music education

Rethinking How We Teach Theory

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While in college, I started teaching piano lessons regularly. I could play piano, compose, and improvise on a standard college level—but teaching was a whole different animal. Thankfully, I had great teachers growing up and could call upon my experiences with them to help the lessons become productive as quickly as possible. The methods were … Read more

Turning Off the Critic

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After years of training in an area, we accumulate patterns and habits that affect every aspect of our experiences. We acquire information and knowledge that was intended to improve the way we perform or express our abilities. Of course, this makes us better, but this information and knowledge can also hold us back in the … Read more

Taking Selfies with Sound

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There have been times when I would feel that my rate of improvement didn’t line up with the large chunks of time I was spending at the instrument practicing. Sometimes practicing a lot isn’t enough. We need other methods to elevate our playing and bring cohesion to all the concepts we are working through. The … Read more

Rebounding from Rejection

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It’s inevitable that playing music leads us to situations where we are judged or critiqued. The venue can be as simple as a single performance, a rehearsal, a festival, an audition, press reviews, social media comments, or countless other platforms. It’s also inevitable that we experience the highs associated with praise and the lows associated … Read more

Using Restrictions to Develop Creativity

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Creativity Can Be an Elusive Quality to Develop There are many kids and people who seem inclined to do their own things and do them their own way. As teachers, we often categorize these students as creative and do one of three things: The Shortcomings of Each Approach The shortcoming of the first approach is … Read more

Finding Delight in Our Performances

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Helping students get ready for performances has become one of my favorite things to do. I believe that deep down each child who wants to take lessons does so because they’ve been inspired by performances – either live performances, recordings or videos. When they realize they can be responsible for these performances themselves and not … Read more

Video Games and Music Lessons

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There have been conferences and talks I’ve attended where teachers and parents lament how enamored their kids/students have become with video games and online gaming. There is a common feeling that it takes away from their other activities—whether it be sports, schoolwork, music lessons, or other more traditional pursuits. I’m not sure how true any … Read more