Our town has always had its (small) share of (usually) homeless people, standing in the shade under a tree at the street corner, often close to a grocery store or …
Your earliest convenience
My brain has trouble processing spoken language when I cannot see the person with whom I am speaking. I therefore have on my website that all communication should be via …
I’ll never get tired of this
There is little that is more powerful and uplifting than Beethoven’s Ode an die Freude.
Retard!
Retard! Ever since I came to this country, I’ve been puzzled and appalled by music teachers who use the term “ritard”. I recently came across it on a website where …
It’s a brave (??) new world
If things were normal, I would be in Chicago right now, at the annual Music Teachers National Association conference. I don’t attend every year, but this one I had been …
Covid-19 and other challenges
Yesterday, the Kansas State Department of Education clarified that “Governor Kelly didn’t cancel school for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year due COVID-19. She closed school buildings. Schools will …
On the subject of pianos
I own a piano studio. I teach people how to play classical piano. Acoustic pianos have several unique properties that allow them to produce music that is richly textured, has …
Genius and Little Mozarts
The parents of my young piano students know that I have a serious problem with the name of one of the piano methods for young beginners, “Music for Little Mozarts”. …
First Impressions
As someone who often has trouble “reading” people, first impressions are tricky for me. I tend to take things literally, at face value. Last year, a new student was coming …
Competitions – who gets to go?
In my studio, I have many ambitious and competitive students and parents who naturally aspire to enter competitions and win prizes. This leads to the important question: Who gets to …