Category - Friday Finds

Happy Friday, piano teacher friends!

As we get going into a new school term, I just wanted to quickly share about the Friday Finds series – especially if you’re new around here – so you can know what to expect. 🙂

First, my goal is that I can make your life a little easier by weeding through all the content that is out there and sharing the best of what’s worth your time and attention.

Second, I hope that you find these posts unique, refreshing, lighthearted, and fun.

Third, it’s not always just 100% about piano teaching because that’s just how I roll and as you can attest, we aren’t our profession.

Lastly, each week I focus on a specific topic. One of my most recent favorites: was #227 What’s New in Piano Teacher World. At the end of the month, I present a more random list such as today’s “Best of August.”

If you’re new, thanks for being here, and if you’re a regular reader, thanks for sticking around.

Here’s to another school year!

~Amy

 

1

Natalie recently shared a review on a really interesting online sheet music company where you can stream over 20,000 pieces of sheet music!

 

2

While the piano podcast world is starting to get a little saturated, I feel like one person I haven’t gotten to hear much on podcasts is Wendy Stevens. (Of course, I could have just missed them! LOL). Anyway, I really enjoyed hearing her chat with Leila Viss on Episode 28 of the Key Ideas Podcats.

(I’ve been playing catch-up big time on podcasts so you’re going to get quite a few in today’s list!)

 

3

I absolutely love playlists focused on popular tunes that use specific chord progressions. There are two people I found recently that have some great lists on Spotify.

Katie Wardrobe – Melbourne-based music technology trainer, consultant, blogger, and podcaster – has a list for 12-Bar Blues Progressions, 1-5-6-4, Pentatonic Melody, and more.

Robin Giebelhausen – assistant professor of music education at the University of Maryland, College Park, and MLT practitioner extraordinaire – has playlists on the I-V-vi-IV progression, and all the tonalities (Dorian, Mixolydian, etc.), and more.

 

4

How to Use Milanote as an Educator (Ashley Danyew)

She says it’s basically Evernote meets Pinterest so obviously I’m intrigued! Are you using Milanote? I would love to hear from you on how you like it. Please share in the comments or drop me a message!

 

5

You guys, this moment right now is my absolute favorite food season and it’s 100% because of tomatoes.

Lunch – dinner – lunch – dinner – lunch – dinner….every day our meals include something with tomatoes. There is nothing like a fresh August tomato – especially beefsteaks. *sigh*

Cod Sautéed in Olive Oil with Fresh Tomatoes (Simply Recipes). This is SUCH an easy and delicious fish recipe. Do it.

Frittata with Tuna and Tomatoes (Giada De Laurentiis). Such a quick cook plus healthy and delicious. Don’t skip the dollop of mascarpone on the side.

Paleo Chicken Salad with Bacon and Tomatoes (America’s Test Kitchen). I’m not after “paleo”, just a good healthy mayo-free chicken salad.

Pesto Salmon with Burst Tomatoes (The Kitchn). Admittedly, I haven’t yet tried this one, but it sounds delicious.

Tomato, Mozzarella & Pesto Panini (Food.com). While it’s on Food.com, it’s actually Ina Garten’s recipe from one of her cookbooks I have.

 

6

What is the best time to post on Instagram? It’s not just when your followers are online, it’s when there’s less competition for posts. While surprising, it makes total sense! Instagram in 2021 According to 35 Million Posts (Later.com).

 

7

My news often comes from The Newsworthy podcast. While I generally skip the Saturday special editions, I did catch and love the July 31st episode with The Grammar Girl including a little talk on using the Oxford Comma.

 

8

Training Us to Be Present for the Sacred All Around Us by Ed Cyzeweski.

 

9

A new recent podcast find is Sharon Says So. Episode 10 on How to be a good news consumer was especially interesting. Specifically, they talk about how to pay attention to what really matters and let go of what you don’t really need to know.

 

10

How to Create an Amazing Home Office (Organize Like a Pro podcast with Liz Toombs)

 

11

5 Tech Tools for Online Teaching (Teach Music Online podcast with Carly Walton)

 

12

99% Invisible podcast: Episode #453 The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food

This episode was one of the only cookbooks to exist in the Soviet Union. It was part of a radical Soviet food experiment aimed at addressing hunger in the USSR.

 

 

---

Subscribe to the Piano Pantry email list to keep up to date!

You’ll get my once-a-month “Secret Letter” which includes what’s been going on in my studio that month, books I’m reading, and more. You will also have the option to have new posts delivered to your inbox weekly.

 

 

A few years ago, I started an end-of-year series here on Piano Pantry called  “Piano Teacher World.”

2017 – Piano Teacher World: A Year in Recap: News, Happenings, and Impact.
2018 – Piano Teacher World: A Year in Recap: 2018

The reason it fizzled out was simply that it was hard to roll out a big post like that during such a busy time of year.

After seeing several new things pop up here recently, the start of the new school year felt like another good time of year to do this kind of a post!

Cheers to those bringing us new products, tools, and resources to make our lives easier, and cheers to you, the teachers, who help make creative dreams possible!

P.S. I’m considering things “new” within the past 12 months or so.

 

1 – Membership Sites and Blogs

Tim has just introduced Top Music Guitar.

In February, Music Teacher’s National Association (MTNA) released a big new Business Resources section on their website.

Rosemarie Penner of The Unfinished Lesson has gone through an update and moved Facebook and Instagram accounts. Be sure and follow her new accounts before the end of August when the old ones close.

 

2 – Podcasts

Within a week of each other in August 2020, Leila Viss’s Key Ideas podcast and Christina Whitlock’s Beyond Measure Podcast hit the airwaves.

South Shore Piano Podcast with Jonathan Roberts – a podcast that celebrates how the arts are changing lives – launched in March 2021.

Ben Kapilow started the All Keyed Up podcast in April 2021.

 

3 – Methods

Piano Safari announced their new series for preschoolers. They are holding a webinar on August 13.

 

4 – Apps

Music Teacher’s Helper has a new owner and CEO.

Tonara is launching a big update soon if it hasn’t already been posted.

In March, Sproutbeat went through a really big update/overhaul combining their worksheets app with the Leap Games online into one location.

 

5 – Products

Last year, Joy Morin began releasing a few sheet music solos. There are currently three in her shop.

This year I launched two new products: a Happy Birthday by Ear teaching resource and a Sequenced Assignment Series for At-Home Practice with Note Rush.

Preorders are now being taken for Nicola Cantan’s Practice Pie book which is designed for piano parents. At the moment, just the ebook version is available. Hardcopy preorders will be taken starting August 23.

 

---

Subscribe to the Piano Pantry email list to keep up to date!

You’ll get my once-a-month “Secret Letter” which includes what’s been going on in my studio that month, books I’m reading, and more. You will also have the option to have new posts delivered to your inbox weekly.

 

Whether you’re starting lessons up in the next week or two or at the beginning of September, now is the time to start gathering ideas for the beginning of the term and get your space in order.

 

1

Wendy Steven’s “This or That” Ice Breaker Game would be great for a first group class!

 

2

A few years ago, after my friend Christina’s Whitlock told me how she avoids scheduling madness by doing only group classes in August, I’ve been doing it ever since! (Well, at least the first week or two.)

Hear more about this brilliant idea in Episode 38: Cheers to a Less-Conventional August of the Beyond Measure Podcast.

 

3

The first lesson of the year – whether private lessons or group classes – are a great time to focus your entire studio on learning to play Happy Birthday.

My Happy Birthday By Ear teaching resource will give you and your students a tangible guide for learning (and remembering) how to play this popular tune!

 

 

4

Reviewing music terms and symbols would be made a lot more fun with Leila’s Piano Charades game using the Decide Now app or Melody Payne’s “I Have… Who Has? Music Symbols Game.

 

5

Antipasto Salad makes a wonderful summer meal (The Kitchn)

 

6

I finally broke down and bought myself a set of really sturdy plastic file folders.

Besides the fact that they’re sturdy, I especially love that they’re a little narrower than conventional magazine holders.

Get them on Amazon. mDesign Plastic File Folder.

I can’t tell you the relief I felt when I was able to organize a lot of items that I had in piles using these.

 

7

This matching desk organizer also made it into my Amazon cart and has been a great addition to my desk space.

mDesign Desk Organizer on Amazon.

 

 

 

---

Subscribe to the Piano Pantry email list to keep up to date!

You’ll get my once-a-month “Secret Letter” which includes what’s been going on in my studio that month, books I’m reading, and more. You will also have the option to have new posts delivered to your inbox weekly.

 

 

1

Music Teacher’s Helper has a new owner and CEO!

 

2

Check out how Natalie is using Evernote to save all her music theory worksheets!

 

3

If you’re not recycling your batteries, maybe now is a good time to consider getting started. Check out Call2Recycle for places near you!

My husband and I keep a small plastic container in our cleaning closet that we throw old batteries in. Once that piles up, we take them into our local Lowe’s store who recycles them.  Thank you, Lowe’s!

 

4

My favorite cloth for cleaning my pianos (recommended by my piano tuner) is the Guardsman Cleaning Cloth.

It has a slightly sticky surface that grabs dirty but doesn’t leave a residue on your piano. Simply rinse the cloth and hang it to dry!

 

 

5

One of my favorite MLT-practitioners and Ukulele Songbook creators, Robin Giebelhausen, has a Spotify profile with playlists of pieces in Duple Meter, Triple Meter, and all the “modes.” What a gem and fun way to start training your ear!

 

6

Brewed Cacao…say what?”

 

7

I have a lot of podcasts that I listen to – many of which I zip in and out of (basically, love it, but don’t feel the need to catch them all).

While The Next Right Thing has become one of those (and that’s OK!), her most recent episode, 185: Why Makers Struggle to Get things Done had me nodding my head in agreement and relief (that it was a thing) like a wild woman.

—

I love Ashley’s podcast episode on having students make a short video reflection on why they make music. This would be a fun little project to do at your first group class of the year! (Ashley Danyew | Field Notes on Music Learning Episode 032)

—

It doesn’t matter how many times I hear Marvin Blickenstaff, I always walk away feeling like teaching is a gem and he is my grandpa holding my hand along the way. (That’s a good thing, Marvin!) 🙂 It was no less so when I listened to his podcast episode with Ben Kapilow on the Nuts and Bolts of Piano Pedagogy.

 

8

Chrissy’s 2-minute tip on using pop-its to teach technique.

 

9

My friend has been making this summer fruit salad at recent gatherings and oh my goodness, SO GOOD. The photo doesn’t show it but there are banana slices and they really add a nice creaminess. (All Recipes)

Peaches, cucumbers, and avocadoes make a really lovely salad combination as well!  (What’s Gabby Cooking)

Very few things are so tasty that I make them twice in a two-week period. Not the case with this Ground Turkey Skillet with Zucchini, Corn, Black Beans, and Tomato (Skinny Taste). I could seriously eat it twice a week right now.

 

10

Joy has a giveaway going on of Wendy Chan’s Music Escapade products. You might know my luck, I ordered Wendy’s Grand Staff board just a week before Joy posted this giveaway. Darn! Oh well, one more chance for you! Enter before August 9.

 

11

Piano Safari has released a series for preschool students!

 

12

Instagram Debuts New Safety Settings for Teenagers (NPR)

 

 

---

Subscribe to the Piano Pantry email list to keep up to date!

You’ll get my once-a-month “Secret Letter” which includes what’s been going on in my studio that month, books I’m reading, and more. You will also have the option to have new posts delivered to your inbox weekly.

 

It’s the end of the month which means I have a nice hefty list for you. Take what you need, leave the rest, and by all means, ignore it completely if you don’t have the bandwidth.

Otherwise, I hope you can find something that intrigues you, sparks your imagination, makes life easier, or even just brings a moment of joy.

~Amy

 

1

A couple of weeks ago in our Summertime finds, I shared a Summer playlist for your listening pleasure.

Playlists are a fun little pastime for me so I was back at it again, creating a 4th of July one.

A disclaimer on the Independence Day playlist: it is not full of Patriotic marching band-type music but I will admit there might be some Country music involved (not normally my genre of choice). 🙂 Enjoy!

Eventually, I’m going to run out of playlist ideas. LOL.

 

2

Praise Students for their Effort, not their Talent (Chris Foley | The Collaborative Piano Blog)

 

3

I am absolutely loving the beautiful printable music posters that Joy shared recently. What a fun way to decorate your space! (Joy Morin | Color in My Piano)

 

4

If you follow me on Instagram, you got a peek at this recommendation earlier in the month. Oatsome Organic Coffee Creamer is my new favorite.

Some people were inquiring where to buy. While the link I just gave takes you to Amazon, I can get it at my local grocer – Walmart.

 

5

The Single Most Important Thing You Should Do On the First of Every Month (The Kitchen)

While classic bate-click marketing, it’s a pretty good recommendation. Just to make it easier for you – the article says you should clean your dishwasher filter once a month.

Let me go further. I put a reminder on my calendar the last Friday of the month to do the following things:

• Run the dishwasher through a cleaning cycle (apparently, I should also clean the filter).
• Run the coffee maker through a cleaning cycle.
• Give the kitchen sinks a good cleaning with Bar Keeper’s Friend. (Probably should do this more often but it can get away from you easily.)
• Plunk a cleaning tablet (Lemi-Shine is my favorite) into the garbage disposals. (Yes, that was plural. I have two – one in my regular sink and one in my prep sink. #spoiled)
• Wash all bedding (including mattress and pillow covers and blankets).

 

6

Musicianship Monthly: Summer Edition (Chrissy Ricker)

 

7

Juneteenth: What it is and How it is Observed (NPR)

 

8

This is the kind of article that might easily give you some warm fuzzies: Coming Home Dinners (Jenny Rosenstrach | A Cup of Jo)

 

9

For years I had and enjoyed using Jennifer Foxx’s game I Have Who Has Rhythm Clapbacks.

So, I went crazy when I saw Melody Payne also a whole series of this popular game. You can purchase them as a bundle or, as I did, just pick and choose which ones you want and purchase them individually.

 

10

A studio teacher giving out a scholarship to a graduating senior? What a wonderful idea!

 

11

A couple of podcast episode recommendations:

99% Invisible Podcast #442 Tanz Tanz Revolution: On the development of and heightened popularity of techno music in Berlin

Music Studio Startup #078 Noa Kageyama on Building a Personally Fulfilling Business

 

12

Chris Foley always has something interesting and provocative to say including his most recent thoughts on blogging. (Foley Music and Arts)

 

13

Lastly, my obligatory good recipe recommendation/finds!

Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Cups (Gimme Some Oven)

These make nice bite-size snacks when you make them in mini cupcake pans!

Burger Bowls (House of Yumm)

We eat a LOT of salads in the Summer. It’s so nice having a variety to choose from and really loved the take on the Burger Bowl. It kind of feels like a taco salad but tastes like a burger without the bun!

Basic + Awesome Chicken Quinoa Salad (Pinch of Yum)

See? Another salad! LOL

The Best Rice Krispie Treats You’ll Ever Make (How to Make Cereal Treats)

We had some friends with young kids over for lunch after church one Sunday so I tried my hand for the first time with Rice Krispie Treats.

P.S. The secret ingredient that makes them the “best” is European Butter. 😉

 

 

---

Subscribe to the Piano Pantry email list to keep up to date!

You’ll get my once-a-month “Secret Letter” which includes what’s been going on in my studio that month, books I’m reading, and more. You will also have the option to have new posts delivered to your inbox weekly.

 

 

Since the first day of Summer is just a little more than a week away and many of us are already on our “summer” schedule, let’s celebrate all things for this upcoming season.

Whether you gather ideas for your studio, permission to find ways to unplug and getaway, or

I hope you find a little something for yourself today.

 

1

My favorite flip-flop is the Sanuk Yoga Spree. Every summer I buy one more pair. This year I went for the Summer Yellow. My arch’s never hurt when wearing these – even if I wear them ALL DAY!

 

2

Experiencing the Seasons in Our Studios and Life (Amy Chaplin | Piano Pantry)

 

3

Let’s Get Outside! Moving Music Lessons Out of the Studio (Rosemarie Penner | The Unfinished Lesson)

 

4

Some favorite summertime recipes:

Best Peach Cobbler (Pinch of Yum)
Herbal Iced Tea (Ina Garten | Barefoot Contessa)
Summer Fruit Crostata (Ina Garten | Barefoot Contessa)
Summer Garden Pasta (Ina Garten | Barefoot Contessa)
Summer Vegetable Tacos with Queso Fresco (Williams Sonoma)

 

5

A Summer Coffeehouse Recital (Amy Chaplin | Piano Pantry)

 

6

4 Lessons I Learned from Doing Less (Michelle Cushatt)

 

7

My Summer playlist on Spotify

 

8

Several podcasts on Summer themes from Kendra Adachi, “The Lazy Genius.”

Grasping for Summer Routine podcast #112
The Summer Meal Formula podcast #164
How to Plan a Summer Day podcast #211
A Guide to Summer House Rules podcast #212

 

9

Your Questions Answered (Amy Chaplin | Piano Pantry):

Summer Lessons and Curriculum
Light but Fun Composing Activities for Summer

 

10

The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do to Simplify Your Summer (Elissa Joy Watts | Becoming Minimalist)

 

11

Summer Repertoire (Amy Chaplin | Piano Pantry)

 

12

How to Be the Ultimate Summer Host (Myka Meier | Food 52)

 

13

4 Ways to Motivate Students: Banishing the Summer Practice Blues (Amy Chaplin | Alfred Music Blog)

 

14

How to Reverse the Piano Student Summer Slide (Teach Piano Today)

 

---

Subscribe to the Piano Pantry email list to keep up to date!

You’ll get my once-a-month “Secret Letter” which includes what’s been going on in my studio that month, books I’m reading, and more. You will also have the option to have new posts delivered to your inbox weekly.

 

 

1

All my students are getting new binders this year. I’ve been rotating quite a few over and over but it’s time to start fresh. At their final evaluation meeting, I laid out 8 color options for them to choose from: black, blue, red, lime green, and peach, pink, periwinkle, and teal. 

Since I purchased them in sets of 4, I made students give me 3 color choices in order of favorite. That allowed me to utilize every binder I purchased.

Once I had everyone’s options, I sat down and assigned colors. It sounds like a lot of work but it really was quite easy.

Let me just say that the pastels were by far the favorite colors. Next time I may limit to those 4 colors.

 

2

Price-setting and finding the right balance for your business as well as your local community is definitely a difficult game to play. Clinton Pratt developed a really useful Tuition Calculator that can help you play around with numbers in a variety of settings/situations.

 

3

Nicola’s recent video on Project Management Software had me ready to give them a shot again.

I’ve tried Trello and Asana both in the past but am really picky about my workflow and I just didn’t love them. While Evernote has worked pretty well for me in the current format I’m using, I was starting to feel something a little more robust was needed. Nicola convinced me to give ClickUp a shot. I’ll let you know down the road if I stick with it!

 

4

Piano Studio Business Claims: The best things in life are tax-deductible (Rebekah Maxner)

 

5

Anyone else struggle to keep your dishwasher from getting nasty? I rinse everything before it goes in and take a paper towel and wipe out the gunk at the bottom hinge after I put away every load but it’s amazing how yucky they still get. Ever looked inside the side gears? Ick!

I’ve struggled off and on with having way too many dishes still come out unclean (and our dishwasher is only a year old). I would alternate back and forth between Cascade liquid and powder and others.

The pods have always felt way too expensive to me for something that isn’t really inconvenient.

However, that all changed when I became desperate to not have to re-wash half a dozen items every time and finally broke down and bought the most expensive pods. Voila. Problem solved.

Finish Quantum Powerball.

Haven’t had to re-wash one dish since.

I got the big pack.

 

6

Overcome the Disadvantage of Friday Piano Lessons (Nicola Cantan)

 

7

If only I had a reason or good space for this piano rug…

 

 

 

8

If you’re interested in learning about MLT. Andy Mullen over at The Improving Musician is a great place to start. He has loads of quality resources in his Free Student Library.

 

9

Recently, I stumbled across a fantastic Ukulele teaching resource from Musical Mama. Uke lessons are a great 2nd instrument for teachers to offer. Entrepreneur that I am, a few years ago, I taught myself just so I could teach one of my student’s lessons that were interested instead of passing the income into someone else. Something to consider!

 

10

The past two weeks I have definitely been in a bit of a food funk. The last week of lessons was so crazy and my first week of I’m just tired and recouping. My drive to cook has been minimal, however, I never like to leave you hanging with food fun so here it is:

Grilled Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (Cook’s Illustrated)

Olive Garden Salad copycat recipe (Dinner at the Zoo)

Cashew Crunch Salad with Sesame Dressing (Pinch of Yum)

Chicken Porridge a.k.a. Chicken Congee (Seonkyoung Longest)

 

Follow on Instagram: @food.fun.with.amy