Author: glasshouseofmusic

Due to our current situation, live recitals are not an option. This is the single most exciting thing we are missing out on in regards to piano lessons. BUT, we have the next best thing- video recitals! 😍 Everyone benefits from recitals! 💯 The students (as terrified as they may be in the moment) love it! They […]

Earlier, I talked about how some children can feel overwhelmed with piano. Sometimes, that’s because it’s one more place in their life where they don’t feel like they have any control. But the piano can be an escape- even for the tiny ones.  When small children first begin learning piano, we don’t spend the full […]

Improv isn’t just for comedians – it’s also for piano students!  For young children first learning the piano, just pressing the keys is a new experience for them. The excited kids just want to bang away. The shy ones might tentatively press a key… very softly.  Improv is a way to get children used to […]

I found this chapter of ‘Musicophilia’ especially intriguing. I had never heard of this condition before, as is the case with most people. This is largely because this syndrome is very rare (affecting maybe one in 10,000 children), and was not formally described until 1961. Awareness is growing, as is support for families who are […]

I’ve shared with you about the brilliant book, Musicophilia, now see the man share about how music can help patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Such a captivating genius of a man! 

Part 2 of my review of Dr. Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. Pitch…Perfect? Absolute pitch has always sounded like such a wonderful gift to me, but there are problems associated with it that I’d never considered. Absolute pitch is when you hear a single note and know exactly which note it is, without […]

This book was incredible. I’ll try to break it down in a couple of blog posts, although I highly recommend reading the book yourself – I’ll definitely read it again someday! The Power of Music “Music, uniquely among the arts, is both completely abstract and profoundly emotional. It can pierce the heart directly; it needs […]

Some people never want to play for anyone else’s ears, and that’s ok. But music is meant to be heard! It’s meant to be shared, and this will only make you that much better (as a musician AND as a person) if you do. It will help make you stronger and braver, and take you […]

Think about your pieces. You need to have them in your head. Imagine hearing it played in your mind! See if you can hear every note of the melody and every note of each chord, every dynamic change, every phrase ending- see how many details you can remember without having the music in front of you […]

Tip number 4 for practicing the piano: Be self aware and realistic. Know when something isn’t working, and work on something else! Save that frustrating, just-can’t-figure-it-out section for your next lesson. That’s why you have a piano teacher like me! I’ll help you through that difficult section when we have a lesson. We all have […]