coach, or manager who lives, loves, and works with tweens, teens, and 20s-somethings, you know that young people sometimes act in seemingly head-scratching ways, that you don’t always feel like you’re being listened to, and that it can be frustrating to try to guide them in acting towards positive ends.

The source of these challenges is often chalked up to the underdeveloped brains and hormones that tweens through young twenty-somethings possess. But my guest would say that what’s more to blame is the ineffective way mentors often approach young adults.

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Piano Practice Assignment Sheet Roundup (Colourful Keys)

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10 Safety Protocols for the Independent Music Teacher (Jennifer Foxx | Music Educator Resources)

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6 Genius Organizing Tools for Music Teachers (Pianosaurus Rex)

P.S. One that she mentions is Notion! Organize Your Life With Notion, a 2-day workshop hosted by myself and Joy Morin, will be held September 20-21. Get more details here.

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We have new neighbors next door that are building a small organic farm business. I’m in heaven! Every Friday or Saturday, I pop over there and grab a half dozen in-season veggies and other goodies like homemade wheat sourdough bread, local honey, and high-quality pork products.

I recently snatched a bunch of golden beets. We don’t eat them a lot, but definitely enjoy them. Here’s two of my go-to ways to use them:

After roasting them wrapped individually in foil in the oven for 30-45 minutes (depending on the size) and then cooling, I pull off the skin. Then chop large diced in salads or thick slice on top of burgers.

You don’t have to have recipes for either of those but here are a couple if that’s what you like:

Chopped Salad with Grilled Chicken (What’s Gabby Cooking)

Sliced on top of grilled burgers (Food 52)

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Bulletproof Solutions for Make-Up Lessons (Rebekah Maxner)

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How to curate your own life (Yen Lin Kong | TEDx)

“Art is all around us, and all it takes is an open mind and an observant and appreciative eye to connect the dots.”

Friday Finds #277

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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A New Tool for Lesson Planning (Daniel Light)

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Hoping to do a Summer recital but don’t have any plans yet? How about a Picnic Performance?

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Piano Teacher ‘Monday Holiday Blues’: How to schedule piano lessons on Mondays (Rebekah Maxner)

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This was a cute movie. It’s not usually what I go for, but we enjoyed it. (Yesterday on Amazon Prime)

“A struggling musician awakens to discover that he is the only person alive who knows who the Beatles are.”

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I can’t wait to try this!

I Used This “Magical” Cleaner to Remove Scratches from My Plates, and I Can’t Believe the Results! (The Kitchn)

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Dining out with a big group? Here’s how to fairly split the check. (NPR)

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Make these grilled baby potatoes the next time you break out the grill! They’re so good! I don’t even bother to skewer them.

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Are you the crafty type? Did you know you can create your own stickers? Fun!

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A cool tool for building a word cloud of your writing: Wordclouds.com

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5 Tips for Organizing Your Sheet Music (Leila Viss)

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Organizing Your Hard Copy Music Books (Piano Pantry)

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One of my friends made this salad for our supper club, and it was delicious! Summer Peach Spinach Salad with Avocado, Toasted Almonds, and Goat Cheese (Ambitious Kitchen).

BTW, Is it just me, or is it like a rule that salads have to have super long names if they’re anything beyond a simple Chef or Ceasar? LOL

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Persian vs. English Cucumbers: Here’s the Real Difference (The Kitchn)

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Food art on Instagram from Paul Octavious – “The Soleful” – so cool!

Friday Finds #275

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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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A couple of months ago, I checked out a game from the library to play with my BBBS lunch buddy, Eliza, called Point Salad. It was so much fun! My mom and I even played it together one evening and she loved it too. If you like the game Sushi Go, I think you’ll like this.

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Updating our Stuck Interactions (Seth Godin)

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I’m always a sucker for articles like these:

33 Things You Absolutely Need to Be Buying at Trader Joe’s (and 3 You Can Skip) (Pinch of Yum).

I shared my own Trader Joe’s shopping list here on the blog a few years ago if you want to see some of my favorites – many of which are still the same!

Of Lindsay’s list, I’m in agreement that these six are absolute must-haves:

  1. Frozen Roasted Corn
  2. Unexpected Cheddar Cheese
  3. Fried Rice (Vegetable and Chicken)
  4. Frozen Brown Rice
  5. Sea Salt and Turbino Sugar Dark Chocolate Almonds
  6. Trail Mix Crackers

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Utilizing ForScore App Features: A Visual Guide (Piano Pantry)

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I am way behind on the whole “Rush E” wave. If you’re clueless like I was, check out the story here.

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5 Tips to Organize Music Games (So You Can Use Them!) (Music Game Club)

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Piano Studio Organization – Stationary Edition (Colouful Keys)

Friday Finds #274

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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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One of my teacher friends recently shared some interesting info and resources she discovered on women composers at the MTNA conference:

A Grade Anthology of Women Composers (Melanie Spanswick)

Women Composers: Three Centuries of Keyboard Works (in three volumes) (One Eye Publications)

boulangerinitiative.org

aseatatthepiano.com

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Friday Finds #273

 

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It is so sad to hear of Susan Paradis’s passing. Susan was a gem in the early world of online content for piano teachers.

 

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In early May, a new ruling by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will go into effect, putting a cap on late credit card fees.

 

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I’ve gone back and forth on keeping energy/snack bars in the house and haven’t had any in a while. In preparation for last month’s ‘MTNA conference, though, I grabbed some and found a couple of new favorites!

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle LÄRABAR 

KIND Blueberry Almond Breakfast Bars

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Friday Finds #272 – MTNA 2024 Conference News

Welcome to a special edition of Friday Finds! I thought it would be fun to follow the 2024 Music Teacher National Conference in Atlanta with a list of announcements, favorite new products, and special features. (Thanks to all the teacher friends who sent me items to add to the list! You know who you are! 🙂

Let me know in the comments which item(s) you are most excited about!

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Announcing: The new CEO of Music Teachers National Association

Effective July 1, 2024, Brian Shepard has been named MTNA’s new CEO. Shepard began his career at MTNA in 2003 as the Director of Marketing and Public Relations. In 2008, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer.

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Announcing: Faber’s Piano Adventures Exams.

There will be a free webinar on Tuesday, April 23, @ 1:00 pm EDT for those who want to “get an overview of the exam requirements, explore fun ways to prepare, and learn how to get started.

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The one piece of material I came home most excited about is a new publication from Piano Safari called Friends at Last: Tuneful Rote Pieces for the Beginning Pianist by Amy Glennon. Here’s the description from their website:

“Friends at Last: Tuneful Rote Pieces for the Beginning Pianist is a collection of ten rote pieces woven into a story about what it means to be a friend. This format is perfect for a recital performance with a narrator telling the story and a group of beginning pianists performing the pieces. It is also provides supplemental repertoire for Piano Safari Friends and Repertoire Book 1.”

Here’s a quick review I did of it on Instagram:

 
 
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Friday Finds #270

 

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Registration is now open for the two-day workshop Organize Your Life With Notion (Amy Chaplin & Joy Morin)

 

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This a delightfully light and flavorful egg salad recipe for you to try this week. I love the swap of avocado and cottage cheese for what would traditionally be mayonnaise, and the small amount of corn and dried tomatoes gave it a nice twist!

My husband and I, though, have to eat our egg salad on some good sturdy wheat crackers. The lettuce bed doesn’t bring joy to our palette. 🙂

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Friday Finds #269

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OK, I have THREE things relating to actress Jennifer Garner to start us off on this week’s list:

(1) Her movie “Family Switch” on Netflix is really fun and totally worth a watch.

(2) I absolutely love following her @Jennifer.Garner on Instagram – she is so fun!

(3) She interviewed Adam Grant on his podcast ReThinking about his new book Hidden Potential. It is AWESOME. It was such a humorous conversation to listen to!

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An Introduction to Notion – A Customizable Digital Workspace to Organize Everything In Your Life (Joy Morin)

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Google Podcasts is going away in March, but don’t worry, there are plenty of good alternatives! My favorite app for listening is the Overcast app.

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Friday Finds #268

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Do you still need to put together your holiday recital program? Check out this really cool “vintage” one from Wendy Stevens at Compose Create!

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I’m not a huge ginger fan, but I do use it a lot more in the winter for Hot Toddies and such. Even though using the back of a spoon makes it easier, it’s still a bit of a pain. I finally decided to quickly research if it was even needed and found it’s not!

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