Although I greatly look forward to live music recitals again, the spring Zoom recital went well, and I’m so proud of my kiddos!  Everyone played beautifully and loved their awards, cookies, and surprises in Their goodie bags! Thank you Sue Stanton for the amazing cookies!  My kids have worked so hard this year, and it showed in their beautiful poise and music making today!

Last weekend, I had 10 students perform in the National Piano Guild Auditions and one student play a 6 memorized piece program for Ukulele Adjudication!  MY students worked so hard and so long for this undertaking.  One student played a 5 memorized piece program, 7 students played 10-piece memorized program, and 1 student played an International 15 piece memorized program, which included 11 memorized pieces, ear training, scales, chords, and arpeggios.  The auditions were online via Zoom, and my students were so calm and collected despite this crazy year!  I am so proud of the hard work of these scholars!  Now we aim toward the recital in two weeks!  

School will soon be out, summer will soon be here, what does this mean for piano teachers and students?
Summer is finally coming. Great news for kids and school teachers to be sure. But for parents?? Summer can be a mixed blessing. While the pressure of school work being off of children and families is a relief, trying to organize vacations and keep kids busy over the summer can be a challenge. Life for parents is so demanding! It’s tempting to just want to take a break from all of the activities that take place during the school year.  I am often asked if students should take piano lessons over the summer
my answer is a resounding yes! Here’s why;
1. Summertime is a time when students can really focus on practice without the pressures school.
2. Piano practice is a better pastime, than television and video games.
3. Children actually have the time to practice more and add new music to the repertoire list, learn new skills or try a new piano method.
4. Taking summer off not only results in students failing to moving forward with their playing, they actually lose skills and forget pieces they have already learned.
5, Most kids who take the summer off usually DO NOT practice on their own.
6. Eight to ten weeks of not practicing results in a loss of skills acquired during the school year.
7. Your teacher likely has more time to devote to your child during the summer.
8. Summer is a time when parents also have more time to be involved in their child’s piano education.
9. This is your teacher’s job He/She probably wants to work during the summer.
10. Most accomplished pianists always took lessons over the summer. I’ll bet your teacher did.
If you are going to be away all summer arrange for your child to take lessons anyway.
Bring a weighted keyboard with you to your summer home. Arrange Skype lessons with your teacher or find a local piano teacher to work with your child.
If your teacher will be out for the summer, ask for a referral. We all know other teachers. I would be thrilled to have my students continue over the summer with a colleague. This is a well accepted practice in the piano teaching business. My friends refer summer students to me and I always send them back to their teacher when summer is over.
If your teacher gives summer intensive classes or summer camps why not advantage? These summer programs will sky-rocket your child’s playing to the next level.
Summer is a tough one for piano teachers and students. We all need a break! especially parents! Take a vacation enjoy the beach and the park, but try to keep the piano study going. You won’t regret it!