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I have a private student break his left arm. I need ideas for how to engage him for the next 6 weeks. He is just starting level 5. He is reading music and came from a traditional background. He is almost done with RR. I could focus on lots of reading and playing pieces with…

HI everybody – any tips for growing skills to line up fingers accurately to play fast passages like the beginning and end of Ballade? Of course – play slowly and gradually increase speed. That alone doesn’t seem adequate. I feel like all the things I did in my traditional piano years make this kind of…

Do other teachers have rules on strong scents in their studios? I have an adult that swims ahead of our lessons and the chlorine smell bothers me. She seemed upset that I prefer she swim on a day other than before our lessons. What would you do in a situation like this? I have had…

I have an elderly student who can’t bend fingers 3 and 4 in his RH. We are adjusting songs accordingly. For Alma Mater Blues 3rd Section CAGE chord I, what would you suggest? C G E – fingers 5, 2, 1 – 100% C A E – fingers 5, 2, 1 – 0% I like…

Choosing recital pieces question: I usually try to give students a choice on which piece they want to play; and also try to not have the same piece played multiple times in the same recital. With a small number of students, this hasn’t been too difficult in the past. However, in the last year or…

I’ve got a question for you. During each lesson, I have my students do an improvisation or play their composition. I just received a short composition in which the piece doesn’t end on a tonic key. I texted her mom about that, and she said that her daughter consciously chose not to end on a…

I just reread Laurie Richards’ book yesterday ‘I Found Your Keys’ on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. It is so packed with good information. Every now and then we need a 30,000 ft view of what it is that we are all apart of and why it’s so worth it! Thank you Laurie for writing this!…

Who has gone paper/bookless in their studio? What’s your thoughts? How did you go about the process? Any tips appreciated. Yep Entirely digital using a 13” iPad Pro for scores and 10” for reference book Robin T. what do you do for notes/ record keeping? I’m using a book atm. Cate R. I have a…

Hi all, I wanted to let you know that my TEDxTalk has been approved for public release, and is now Live on YouTube. Over the years, many people have said to me that I should do a TEDTalk about Simply Music. And whilst promoting oneself and one’s business is not permitted in a TEDTalk, the…

I’ve been working on I IV and V on accompaniment 1 programme with some students and was asked these questions which I couldn’t quite answer with confidence. Care to share your experience and thoughts please? So does the I IV and V only work for songs that only have those 3 chords and not other…

If a younger student can’t yet manage the second chord of Dreams Arrangement 1, is there a preference in a three-note version? Fingers 123 (shifting 3) throughout or 135 (shifting 3 and 5) with the 9th omitted for now? I think they both work and even 145 on the sus chord at the end or…

This week I took the plunge and tried a different sort of class. I love teaching groups and nearly all my after school students are in group classes. During the day though, I have lots of adults that come one by one. Some are in develpmental levels and some have days that they have commitments,…