Piano Lessons for Adult Piano Students
Sheet Music: Advanced Beginner to Early Intermediate level
With this post, I’m trying something new – providing pianists and piano students with some of my compositions. This is free sheet music for you to use and enjoy. If you have any trouble with it and want some advice, please email me personally. I hope you like it and have fun working on it. (more…)
(This is the third and final part of Ivan Olarte’s excellent essay on practicing the classical guitar. Part One is here, Part Two is here.)
The key to all this is that whether it’s 10 minutes of just scales, or a 20 minute portion dedicated to learning the fingerings of a new piece. I can focus on each of these activities without worrying or thinking of the final goals that it will lead to. By doing this I can invest 100% of my attention and effort into the present moment and enjoy every minute of it to boot. (more…)
(Part Two of Ivan Olarte’s essay on practicing the classical guitar. Part One is here.)
Well luckily, through the internet I found some great resources such as Dan’s great blog, and a great community which is dedicated to classical guitar at http://delcamp.us . Through sources such as these I explored other points of view, different ways to approach the mastery of my instrument and specific ways to approach something as “mundane” as the act of practicing. I quickly realized that I was falling into the same trap of music becoming a task and a chore. So I decided to revisit my approach to music and to my daily and very rigid practice routine. (more…)
Hi! My name is Ivan Olarte. I’m 48 years old and I returned to classical guitar almost 3 years ago after a 30 year absence.
I have been an avid fan of Dan Starr’s blog, as I find Dan’s essays very informative and downright inspirational. So I was very flattered and happy when Dan invited me to write a short article and share with you some of my thoughts about the act of practicing music. (more…)
Having my studio robbed has confirmed many of my piano teaching principles
I know this is strange way to make lemonade out of lemons, but being burglarized this past weekend has served to validate many of the ideas I have used successfully when teaching adult piano students. Weird, but wonderful. (more…)
“…to advance the value of music study and music making to society…” seems to me a worthy goal. This is a direct quote from the website of the MTNA, the Music Teachers National Association. I agree completely. The question is HOW to achieve this. I suspect my answer is a bit different than that of some MTNA members. (more…)
Predicting the Future is Usually Dicey but I Do See the Trends
I’ve been teaching piano now full-time since October of 1987. I began as most teachers do – traveling to my students’ homes. Later, I found space to teach at a local piano dealership. A few years ago I decided to limit my practice to adult and teen-aged students. This year I’m focusing my attention to the Internet. I give you this history to convince you that I might just be able to see “the handwriting on the wall” regarding piano education. (more…)
Understanding one’s preferences regarding art is always difficult
I’ve boiled it down like this. (more…)
Who Decides What Is or Is NOT Music – and Why You Should Care
I teach piano to adults. They love many different kinds of piano playing from show tunes and ballads to the classics. One thing many of them say when the subject comes up is “Rap is not music.” Most are then surprised when I explain why they should change their opinion – for their own good. (more…)
An easy, but highly interesting timing “trick” every pianist should understand and master
Few words seem more mysterious than “syncopation.” Most piano students are given syncopated pieces at some point When these are presented, however, the pianist too often just plays what the composer or arranger has written. They can hear the interesting sounds and fascinating timing but don’t really understand how that sound and timing is produced. They are just following orders, so to speak. I’d like to explain syncopation in the way my adult students, both live and online, have found useful and successful. Funny thing, it has always been my observation that the adult who understands what they play does a better job at it than the adult who only follows orders. (more…)
