Laurie Richards

Hello Circle of 5ths fans. This is a ‘naming’ thing I have mulled on for years since lessons with Gordon. He used to say (to me at least) it should be called the Circle of 5ths & 4ths because of course the 4ths go round…

• Last updated 3 weeks ago
• alternative perspective of scale, circle of 4ths, circle of 5ths, circle of fifths, circle of fourths, clockwise, consonance, consonant, counter-clockwise, counterclockwise, dominant, interval, intervals, key, key signature, Laurie Richards, major intervals, pendulum, perfect 4th, perfect 5th, perfect fifth, perfect fourth, scale, scale theory, subdominant

I have a question from Jazz Clues. For clue 4 with High Five the rhythms are written in 4 counts, but the song is 12/8 time. The best way to reconcile this is obviously divide groups of 3 eighth notes into 4 sets and it…

• Last updated 3 weeks ago
• 12/8, 12/8 time signature, beat, complex rhythm, difficult rhythm, dropping in, eighth notes, High Five, jazz clues, JC, JC4, Laurie Richards, physical beat, rhythm, rhythm diagram, rhythm diagrams, rhythm difficulty, rules for writing rhythms, swing rhythm, swing rhythms, time signature, triplet, triplets

Hi there SM Teachers, What platforms do you recommend for automating piano tuition payments? I’m considering setting up recurring monthly billing for my studio and would love to hear what systems other teachers use. I use SquareUp. I know some folks that use Fons. Amy…

• Last updated 2 months ago
• automatic, automatic payments, collecting tuition, Fons, Laurie Richards, monthly lessons, PayPal, recurring payment, recurring payments, Square, SquareUp, Stripe, tuition, Venmo, Zelle

Hey teachers — I want to open up a conversation about something we’ve all been taught in our training, and something I’ve been saying to parents for years: “Have your child practice at the same time every day.” It’s clean, simple advice. And I understand…

• Last updated 2 months ago
• anchor, at home practice, best practices, how to practice, Laurie Richards, managing practice time, neurology, practice guidelines, practice habits, practice ideas, practice routine, practice time, same time every day, when to teach

Several years ago, I started having students expand on the She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain Variation by suggesting that any of the four “Bottom-Right-Top-Right” moments could be doubled as a “berry” the way the 2nd of those moments is doubled in the formal “Blueberry…

• Last updated 2 months ago
• accomp, accompaniment, accompaniment pieces, FL3, foundation level 3, Laurie Richards, Level 3, new variation, She'll Be Comin, She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain, variation, variations

Jazz Clue 2 questions. 😊 What to play in “Here to Stay”, measure 4, LH? Playing A7 on every beat sounds too ‘vanilla’. Also, any voicing suggestions for the final measure? Ok, here’s my response: Neil’s Video Answer It is basically the Fly Me To…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• A Touch of Jazz, chord voicings, Here to Stay, jazz, Jazz 1, jazz clue 1, jazz clue 2, jazz clues, jazz program, jazz program questions, JC, JC1, JC2, Laurie Richards, Neil Moore, Neil's Responses (YouTube Videos), touch of jazz, voicing, voicing chords, voicing jazz chords

What is your approach with young people who come to you after teaching themselves with online videos? I’ve encountered several who will work for months to master one difficult piece like Bohemian Rhapsody or Moonlight Sonata, but they can’t play anything else. They can’t read…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• experienced players, Laurie Richards, learning from video, learning online, online, online learning, online tutorial, online tutorials, other material sources, other methods, other music, other songs, outside materials, outside music, outside pieces, outside repertoire, pieces outside the program, previous experience, prior experience, songs outside the repertoire, student with previous experience, students with experience, students with previous experience, students with prior experience, tutorial, video, video tutorial, video tutorials, YouTube, YouTube tutorial, YouTube tutorials

Late in TFMM, I’ve begun assigning my students to write a few bars from Foundation pieces they’ve learned long ago. All kinds of interesting issues have been coming up – how to add articulation, how to figure out the time signature, stem directions, etc. I…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• accidentals, developing reading, different reading projects, enharmonic, flats, key signature, Laurie Richards, reading, sharps, sharps and flats, tfmm, Time for More Music, transcribing, transcribing composition, transcription, writing, writing intervals, writing notes

Here’s a project I’ve done which incorporates different strategies and programs, step by step (one of my favorite things to do): 1. Preparatory Learning: Teach the 4 LH positions of Greensleeves (before we get to Greensleeves). That’s the whole assignment. 2. Comp & Improv: Once…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• arrangement, arranging, C & I, comp & improv, comp and improv, comp/improv, Greensleeves, ideas for improvisation, improv, improv ideas, improvisation, improvisation ideas, improvising, Laurie Richards, preparatory learning

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…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• annual recital, ideas for recitals, Laurie Richards, multiple students want same recital piece, playing duet at recital, private recital, public recital, public recitals, recital, recital expectations, recital ideas, recital piece multiple times, recital pieces, recital preparation, recital program, recital programs, recital selection multiple times, recital selections, recital size, recitals, redundant recital pieces, redundant recital selections