Spring!

NOTE: The piano studio will be open during next week's Spring Break (March 25-29).  Please email me at your earliest convenience if you need to make alternate arrangements for your regular piano lesson time!  Another reminder that the Spring Break Music Camp that was mentioned in March's newsletter had to be cancelled.  Thank you!

What an exciting season - SPRING!  It's certainly a time of celebration in our house as we are more diligently reminded of the death, burial and resurrection (!!!) of Jesus Christ, our Savior!

This is a nice change of seasons all the way around, and is being felt in the piano studio, too.  We just finished a very fun contest, where the students earned "Bach Bucks" for practice and many other accomplishments.  They learned all about several different composers and eras of music and did a fantastic job with all the new material.

That contest is officially over now, and we'll turn our attention toward the Spring Recital.  I'm very excited that plans seem to be coming together for the venue.  Stay tuned for that information as I have to tidy up the last few details before making the announcement.  Many students have already been assigned their recital pieces, but no worries if they haven't yet!  We still have plenty of time.

For the next two months, I will continue to reward students' efforts with stickers, small prizes, and gift cards, etc, but not in a formalized contest.  Our biggest priority from now until May will be preparing for the many facets of piano performance.  I understand that performing in front of people can be a little intimidating for some students.  We will spend lots of time getting a feel for performance in smaller settings to ease them into what will be a first recital for many.

I will be videotaping portions of their lessons (and will always give them a heads up on it) so that they can watch and hear their progress.  That is a really fun and dynamic way to see how good they are getting!

Feel free to let them do the same at home.  Many smart phones these days have video or audio recording capabilities.  I sometimes just use the voice memo feature on my phone to record small portions of songs so they can hear what the music sounds like.  Perhaps you can add some fun to their home practice time by allowing them to take your phone with them to the keyboard once or twice a week and record themselves playing the same song each time.

By April's newsletter, we will have all the information set for our Spring Recital. I'm looking forward to it and hope you are as well!