Thursday, January 28, 2010

Congratulations to Miss Morgan!


Please join me in a huge round of applause for Miss Morgan! Morgan completed her Piano Adventures Primer Level Series last evening! She has already started working away in her Level 1 books! Morgan will be performing at the Play A Thon at the mall at the end of February! When Miss Morgan is not playing piano, she is busy playing basketball this season! She also recently took up yoga! Miss Morgan also enjoying spending time at the pool all summer long! Congratulations Morgan!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Mister Cole

Congratulations to Mister Cole! Cole completed his set of My First Piano Adventures Level B yesterday! He already started his Level C set of books! Congratulations Cole! When Cole is not playing piano, he enjoys Cub Scouts & Basketball!

Jimmy & Julie

Thank you to Julie & Jimmy for the donating yarn & allowing me to borrow a stuffed musical Bach! I am going to use both at Bach's Birthday Bash! Bach's Birthday Bash is a class that I am going to co teach at the local library for students who are home schooled! Thank you again Jimmy & Julie!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Miss Jaime


Congratulations to Miss Jaime for completing her set of Piano Adventures Primer Level Books! Jaime has already started her level 1 red books! Miss Jaime will be performing at the play a thon! At the play a thon - she will be performing a duet with her flute instructor. Miss Jaime enjoys working on challenging music on her own & then performing it for me during her lesson! Way to go Miss Jaime! Congratulations!

Friday, January 22, 2010

MissArden

Thank you to Miss Arden for the donation of many fun stickers! I am certain our students will enjoy earning them!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Piano Tuning

Hello Pianists & Piano Owners!

As I type this, I am listening to the beautiful sounds of my beloved piano being tuned!

This is a friendly reminder to those of you who own pianos to have your piano tuned on a regular basis. I have mine tuned twice a year (in the middle of winter & the middle of summer).

Well cared for pianos have a life span of about 50 years. Pianos are made out of materials that are affected by their environment (wood, felt & leather). So a piano will go "out of tune" with the change in heat & humidity.

It is easier to practice on an instrument that is working properly!

Having your piano tuned is a lot like having the oil changed in your car. If you have it done on regular basis, your car will run better & last longer...

If you need information on finding a piano technician - please let me know. I would be more than happy to pass along a few names & numbers!

Ok, I will get off of my soapbox - because I can hardly wait to play my piano! It sounds amazing!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Hello all!

I have created a "Dynamic Club" for our piano students!

I want to reward our students who consistently play their music including all of the dynamics, accents, staccatos, legatos, octavas, fermatas, pedaling, etc. in addition to playing the correct notes & rhythms!

I also want to encourage those students who may forget from time to time to become more consistent in playing with all of the added details!

Our students often hear me refer to the notes & rhythms as "the cake" or "the foundation". I will then refer to the dynamics, staccatos, legatos, ritardandos, octavas, fermatas, pedaling, etc. as "the icing" or "the decorations". They certainly can make a good cake better!

So in order for a Note-worthy Experiences Student to become a member of the "Dynamic Club", they must fulfill the following criteria:
- perform their assigned lesson & performance book songs without missing "the icing" for 3 lessons in a row for Ms Renee at the lesson. (This does not include sight reading & performing brand new songs that are going to be assigned for the week.)
- once a student becomes a member, he or she must maintain their status at each lesson. Once a student becomes in eligible, he or she must start over & fulfill the criteria again for 3 lessons in a row.
- ALL students are eligible! Each student is required to perform only the details that are written on their printed music that they have been taught in lessons. For example, a preschooler would not be required to play a song with correct pedaling - however the preschooler would be required to play the song with "piano" or "forte" after it was covered in the lesson.
- Each member will receive a music themed paper to decorate with their name & dates of their accomplishments to hang on the french doors to our piano room.

Good luck!

I hope to see ALL 47 of our students' papers on the doors soon!

Miss Danielle & Miss Ericka

Thank you very much to Miss Danielle & Miss Ericka for the terrific donation of fun stickers to our sticker book! I am certain our piano friends will love earning them after their lessons! Thank you ladies!

Piano Students who are Cub Scouts...

Congratulations to all of our piano students who are also Cub Scouts for doing a terrific job at your Pinewood Derby Races this past weekend!

Matthew, Jimmy, Cole & Grant each created their race cars out of blocks of pinewood & raced them at their respective Pack Pinewood Derby Races.

- Jimmy won the "Best Design Award" from his pack for his car that was a clown!
- Grant won 2nd place at his pack race with his car shaped & decorated like a slice of pepperoni pizza!
- Cole won 1st place in his den race & first place in his pack race! Cole's car was yellow & red and decorated with lightning bolts. This was Cole's first year of participating in the Pinewood Derby!

Both Cole & Grant will move on to their District Pinewood Derby Race! Good luck boys!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Miss Arden

Please join me in a huge round of applause for Miss Arden. Miss Arden played "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" for her entire music class. Her music class applauded for her. She was very proud of herself & her accomplishment! Hooray for Arden!

Miss Kendall

Congratulations to Miss Kendall for creating a successful school Science Fair Project!

Miss Kendall designed & created the "Piano Hand", which is used as a page turner when playing music! We can't wait to see photos!

This amazing invention would be very useful for all of our students, especially at events like our recital & the play a thon!

Way to go Kendall!

Free Video Game Sheet Music

Hello all!

If you love free sheet music or love video game music - please click on the link below! One of our new members of our piano family, Miss Elizabeth, has found this site & is looking forward to working on many of the songs on there! Thank you for sharing with us!

http://aivitran.blogspot.com/

Friday, January 8, 2010

Upcoming Events

Happy New Year!

While everyone is still celebrating the new year, putting away holiday decorations & playing with new gifts.... I am planning ahead for our piano students.

I spoke to the Activity Director of the local nursing home today. She stated that the residents LOVED our winter recital we performed on December 22nd. She would like for us to come back again in March or April. We will work on the details of that later.

The local chapter of the music teacher association that I belong to conducts an annual play a thon at our nearby mall. The money raised from this event benefits students who wish to study music. There are 3 different stages set where musicians perform all weekend long. This year the dates are February 27th & 28th. To date, we have over 15 of our students who have committed to participating! There is still plenty of time to sign up if you are interested! Each student must raise a minimum of $15 in donations in order to participate. I will award the Note-worthy Experiences Student who raises the most money (excluding Grant & Ellie) a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card. Please contact me directly if you would like more information on how to participate in or donate to this worthy cause.

Enjoy the weekend!

Mister Antonio

Please join me in a huge round of applause for our Mister Antonio! Antonio was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society at his school this morning! Antonio is a terrific role model for his two younger brothers and many of our other piano students with his leadership & academic talents! Way to Antonio!

Miss Alison

Hooray for Miss Alison! She performed Lunar Eclipse for her entire 4th grade music class! Congratulations Alison! If we are lucky - maybe Miss Alison will perform this beautiful song for us at the Annual Play A Thon at our local mall at the end of February! Way to go Miss Alison!

Miss Sophia

Congratulations to Miss Sophia! Just before her Christmas Break, she played Up On The Housetop & Go Tell It On The Mountain for her entire 1st grade music class. Later that day, her music teacher announced her accomplishments to all of the classes at lunch break! Then Miss Sophia played her songs for all of students at lunch. Sophia reported that everyone gave her a round of applause! Way to go!

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