Piano Teaching

Six Musical Games & Activities for Fall Piano Lessons

Six Musical Games & Activities for Fall Piano Lessons

Do your students love Halloween as much as mine do? 🎃

Every week they come to lessons so excited to tell me about their costume plans and the decorations in their classroom or at home.

Several years ago, I started introducing Halloween and fall-themed music and lesson activities during the months of October and November and it has been a big hit.

I choose games and activities for my beginning and elementary students to do throughout the month (or to use in our October studio classes) and I often choose a special piece of sheet music (or a piece to teach by rote) that ties in with the season.

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36 Ways to Use Rhythm Pattern Cards in Your Teaching

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36 Ways to Use Rhythm Pattern Cards in Your Teaching

Rhythm pattern cards are a great way to teach new rhythmic concepts, reinforce familiar patterns, and build that all-important music vocabulary (the ability to understand and create your own musical patterns and sequences).

There are lots of different types of rhythm pattern cards out there - some you can buy, some you can download and print for free (like the set I'm sharing below!), and ideas for making some of your own.

They don’t have to be fancy! The ones I'm sharing today can be printed at home on white cardstock and cut into quarters (postcard-size).

Six Practice Steps for Beginning Piano Students

Six Practice Steps for Beginning Piano Students

I love working with beginning piano students.

Our lessons are always full of imagination and creative exploration—their eyes wide with excitement and wonder when they make a connection or discover something new—and I always learn so much about myself as a teacher as we walk those first steps in their musical journey together.

That being said, we all know that when learning a new instrument, productive practice time at home is essential to learning and developing as a musician. 

Most of us see our beginning students for only 30 minutes a week, so time spent at the keyboard in between lessons can really make or break a student’s progress and the fulfillment they find in music-making.

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The Secrets of Motivation: My 3 Biggest Takeaways from Daniel H. Pink's "Drive"

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The Secrets of Motivation: My 3 Biggest Takeaways from Daniel H. Pink's "Drive"

As music teachers, it’s important to think about what motivates us as musicians and what motivates our students, choir members, and ensemble members to play and learn music.

I remember studying the theory of motivation as a grad student and was fascinated by the science behind it. For this reason, I really enjoyed reading Daniel H. Pink’s book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.

How to Find the Right Piano Teacher

How to Find the Right Piano Teacher

A friend reached out recently to ask about how to find a piano teacher for her two young children.

"Any pointers on how to find the right person?" she asked. "Do you think going to a school is better or finding someone to come to us is better?"

The interview process for finding a music teacher goes both ways:

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Fixed and Growth Mindsets (What I Learned from Carol Dweck's Book)

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Fixed and Growth Mindsets (What I Learned from Carol Dweck's Book)

I first heard about this book from one of my grad school professors.

We were sitting around a long table one snowy January evening at our annual dinner for current and prospective doctoral students. I asked my professor about books he was reading lately and he named several including Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers and Carol Dweck's Mindset.

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A Holiday Wishlist for Music Teachers

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A Holiday Wishlist for Music Teachers

What would you ask for if you were making a holiday wishlist for yourself as a teacher? New music? Curriculum resources? Piano-teaching games?

Today, I’m sharing a few ideas (and a few things that are on my teacher wishlist!) to help get you started. Enjoy!

10 Supplemental Collections for Intermediate Piano Students

10 Supplemental Collections for Intermediate Piano Students

How can we as teachers add variety and musical interest to their repertoire lists? How can we include more diversity in the composers we choose and the musical styles we teach?

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post with 15 supplemental collections for elementary piano students. Today, I’m sharing my favorites for intermediate students.

Follow along with my creative work and daily adventures: @ashleydanyew

Halloween 2024… …The Lion King 🦁 Swipe to see the outtakes, including lion-wrangling and the 20th photo we took before we realized Rafiki had his mask on upside-down. 😂
The October Musician & Co. Book Club pick is… 📘 Hidden Genius: The Secret Ways of Thinking That Power the World’s Most Successful People This book is a collection of stories, insights, and lessons learned from top performers, entr
Meet Jessie Ning - pianist, graphic designer, and founder of @opushaus, a lifestyle brand for musicians. A former Creative Director at TikTok, Jessie combines her extensive background in graphic design and scenic design with her musical talents. I