Field Notes on Music Teaching & Learning

It’s my last week of teaching for the year, and I've been reflecting on the supplemental books that have been most successful with my elementary and early intermediate students this year. The new year can be a great time to start fresh: with new repertoire, new technical routines, or new creative challenges for our students.As we prepare for the Spring semester and look forward to lessons resuming in January, I want to share nine collections I’ve been using with my students this year. Some are etudes based on specific technical patterns, others are solo repertoire books. Most of these are available through Piano Safari, though they can be used alongside any method book. For reference, my elementary and early intermediate students are in Piano Safari Levels 1-3 and range from 2nd-7th grade.If you're looking to refresh your teaching materials for January or add some variety to your studio library, I hope you'll find a few gems here that spark your interest.For show notes + a full transcript, click here.Resources Mentioned*Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support!Miniatures (Juan Cabeza)Piano Safari Level 3Through the Windowpane (Chee-Hwa Tan)A Child’s Garden of Verses (Chee-Hwa Tan)Diversions, Books 1 and 2 (Juan Cabeza)Free download: 12 Variations on Diversion 12 (Juan Cabeza)Friends at Last (Amy Glennon)Here Comes Treble (Amy Glennon)Audio recordingsPiano Safari Level 1The Kitchen Suite, Op. 26 (Charles Stier)21 Amazingly Easy Pieces (Barbara Arens)If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >>Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyewWhenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together:1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come.2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics.3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

One of the things I love about teaching is that we can draw on many disciplines to make our work better—art, psychology, learning theories, and even neuroscience. Recently, I’ve been reading about what brain research can tell us about practicing and how we learn, and it’s fascinating.Welcome back to our 2-part series on practicing.In part 1, we talked about the art of practicing. I shared what I’m learning from Madeline Bruser’s book, The Art of Practicing, and how I’m carrying these concepts and strategies into my practice sessions and studio.In this episode, part 2, we’ll explore Molly Gebrian’s book, Learn Faster, Perform Better. This book is all about the neuroscience of practicing: how we learn, process, and retain information. If you’ve been reading along with us in the Musician & Co. Book Club, you likely have some insights of your own, but I wanted to share what stood out to me and how it’s impacting my practicing and my teaching.For show notes + a full transcript, click here.Resources Mentioned*Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support!The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music From the Heart (Madeline Bruser)Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician’s Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing (Molly Gebrian)Join the Musician & Co. Book Club (it’s free!)Sign up for the Lunch & Learn: Practicing Workshop on 11/10 (it’s free!)Well-Tempered Clavier, Volume 1 (J.S. Bach)Ep. 038 - The Secrets of Interleaved Practice: What We Can Learn From Cognitive ScienceIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >>Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyewWhenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together:1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come.2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics.3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

This fall, I read two books about practicing: The first is Madeline Bruser’s, The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart. The second is Molly Gebrian’s 2024 release, Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician's Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing.Art and science. Because practicing requires both.This is part 1 of a 2-part series about practicing and what I’m learning and applying from both books.In this episode, part 1, we’ll talk about the art of practicing. I’ll share what I’m learning from Madeline Bruser’s book and how I’m carrying these concepts and strategies into my practice sessions and studio.For show notes + a full transcript, click here.Resources MentionedDisclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support!The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music From the Heart (Madeline Bruser)Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician’s Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing (Molly Gebrian)Join the Musician & Co. Book Club (it’s free!)Well-Tempered Clavier, Volume 1 (J.S. Bach)The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self (William Westney)Ep. 060 - How Do We Approach Mistakes in Music Teaching & Learning?If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts.Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyewWhenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together:1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come.2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics.3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings.

It was about this time last year when I got a panicked email from a parent: “Jack broke his left wrist this week. What does this mean for piano? He’s in a cast.”Has this ever happened to you? Some parents may assume that lessons need to be paused during this time. I mean, they can’t play with only one hand… or can they?The answer is yes, and there’s more and more one-handed repertoire available. With a broken foot, we can focus on repertoire that doesn’t use the pedal, or they can learn to pedal with their left foot for a few weeks.But more importantly, what I want to convey to parents (and students) is that playing is only one facet of musicianship. There are so many other things we do in lessons, so many other skills we’re working to develop. It reminds me of something Frances Clark once said, “Teach the student first, the music second, and the piano third.”Today, I’m sharing a list of nine lesson activities you can do with a broken arm. Some of these are specific to piano, but some are relevant no matter what instrument you teach. I hope the next time you find yourself in a situation like this, you’ll have just what you need to continue learning and making music together.For show notes + a full transcript, click here.Resources Mentioned*Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support!Sight-Reading and Rhythm Every Day (Helen Marlais)Rhythm Keeper, Vol. 1 (Samantha Steitz & Steve Aho)Ep. 059 - 7 Ways to Practice RhythmEp. 026 - My Favorite Aural Skills Games + ActivitiesEp. 085 - Everyone Can ImproviseEp. 083 - Bernstein and Bill EvansIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >>Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyewWhenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together:1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come.2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics.3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

Learning to play the piano isn’t just about learning repertoire pieces. It’s about developing a set of keyboard skills that lets you make music anywhere, with anyone, in any style. Technique, performance, and sight-reading are part of it, but so are harmonization, transposition, chord knowledge, and voice-leading. It’s more than the ability to perform what’s on the page; it’s understanding how the music is made.In this episode, I’ll share why keyboard skills matter for students of all ages and a few strategies I’m using in my studio to build them into lessons from the very first year of study.For show notes + a full transcript, click here.Resources Mentioned*Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support!RCM Piano SyllabusPiano Safari Repertoire Book 1Diversions (Juan Cabeza)Piano Safari FriendsPiano Safari Sight-Reading CardsSight-Reading and Rhythm Every Day (Helen Marlais)Rhythm Keeper, Vol. 1 (Samantha Steitz & Steve Aho)Ep. 085 - Everyone Can ImproviseThrough the Windowpane (Chee-Hwa Tan)A Child’s Garden of Verses (Chee-Hwa Tan)Free download: 12 Variations on Diversion 12 (Juan Cabeza)Create First! Duet (Forrest Kinney)Free download: 27 Easy Chord Progressions (Tim Topham)If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >>Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyewWhenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together:1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come.2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics.3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings