Category - friday finds

Here’s my weekly round-up of all good things from one music teacher to another. Up this week: Homemade Root Beer, Steinway’s Secret Vault, a Fun List of Books to Read for Each Year of Your Life, and more!

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What’s inside Steinway’s Secret Vault? Oh my, this is too exciting. I want to see, don’t you?!

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From the Washington Post: A list of the best books to read at every age. One book for each year of your life. What a fun idea!

It makes me want to go “aw…” when I see books like “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein and “Ramona the Pest” by Beverly Cleary. 🙂

I think it would be fun to start at the beginning and even read all the kids books! That’s now on my Summer bucket list!

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I’m not even a sports fan, and I was excited to hear about the win for the US Women’s Soccer Team against the Netherlands at the World Cup. (Notice I said I was excited to “hear” about it. Yeah, that means I didn’t actually watch it. I’m terrible, I know!)

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The Result of Saying “Yes” to My Family from piano teacher Tracy Selle.

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Someone, please make this Homemade Root Beer for me right now. I still have one more week before my kitchen countertops are installed. Time is ticking!

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Ready to update your professional headshots? Here’s a unique idea…

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The cutest little greenhouses ever. I can’t wait to have a garden again!

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Humongous Horns: Texas Longhorn From Alabama Sets Guinness World Record. 

Yeah, yeah, super cool and crazy, but honestly, I just like the look of the word “Humongous!”

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Two Dozen Piano Teaching Blogs That Have Transformed my Teaching from Heidi’s Piano Studio.

As I began to write this post, I thought “I’ll have to do a 4th of July Friday Finds here in a couple of weeks.”

Then I looked at my calendar…

For real?! Independence Day is NEXT WEEK!

Yowsuh.

Something is happening today, that I just have to tell you about. It has absolutely nothing to do with piano but it kind of has something to do with food…

We’re finally getting our kitchen cabinets installed!! 6 months. 6 months is how long we’ve been living with just a small convection oven, single induction cooktop, and microwave all sitting on two folding tables. I am SO OVER it.

Photos coming soon!

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After scouring my files, I realized there aren’t a lot of 4th of July-themed materials I use in my studio. There are a few Summer-themed worksheets I’ve used from time to time. They’re all from Susan Paradis, of course!

4th of July Composing Activity
Summer Treat Fun Sheet for Beginners
Strawberry Notes
Snow Cone Signs and Symbols
Our Buggy Friends: A Note Story

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Sara Campbell has compiled a list of free-downloadable Patriotic Music.

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I finally got around to taking the Enneagram. After listening to this episode on the Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast, I coined myself a 1 or 3.

A friend recommended the test at the Enneagram Institute. For $12 it’s better than some of the free ones out there but not as expensive as others available.

My suspicions were confirmed. My highest score was a tie between Type 3 and Type 1. My second highest score was a tie between Type 2, 8, and 9.

What’s your number?

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You Should Pour Vinegar into Your Washing Machine – Here’s Why 

We just got a brand new Speed Queen set (which, BTW, I totally recommend) so I won’t need to do this for a while, but it makes complete sense!

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Fear of Kohlrabi | Seth Godin

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What Really Happened to Malaysia’s Missing Airplane

This is a long read, but quite fascinating. I’ll admit I ended up skipping the final 30% of the article or so, but it’s worth the read.

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A 10-Year Old Just Climbed a 3,000-foot Nose route on Yosemite’s El Capitan. Impressive!

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Reindeer Yoga? Really Alaska? LOL.

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Homemade strawberry milk. Yummo.

Have a lovely holiday next week everyone! Eat lots of hamburgs (as my grandma would call them) and all things that scream “Summer Food.” Your belly and your soul will thank you.

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Four Essential Piano Teaching Tools Everyone Needs in Their Studio

Agreed, Tim! They’re so simple but the absolute basics.

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While we’re talking about the very basics things you might need to teach piano, you might check out my “minimalist’s list” list of piano teacher must-haves.

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Understanding Piano Parents: What Minor League Baseball Taught Me

If you’re not already following Rebekah Maxner, add her to your list. Every article I’ve come across of hers on piano teacher groups has been well-written and insightful.

Here’s another excellent one I just read while browsing her site:

‘Quitting’ piano: 7 options for teachers, students, and parents

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I finally added Rebekah’s website, Rebekah.maxner.ca to my Feedly account. Find out why I think RSS reader’s like Feedly are the best way to follow your favorite websites in this post: Managing Content the Easy Way.

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A couple of items to help you through your summer:

Simplify Summer | Becoming Minimalist

Grasping for Summer Routine | The Lazy Genius Podcast

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I’m dying to make these recipes::

Chickpea Ceasar Salad

1-Bowl Peanut Butter Protein Pancakes

Easy, Crispy Baja Fish Tacos

Fresh Lemonade

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Some posts that focus on Instagram for Piano Teachers:

Instagram for Independent Music Teachers: The #1 Reason You Should Be There

Is Instagram for Piano Teachers? Yes, here’s why! (On Using Hashtags)

How piano teachers can leverage Instagram

Instagram for Piano Teachers: 5 Fun Accounts to Follow

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Add this quote to your next studio newsletter.

“You can’t judge success by the day, the week, the month, or even the year. You have to judge success by the decade.” -Nicholas Cole

from: What 15 Years of Classical Piano Taught Me About Discipline (and Judging Your Own Potential)

(I discovered this article only after it was shared by Benjamin Steinhardt earlier this week on The Art of Piano Pedagogy Facebook group.)

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Millennial Music Teachers: 4 Traits They Bring to the Table

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Sweetwater is giving away $5,000 of gear any music lover will love in celebration of this year’s Gearfest.

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The headphones I wish I had purchased for my keyboards and music lab time 7 years ago.

The AKG K52 has an automatically-adjusting head band that fits nicely to any size head whether it’s a 6-year-old or a 16-year-old. The sound is amazing, and the over-ear, closed-back design helps keep the sound of the other piano student in the room out while students do their music lab. Totally worth the money.

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One Way to Think About Talent | Seth Godin

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The “Traditional” Teacher (Some Encouraging Words) from Forrest Kinney.

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A fun activity for group class: Meter Test – play clips of music to determine if the meter is duple or triple.

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As we’re getting our feet wet in Summer: 4 Lessons I Learned From Doing Less.

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People Magazine is not my idea of a regular reader, but I have two stories from People to highlight this week.

First, I’m a huge fan of Ina Garten but this Ina-themed Bachelorette Party kind of freaks me out. Mostly the photo where they all dressed like her. Weird.

Second, my husband’s niece just graduated high school and for her Senior Prom, her date MADE her prom dress. The story was not only featured in the June 2 edition of People Magazine, but it made news in the Daily Mail of the UK!

Daily Mail UK
Fox 35 Orlando
Fox 5 NY
Fox 59

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Fruit Pizza. Maybe we should be totally disgusted with those two words combined, but it’s totally American and totally yummy. Here’s one from Pinch of Yum.

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How to Plan for Your Summer Growth

Part of me loves this but part of me wants to curl up in a bawl and scream…

“Stop making us have to grow and improve every moment of our lives! Sometimes we just need to live life and do summer and not have to have a 12-step plan for getting better at everything in life!”

Rant over.

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An article to use in your upcoming newsletter to parents regarding the importance of keeping up a practice routine – especially through the Summer months! (This goes for teachers as well 🙂 )

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Do you have a certain phrase you tend to use the most right of the bat at the beginning of lessons? Mine more often than not (after greeting the student and asking how their week has been) is something along the lines of…

“What did you work on or focus on most this week?”

“What was your favorite piece?”

“Is there anything particular you would like to share with me about your time at the piano this week?”

Here are 21 more phrases gathered by the Curious Piano Teachers.

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The 2020 MTNA Collegiate Symposium is going to be held right here in my own state of Indiana and at my alma mater, Ball State University! Mark your calendar to attend!

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Lifetime access to Piano Teaching Academy for only $127. Wow!

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I handle my materials fees similar to the way Spring Seals describes in this article and completely agree with the reasons she states why it works.

The only small difference in the way I do it is rather than charting a flat amount per year, I charge $60 per student when they start and then when their account falls below $5 I ask them to recharge $60 again. This could happen at any point of the year. I just keep a spreadsheet for each student so I know what books I’ve given them and how much I’ve spent per students

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Today is the last day to take advantage of the 50% Trade-in-offer from AirTurn. I mailed out my old Bluetooth pedal today in exchange for a new one. It’s a great deal!

This past weekend was my student’s Spring Recital. It always feels so good to see my students and realize how far they’ve come from the previous year!

Having a recital as the final event at the end of the school term is kind of like a period at the end of a sentence. It’s a final statement of what’s been said while also being an invitation for what’s ahead.

Here’s to Summer and fresh beginnings!

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Self-Care for piano teachers: 6 tips for mental, physical, and spiritual wellness

#2 has me curious. Do any of you drink the “Natural Calm” hot drink that the article recommends? If so, let me know in the comments what you think.

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On Alfred Music blog:

The Worship Music Debate Continues: Understanding Music’s Role in Worship Services

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It’s the end of the school year and I’ve been trying to Spring Clean my studio. One purchase I made to help tidy a little more is a 32 x 31 Portfolio Case to hold my extra poster boards and the thick foam boards I use for my One Minute Club sign.

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Summer is upon us and my Amazon shopping cart also housed my second pair of these Sanuk Yoga Joy Metallic Flip-Flops.

The sole is made of rubber but the upper portion is made of Yoga mat material and is really comfortable. They also have a bit of arch support in them which makes them a winner in my book.

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Still looking for a fab gift for your favorite graduate?

One of the best gift packages I’ve come up for a special graduate was a package with these three items.

Electric Water Kettle
I Love Ramen Cookbook
12 Pack of Ramen Noodles

The graduate I gave this gift to informed me it was the best gift they received and they absolutely loved it!

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Taco Bell Is Opening a Resort in Palm Springs This Summer

Hmm…weird.

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If you haven’t already had the conversation with yourself yet on whether or not you will be raising your tuition for 2019-2020, check out these two articles from Wendy Steven’s as well as the cool Inflation Calculator she recommends.

How Often Should I Raise Teaching Rates?
Can You Raise Your Piano Lesson Price Too High?
CPI Inflation Calculator

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Fiery Piano Sheet music: Showstoppers for Students Who Like to Play Fast

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These “Sessions” Books from Teach Piano Today look interesting. I do have a few teen students that I think would enjoy these. Is anyone else using these books? If so, let me know what you think!

Today’s featured image is the photos that I posted of my studio on Instagram to enter MTNA’s free membership giveaway! All you have to do is post a photo of your studio on Instagram, tag it #mtnamembership, and follow @MTNAorg on Instagram.

They will draw a winner on June 3. The odds are looking pretty good as there are only 21 entries so far!

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“Do what you know. Finish what you started.  Use what you have.”

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A Better Way to Freeze Bacon. Hmm, I’ve never tried this. I often will lay the individual pieces out on wax or freezer paper in layers so they will defrost quickly. Has anyone tried the rolling method they mention?

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Street Food on Netflix. Looks like a great show!

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Suggestions on The Best Disney Piano Books from Lauren Lewandski at PianowithLauren.com

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Do you use Piano Safari’s sightreading cards? Consider using videos…

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Teaching excerpts from Burgmüller’s Opus 100.

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It was only a few months ago that I discovered LaCroix. I have no idea how far behind I am in that, but oh well, I know the product now and love it – mostly. Actually, only a few. I love the Pure (no flavor) and the Orange. The Berry flavor is OK but Cran-Raspberry is awful. Apparently, there’s a new Hibiscus flavor now.

If you’re into sparkling water though, definitely try Perrier’s Strawberry and Orange flavors. They’re awesome for summer

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Two great articles on a similar topic you may relate to!

How Motherhood changed the way I teach piano (Piano Teacher Confessions) by Rebekah Maxner

Has Parenthood Changed My Teaching? by Elissa Milne

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I’m totally loving this steel frame dish rack. Would you pay that much for a dish rack?

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Awesome new podcast alert! Check out Decomposed with Jade Simmons

“Decomposed breaks down the stories that have shaped classical music, from secrets and scandals to acts of sheer genius. Hear these stories accompanied by the symphonies, operas and other masterpieces they inspired. Hosted by Jade Simmons, a classical concert pianist and storyteller, the first season of Decomposed takes on gender expectations, Cold War propaganda and the danger of putting your personal life on the stage. Produced in partnership with Classical Minnesota Public Radio.”

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In other Podcast news, NPR hosted a Student Podcast Challenge. I think this is so cool!

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Choose Your Life Every Day

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Buying plants on Amazon? Why am I surprised?

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Prep your students for their recital (if you haven’t already had it!) using the Compliment Exchange Cards.

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How to Make More Time as a Piano Teacher with Help from technology

Today’s featured photo is the piano teacher family tree I give to each one of my students when they join my studio. I updated it recently and am going to frame it along with a photo of me with my two most recent teachers.

Unfortunately, as you can see, I can’t remember the last name of one of my teachers! She was a college music major I studied with for a couple of years. Someday it will come back to me!

My piano teacher when I was in grad school at Ball State, Dr. Lori Rhoden gave this piano teacher heritage list to all her students. She studied with Dr. Maurice Hinson who is the one that did all the research.

How cool is that when you can tell your students they are the great, great, great, great, great grandstudent of Beethoven?

(Much of this was inspired by the Varsity Musician’s Playbook series here on Piano Pantry.)

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The Gordon Institute for Music Learning has announced its 2019 Professional Development Courses.

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Piano Music for Teens

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I’ve seen Clinton present on his Music Alive! Recitals and it’s such a fun idea! Bookmark it for a unique and fun future recital in your studio!

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Snooze is a Trap | Seth Godin

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What’s the difference between a frittata and a quiche?

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My husband sent me a link to these Soft Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies Cookies. I think he’s trying to give me a hint.

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Check out these beautiful food-themed silver necklaces! What a fun and unique gift they would make for the food-lover in your life!

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Looking for a unique and practical gift for a high school or college graduate? Consider a subscription to Birchbox!

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Ina Garten’s Tips for When Store-Bought is More than Just Fine. I completely agree! I mean, who is seriously going to make their own puff pastry! LOL. (I do make my own vanilla extract though.)

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Music Education Benefits for Kids In A 90 Second Animation

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.

Finding Sabbath Again

Starting the New Year with Rest (her way of thinking about our cycles of rest is really interesting)

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Amazing things in education!

Bal-A-Vis-X from OSDE on Vimeo.

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5 Books that Helped Me Heal (P.S. I’m currently reading #3 with the staff at my church!)

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Not normally a casserole girl, but with my need for very easy food right now, this one is going on rotation for a while!

Marsala Chicken-and-Mushroom Casserole

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Don’t miss entering the giveaway I posted earlier this week!