As today is the last day of our school piano lessons for the Christmas break I thought it would be a fun idea to help children keep up their piano practice over the holidays with a little bit of a challenge.
Here is our Christmas Practice Challenge sheet that has a tree filled with 16 baubles (the amount of days off until school starts back). The first day being tomorrow, your child is to complete a practice session (this can be as little as 10-15 minutes providing it is focussed practice) if the practice session is completed for that day they get to colour in the bauble.
Practice every day and you will finish with a colourful tree to show your teacher on return to lessons in the New Year!
Is your child not quite up to reading notes on the stave yet but wants to get into the festive spirit? Then this Jingle Bells sheet music I have created is just for you.
Click the button below to download yours for FREE!
I would love to see your children playing this piece so please feel free to share a video or picture with me 🙂
Has your child just started piano lessons or you’re thinking about starting..
Has your child just started piano lessons or you’re thinking about starting and you are not sure which piano to buy? Buying you first piano can be a daunting thing so here are some tips to help..
As many things in life, you get what you pay for but you don’t necessarily need to go out and spend thousands on a brand new all singing all dancing piano.
Consider a suitable budget by firstly deciding whether this is just a new hobby your child is trying out and may lose interest in a years time or whether it is something you are looking to invest in for your child’s future.
Some of the best brands of pianos to buy are the likes of Steinway, Bluthner and Bosendorfer. But there are also more affordable acoustic and digital pianos like Roland and Yamaha.
Which is the best piano for you? Let’s take a look at the options..
ACOUSTIC PIANOS
Buying a new acoustic piano is the best way you can go (budget permitting).
Acoustic pianos have a much longer lifespan than a digital piano and holds their value.
When buying an acoustic piano I would advise your child having a play around on it first so it would be best to take them with you. Every piano is different in the sound and weight of keys (even if they are the same brand) and so you don’t want buy a piano that has heavy keys and their little fingers struggle to press them down. The same with if the keys are too light, this can then lead to them struggling to play on another piano (in exams or concerts etc.)
Letting your child try the piano first let’s them find the touch that is right and comfortable for them to learn at their best and achieve success.
If buying a second hand piano be sure it is healthy and asked a professional to go with you if possible.
It is recommended that you tune an acoustic piano every 6 months.
DIGITAL PIANOS
Digital pianos are a great option if you have a smaller budget and a smaller space at home to fit one. Another benefit is that you can use headphones with them if need, so if you have younger children then practice time isn’t going to disturb nap time.
Although a digital piano will never be the same standard as an acoustic, new technology is able to get you as close as possible.
Some things you need to make sure of when buying a digital piano is that is has weighted keys. This means that your child will be able to practice their technique which is impossible without them. You also need to make sure it is has a full size keyboard of 88 keys, any smaller and your child will grow out of it pretty quickly and it will limit their learning ability.
A digital piano does not need to be tuned.
If you are still struggling to find a piano that suits you and your child best then please feel free to contact me and I will try to help you as much as I can.
Let me introduce you to our last Character, Amadeus’ Aunty.
She is named after the one and only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who was born in Austria and is one of the most famous composers of all time. He began composing music from the age of 5 years old and performed before European royalty #cleverclogs
Even Beethoven thought Mozart was awesome and composed his own early works in the shadow of him.
Mozart died in Vienna at the very early age of 35.
Click the image below to download and print your Mini Mozart their last colouring picture.
Be sure to share your child’s masterpiece with us once complete or tag us on Instagram using @minimozartsmusic or #minimozartsmethod
Last week I promised to do a video tutorial on how to use my Children’s Online Piano Course as I had a number of people contact me who were concerned they weren’t ‘techie’ enough to use it.
Also you do not need to have a piano at home to complete the course, a simple keyboard that has weighted keys is perfect!
This video shows you just how simple it is to work your way through the course but if you have any other questions please feel free to email me at steph@minimozartsmusic.com or visit my Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/?hl=en
The majority of us know what it feels like to get your child to do their homework and sometimes piano practice is no different #thestruggleisreal
Well I am here to help! Each week I will be posting a challenge for Creative Ways to Play It Again, to get your child enjoying their practice time. These creative ways will be sure to have your little one chuckling while they learn #winwin
Here is their first challenge.. have them practice their piece with their left eye closed ?
Why not post your child, or yourself if you play too, doing the challenge and tag me at @minimozartsmusic or use the hashtag #minimozartsmethod so I can see ?
Share the challenge with someone who you think would also like to take part #weeklychallenge
If you caught my Instagram stories over the weekend you will have seen me opening this amazing mail I received from the Pianist Magazine. They sent me these two issues from the past year of their monthly subscription magazine in the UK which includes interviews of great pianists, a number of piano pieces marked as beginner, intermediate and advanced – Each issue also comes with a CD containing recordings of all the pieces – Q&A’s sent in from readers and some great info on upcoming piano workshops across the world.
I’m so happy these magazines were sent to me and only wish I knew of them earlier. Not only are they great for pianists but also teachers who can use them with their own students whether it’s to use the sheet music to learn new pieces, for sight-reading or exercises.
Now time to put the kettle on and indulge 🙂 #metime
You can subscribe to the magazine here https://www.pianistmagazine.com
Happy New Year! I’m kicking off the new year with another character from my Children’s Online Piano Course. Meet Gershwin’s Grandma who lives on piano key G!
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George Jacob Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Some of his best known works are the songs I Got Rhythm (This was actually one of my Grade 8 exam pieces) and Fascinating Rhythm, the orchestral composition Rhapsody in Blue and the opera Porgy and Bess.
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He began his career as a song plugger but soon started composing Broadway theater works with his brother Ira Gershwin. He moved to Paris intending to study with Nadia Boulanger, but she refused him; he subsequently composed An American in Paris. He then returned to New York City and wrote Porgy and Bess with Ira and DuBose Heyward. It was initially a commercial failure but came to be considered one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century and an American cultural classic.
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Click on the image below to print off your colour in. Be sure to share your child’s masterpiece with us once complete ? #minimozartsmethod
If you saw my stories yesterday on Instagram you would’ve seen these amazing Composer baby books that I found over the weekend and as promised I have the details for you.
I came across these when looking for some books for my 7 month old and I just couldn’t resist. They even play one of the composers pieces at the touch of a button 🙂 They are in French but hey why not teach your little one another language at the same time. There aren’t too many words so time to brush the cobwebs off that French you learnt in school. And if not then there’s always Google translate 😉 haha!
There were only the Beethoven & Back books in the shop where I found them in but when I’ve looked online they also do them for Mozart and Vivaldi – I will be purchasing these also.
If you would like some of these books for your little one then just go to their website www.deux-coqs-dor.fr or you can order them on Amazon
It’s almost Christmas and it can get a little crazy with last minute shopping, wrapping of presents and what not. So whilst your hands may be a little full, I have something that may give you a bit of peace – as we all know that’s hard to come by with kiddies, especially those who are hyped up on that Christmas spirit haha!
So click on the image below of their mascot, Mini Mozart as he’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree and let your children colour him in while you go and put the kettle on 😉
Be sure to share a picture of their creation with me either on our Facebook/Instagram Page or email me direct. If you would also like to share a picture of yourself with your feet up munching that mince pie feel free 😉
