Today’s new song is focused on identifying emotions, managing feelings, and appropriate expression. The instrumental track and bonus items are the real resource today! When you download the album, not only do you have an example of how the song could sound, but you also get and instrumental track, the chord sheet, and the worksheet to help identify emotions, their causes, and ways to appropriately express and cope with those feelings, . You then can add those words from the worksheet to the fill in the blank lyric sheet to create your own personalized song! I am currently using this song with a client following our greeting. We often add pictures or drawings as a visual aid for our song! I hope you can find a way to use this resource in your session! This is How I Feel by On A Good Note Read More
Tag: Educational
My Favorite Apps – Piano Monkey
My students love new ways to use the iPad in our sessions. I like finding ways to keep them engaged while learning new things. That’s why I so many educational apps. One of the apps I have been using recently in Piano Monkey! Piano Monkey tests students’ knowledge of notes on both treble clef and bass clef, giving them three options to choose from. If you select the correct note, the note will be played and the monkey will smile, giving you the opportunity to move on to the next note. If you select the incorrect note, the option will be blacked out and you will be given a second chance to select the correct answer. The game only test you on 10 notes at a time. At the end of the ten notes you are given a score and a the time which to took you to complete the ten notes. You also have the option to test on bass or treble clef. If you touch the white “i” in the lower right corner of the screen, you will Read More
Free Printable Practice Chart
I encourage all of my students to practice. It doesn’t have to be a lot of practice, as long as my students make an effort to look at their materials a couple times a week. Some of my students need a little extra help when it comes to practicing. That is why I developed this simple Practice Chart for students and their families to use between lessons. Not only do students get to check off the days they practice, but they also get the opportunity to set a goal for themselves. Goals can relate to the number of days practiced each week or the amount of time spent practicing within the week. Many of my students like the idea of getting a small prize for achieving their goal. I work with each student to come up with a suitable prize. Some prizes I have used in the past include sharing a favorite song on YouTube, playing 5 minutes of a musical game on the iPad, bringing a special instrument to play, allowing the student to take home a small instrument Read More
3 Quick Tips for a New School Year
Where oh where has summer gone? I feel like just yesterday we were at the end of May and now we’re almost half-way through August! School is just around the corner for many of my clients so here are a couple quick tips to get the new year off to a good start! 1. Establish a routine! Transitioning back to school can take it’s toll. There are so many new experiences, schedules, activities, and all around changes that it can make a person crazy! Having a set routine can help ease part of that transition and set up you up for a successful rest of the year. The fewer surprises and rushed tasks there are in the morning and evening, the happier the whole family will be! Plan ahead for the next day and let the kids know about any change that may upset this routine. 2. Set specific times/goals for practicing. If a child knows that at 5:30 every day they sit at the piano for 10 minutes or play each of their songs 3 times, it’s going Read More
Recent Songs with Added Resource
When using a song I’ve written within a session, I often like to add visuals or actions to the song to reinforce what we are working on. One of the ways I add an interactive element is by using the iPad app Choice Board Creator. Within the app you can create custom activities that incorporate, pictures, words, and sounds. I like to use this with animal songs as well as with two of my recent songs: Here’s how it works! When you select “Create Activity” you will enter the desired name of the activity and will brought to a screen that looks like this: You can add as many boxes as you need, as well as adding multiple pages. When adding content, you can add pictures, words, letters, etc. By tapping the music notes in the bottom left corner of each box you can add sounds or music. These can be sounds you create or that you have downloaded. Here is what a finished page looks like for one of my songs. I ask the client the questions then Read More