Keeping in line with last week's episode about summer reading, this week we get to hear from Chrissy Ricker who has developed summer piano review challenge calendars. Listen as Chrissy shares some of the highlights from her summer activity calendars and how they can help keep your piano kid musical engaged this summer. Learn more and find links to all the resources Chrissy mentions at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/334.

Summertime is a great time to take a much-deserved break! It's also a great time to catch up on reading or, at least maintain your reading capabilities. The same tactics that help new readers to read library books will also work for piano kids learning to read new music. Find some helpful tips for reading both kinds of literature on today's show. Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/333

Making the jump from accidentals which mark each note that needs to be altered to key signatures placed at the beginning of each staff can be difficult for some students. Learn how you can help your piano kid level up on today's show. Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/332

In today's show, Ken Thompson shares valuable insight into piano technique.  "Technique is a tool that serves performance. If you use the tool in performance, you are able to be free musically, to express yourself, and to send a musical message to your audience. In order for that to happen, the tool needs to be reliable." Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/331

Keep this list handy for any time your piano kid participates in a studio recital or piano event. These are wonderful things you can do to make this important day as stress-free and calm for your piano kid as possible. Get your free Checklist download and find other tenth episodes at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/330

I am amazed at the things students collect in their music bags. I've seen everything from books and music that was completed long ago to old theory tests and worksheets to candy wrappers from my prize box. Once I even found a banana that was well past its expiration! So many odd items creep into my own music bag. Exactly why do I have three types of breath mints, two lip balms, and seven hair ties?!? On today's show, let's clean out our music bags together. See the companion video at...

Sometimes, no matter how much you want your piano kids to enjoy their lessons and learn to make music, they just don't get it. Sometimes, even if you've done everything right, they still end up quitting. That's the topic of today's show. Learn more at www.pianoparentpodcast.com/328

I started to call this chat "Hobbyist vs Serious Musicians" but realized that's not a fair description. Some would say I'm a hobbyist at podcasting - because I make ZERO money doing it - but I still take it very seriously. That's why I made the change to "Hobbyist vs Career Musicians" - some of our piano kids are doing lessons for a season, without the intention of pursuing music in college or as a profession while others have different long-term plans. Your goals have a big impact on the...

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “Where words fail, music speaks”- a quote by Hans Christian Andersen. Today’s musical mystery will tell you the story of an occasion where words could have gotten you fired so music was the only way to communicate. Hear the full story in today's Musical Mystery Opus 4, No. 2 "Turn out the lights, the party's over!" Visit www.pianoparentpodcast.com/326 for more information about this mystery as well as a link to other Musical Mysteries.

This is a busy time of the year. To avoid schedule conflicts and the urge to do all the things, parents need to be proactive, set priorities and make difficult decisions for their piano kids. Listen to today's show to learn how. Check www.pianoparentpodcast.com/325 for more information.

Ashlee Young is a piano teacher with a passion to help musicians plan more effective and efficient practice sessions. In today's interview, she shares how you can move from reading individual notes to more lengthy phrases in the same way we progress in reading letters, words, and sentences. Visit www.PianoParentPodcast.com/324 for more information.

March 29 is the 88th day of the year - PIANO DAY!! To celebrate one of our favorite days of the year, we are going to do a fun Piano Day Project where we will encrypt a secret name in our special, one-of-a-kind melody. Learn how in today's show! Get your free Alpha-Numeric Code maker at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/323.

Once upon a time, I read or heard a story about the grand staff. I share it with my students and today I'll share it with you.

We first met Thomas Grayston, the genius developer behind the popular note identification app, Note Rush, back in 2017. (You can listen to that interview at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/065) Today, he is back to share some exciting updates to the app including new themes, customized decks of notes, and helpful hints while playing the app. Find links and other resources at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/321.  

Every episode that ends with a 0 includes a list of ten somethings. Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, this list gives you 10 things piano parents love about piano lessons. What else would you add to the list?   www.PianoParentPodcast.com/320

I really enjoyed talking with Winston Hall last week. One of the things he said really struck me and I've been thinking about it ever since. He said, "Reading music is the most analytical way to make music." and that wasn't how his brain was wired. My brain actually feels safer and more confident with the music, in fact, I feel frozen if I don't have music in front of me; I don't know what to play! Listen to this and more reflections at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/319  

Winston Hall is a self-proclaimed "below-average piano student" who was able to overcome obstacles that might have stopped most people - the inability to read music, his own self-doubt, and debilitating stage fright. Winston is now one of the most popular entertainers in the Northwest Louisiana area. This is an episode that you will bookmark and listen to again and again and share with your piano parent friends. Visit the show notes at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/318.

If you're waiting to start piano lessons, this is the episode for you! Potential students reach out to me for lessons but I often don't have a space available. Many times, they opt to wait for my short-term summer session and start the process of waiting for piano lessons to begin. In today's show, I'll share three things that piano parents can do to make good use of this interim time: think about your goals, build anticipation, and start a regular practice habit - NOW. Visit the full show...

In last week's episode I quoted Art L. Williams Jr. “Remember, before you can be great, you’ve got to be good. Before you can be good, you’ve got to be bad. But before you can even be bad, you’ve got to try.”   Today, let's focus on the trying aspect of learning to play the piano.

My list of 22 for 2022 turned out to be a list of things I failed to do. When I look back on it, I don't celebrate the things I was able to finish, I just feel defeated by the areas where I missed the mark. Rather than aiming for perfection, I think it is good for our children to see us make mistakes and move on, gracefully. Our mistakes shouldn't devastate us and our kids need to learn to give themselves the same kind of mercy. In this P3 episode, we talk more about helping our piano kids...

Do you ever wonder what inspires composers and songwriters to create the music they do? Would you be surprised to learn that some of our favorite Christmas tunes were written in the heat of the summer? On today’s podcast, I’ll share some of the interesting things I discovered about some of the songs we enjoy throughout the holiday season. Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/072 Merry Christmas!!

Listen to the inspiring story behind one of the most iconic pieces of musical literature, Handel's "Messiah". I have to admit that I was not a fan of this oratorio until I learned the difficulties Handel faced before he came to write the music. Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/122. Thanks for listening and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

After dealing with everything we have over the last two years, our brains have gotten really good at facing problems and anxiety - maybe too good. We might have accidentally trained our brains to be hyperresponsive to uncomfortable circumstances. On today's show, Dr. Fernanda Nieto shares some wonderful ways to help our brains and our bodies to relax and breathe.

Inspired by a quote from Agatha Christie, this episode reminds us all to enjoy the journey and allow ourselves to be a little ridiculous.

Everything your piano kid has to do with music: reading music, finding the correct piano keys, eventually building scales and chords, and putting chords together in a sequence, all of that stems from understanding the basic seven notes of the music alphabet.