We're Having a BBQ Concert!

The votes are in

The end of another teaching year is approaching and I needed a little help making a decision. So I put together a list of ideas and my students voted on what they thought our end-of-the-year event should be. I let everyone vote for either one or two favorite choices.

And the results are now in!

1. Perform for an afternoon at the mall - 16%
2. Have a recital at a Bedford Church - 4%
3. Have a recital at The Music Room - 6%
4. Outdoor recital and BBQ at my house - 47%
5. Have mini-recitals at my house - 27%

I am marking my calendar for Saturday, June 2 and a rain date of Sunday, June 3. Let's hope for sunny skies!

The Barbeque Recital gets the highest number of votes!

For those of you who spend time checking out other piano teacher blogs, you will run across all kinds of creative recital ideas. I had to laugh at the Teach Piano Today post: "Piano Recitals Are, Like, Totally, Like, Lame". Go check it out for a chuckle and some great ideas too. Phew...glad I haven't got one of those lame recitals booked this year.

The message is loud and clear...

Let's celebrate with music, food and fun!

Pupil Saver Surprise

Lately I have received a few gentle nudges to go investigate the new Clavier Companion app for iPad and iPhone. I saw Wendy's post last month and then I read an update from the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy's Facebook page.

Just in case you aren't familiar with the publication, Clavier Companion is a magazine for people who are passionate about the piano. Each issue features articles on piano performance, study and instruction for all styles, levels and abilities.

With the Clavier Companion app, subscribers have full access to all the content of the print magazine plus enhanced multimedia features. The app was free to download and it came with three complimentary issues (Nov/Dec 2011, Jan/Feb 2012 and Mar/Apr 2012). Their Facebook page says that digital subscriptions are set to begin with the May/June issue.

But here is the fun part...

I was browsing through the November/December 2011 issue when I stumbled upon the Pupil Saver page, which featured one of my compositions! What a great surprise to see that "Starfish at Night" was the chosen pupil saver.

Freddie the Frog by Anne Crosby

"Starfish at Night" is from the Freddie the Frog collection of elementary piano solos, published by Frederick Harris. I wrote this piece for my young students as an opportunity to explore the entire range of the piano with the magical sound of whole tones. Even after fifteen years I still get a kick from teaching these fun solos.

Freddie the Frog includes the following:

• Freddie the Frog
• Sweet Kitty
• Baby Kangaroo
• Starfish at Night
• To Fly Like and Eagle
• Boogie Woogie Bear
• Angelfish
• Busy Beavers

Thanks for the nice surprise Clavier Companion!

Eggs are fun even after Easter

After reading Jennifer Fink's post on her Easter Egg Melody Hunt (which happens to be a super cute idea), I have been on the look out for those plastic eggs. I think she's right, my students will happily play a colorful egg game any time of year!

I found a cute set of eggs in the picked-over Easter supplies at the dollar store this weekend. I am using them to hide rhythms for my grade 2 and 3 exam students (yes, exam prep can be fun!) And I just might hide a chocolate treat in one of those eggs too. There has to be a reason to do more than one, no shaking allowed!

Tenuto is Terrific!

Finally... someone has made a really good music theory app.

You are a tech-savvy audience, so I am certain that many of you have spent time on Ricci Adams' musictheory.net website for drilling theory concepts with lessons and online game platforms. If you don't have an iPhone or iPad, this is a great place to go. But if you like to teach with an iDevice in hand please read on.

Just yesterday I stumbled upon his new app, Tenuto. I was happy to give up a coffee and a muffin for the $3.99 download. The app is designed for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, so I installed it on my iPad2.

Tenuto is a collection of twelve customizable exercises in music theory and ear training. You should definitely go visit www.tenutoapp.com to take a closer look at the screenshots and descriptions of each module. Here is a quick list of exercises that you will find:

Staff-based Exercises

• Note Identification
• Key Signature Identification
• Interval Identification
• Chord Identification

Keyboard-based Exercises

• Keyboard Identification
• Keyboard Reverse Identification
• Keyboard Interval Identification
• Keyboard Chord Identification

Fretboard-based Exercises

• Fretboard Identification

Ear Training Exercises

• Interval Identification
• Scale Identification
• Chord Identification

Calculators

• Accidental Calculator - Display the accidental for a note and key.
• Interval Calculator - Display the interval for a note, type, and key.
• Chord Calculator - Display the chord for a note, type, and key.
• Analysis Calculator - Display the chord for a symbol and key.
• Matrix Calculator - Display the twelve-tone matrix for a specified tone row.

The exercises are very easy to customize making the app appropriate for a wide range of levels and ages. We clearly have a musician at the helm of this project because the content is accurate and graphics are perfect. (I have a pet peeve for music apps with flipped note heads or backwards eighth notes... delete!)  I found the interface for Tenuto to be intuitive and simple so students can use it and customize the exercises at home.

This is a 'must purchase' item in my studio. Especially for those students who need extra interval drills before ear training exams or additional practice with concepts before theory exams next month.

When I was taking Tenuto for a "test drive" last night, my husband even put aside his Angry Birds so he could try the Keyboard ID game. That says something doesn't it!