I'm not doing so well at keeping this blog updated! Yesterday we had a Easter Master Class. I had two different classes, but only took pictures at one of them. I've usually down holiday themed classes before the actual holiday, but I think I liked doing it after because I was able to purchase all the students' prizes for 50% off the day after Easter. Each week my students earn a ticket for each day of practice. I'm going to have to be a little more strict on what needs to be accomplished to earn the ticket because I do have one student that somehow manages to practice 15 times a week! Now I'm wondering if he put a check each time he played a song, but he sure scored on a lot of prizes from Master Class. I love using Susan Paradis' web site and am so thankful that she provides so many great and creative materials for piano teachers for free. Check her out here. We used several of her easter note naming worksheets and played her ladybug game and baseball note naming game.
I didn't have baseball erasers like Susan suggested, but I had these fun monster guys. They sat on the white keys fine, but not on the black. So we ended up "eating" the black keys for them to stay, which was fun.
My students are preparing for our upcoming spring recital at the end of May, and I will be sure to post pictures and videos from the recital.
My students did a great job at our Christmas Recital on the 19th and I wanted to hurry and post about it before the new year. Each student played a Christmas song and another song they've been working on. They all did awesome! I'm so proud of them. I just had one student who couldn't make it because of work conflict. Great job everyone! :)
If you have an iphone or ipad, please try out an app called NoteWorks. Besides being free, it's a great way for your students to practice note reading and much more fun than flashcards! It was previously only available for the ipad, but now it can be used on an iphone! Let your kids practice their note naming while your waiting in lines, trying to grocery shop, or wherever you may be and need them to settle down. The free version only has one level, but is great for beginners. The full version is only $4.99, though, which is how much you would spend on flashcards. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Here's the email I received regarding this fun app:
If you have an iPhone, don't miss this game...
NoteWorks is a fun game, designed to teach note reading. Up to now, the game was only available for the iPad. We are happy to announce that the iPhone version has just been released.
The free version of the game caters to the beginner music students. The full version of NoteWorks was designed for more advanced students, as well as the beginners. Please try NoteWorks and let us know what you think.
Well after almost a year hiatus from piano teaching when Aubrey was born, I am back to teaching full swing this week! I am excited to increase my clientele, as I had cut down to three students over that time. I also look forward to updating this blog more frequently, so stay tuned........ :)
Here is a fun iPad app to help students practice notes on the staff. It is only available for the iPad right now. Students will have a lot of fun playing this game, they won't even realize they are "practicing flashcards".
Noteworks – Cost: $4.99. (For iPad only.) Click here to view in iTunes.
A piano teacher blogger reviewed this app and had this to say:
"This app allows for various students to login under their name, so that the game can track their progress. There are various modes for play, including a “Practice” mode (which helps the student learn the notes) and a “Challenge” mode (which tests their abilities). In all modes/levels, notes appear on the staff. Depending on the setting, students can identify the note by its alphabet name, corresponding piano key, or its solfege name. Levels 1-5 are for students who are just learning how to read. Levels 6 and above are for advanced students. As the levels get more difficult, the range of notes tested increases, and then accidentals are added, and finally, the student must identify the notes within a key signature (a great feature!). The game can be set to quiz notes of the treble, bass, alto, or tenor clefs, as well as the whole grand staff at once. Play mode for any level can be set to slow, medium, or fast. When the student identifies a note incorrectly, it goes to the left and gets put on fire (see photo above). The notes stay there until the end of the round, when the game gives the student another try at identifying those notes."
Here is a video on YouTube introducing the game and character Munchy:
Summer is a great time to have fun and spend time with your family and friends. We have had a great summer and can't believe there's only three weeks left of summer to enjoy before the kids head back to school! But sometimes with the fun and traveling piano gets put on the back burner, and even though we have more "free" time than we did during the school year, students tend to practice less in the summer. Every year when school starts again and students are back in full swing with lessons, we usually go through the same speed bumps of having to learn the notes on the musical staff all over again. I came across some great review songs on youtube that I think will really help your children memorize the notes. They are geared for the younger learner, but I think any age would greatly benefit from listening to these over and over. Please check them out!
Summer is almost here! I'm excited for more time at home with my kids, a more relaxed schedule, and hopefully some fun in the sun! I thought I would make a list of some great music web sites where kids can play games, practice note naming (in a way other than using flashcards), and learn about all the interesting lives of the different composers in history. And now that your children will be home more for summer, it might be a good goal to have them spend 15 minutes or so each day on these sites.
The first one is: Classic for Kids Once you get to this web site click on games or composers.
The next web site is: DSO Kids This one is similar with a choice of games and learning about composers. You can also click on a composer and listen to pieces written by them. They also have ideas on how to make your own musical instruments at home.
This one is great too: New York Philharmonic Kidzone The main page is a concert hall and when you scroll over different people or things on the page words pop up like "game room", "composers gallery", etc. You then click on one of those links and can explore all the fun things they have to offer.
Another one is: Making Music Fun The games are in the top section under, "Oliver the Octopus Arcade".
I hope you take advantage of the great learning tools these sites have to offer! It makes learning music a lot more enjoyable, and half the time they don't realize they are learning because it is so fun!
Welcome to Tami Niven Studios. I am an independent piano teacher to 24 students in Utah Valley. I wanted to start a blog as a way to communicate with students and their parents, and share ideas and tips as they work hard to learn and master the piano. My hope is that this will help them learn to love not just the piano, but music history, including the study of composers, the different musical periods, and --yes-- even theory!
To start off my blog I thought it would be helpful for my students to see and hear me play the piano, since I am the one usually listening to them. I am going to post four clips of me playing in my college recital. I was required to play a piece from each musical period. It is a little embarrassing showing these videos that are now 13 years old, but nonetheless I will suffer a little humiliation for my students. :)
Hope you enjoy!
This first song I played is from the Baroque period: Chromatic Fantasie in d minor, by J. S. Bach.
The second song is from the Classical period: Appassionata Sonata (Op. 57 Mvmt. 1), by Ludwig van Beethoven.
The third song was from the Romantic period: Un Sospiro, (Etude in D-flat Major), by Franz Liszt.
The fourth and final song I played was from the New Age or 20th Century period: All of Me, by Jon Schmidt.
By this point I think my hands and nerves were done, and I kind of butchered the song and didn't play it to my best ability, so excuse the fumbling. I recorded all of these songs of me playing for keep sake, at a practice run before the recital, which I give out to family and friends instead of the recording from this recital because I was pretty nervous.
