Piano Maestro New Movie Music!

Piano Mania

 

Shiny, new Piano Maestro version is live!

They’ve listened to your amazing feedback and have added your most requested songs, squashed tons of bugs and added iOS 17 compatibility.

4 more amazing songs!

You asked, and they listened and added a sparkling collection of most requested songs in 2023 for your students to enjoy “Barbie Girl” from the new ‘Barbie movie, “Circle of Life” from ‘The Lion King’, “He’s a Pirate” from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and “Rainbow Connection” from ‘The Muppet Movie’.

Available in 3 versions, all new songs can be found in the ‘Top 2023 Requests’ section in the song library.


It will be fun watching your child improve their piano skills all while having fun using Piano Maestro in lessons each week!

As your child’s teacher (or YOUR teacher!), I’m looking forward to seeing the progress they will make when they start using it at home each day. This guide will help you understand how this app will benefit your child and how to get it set up on your own iPad.

Overview
What is Piano Maestro?

Piano Maestro is the ultimate piano practice tool that will have students quickly playing their favorite classical, pop, rock, TV and video game songs and themes. It is available in the App Store and works on the iPad.

What skills does it improve?
• Note reading
• Sight reading
• Rhythm
• Inner pulse
• Confidence

What makes it so fun?
• Upbeat background tracks
• Stunning graphics
• Instant rewards and feedback
• Satisfaction of playing REAL music

It works with an acoustic piano?

Yes! Your child practices on your real acoustic or digital piano. Piano Maestro listens from the iPad’s built-in microphone. No wires needed.

I’m already paying for lessons. What value does this add?

Sometimes I wish I could be there with your child to encourage them to keep practicing daily. I’m sure it’s not always easy, as unforeseen challenges will arise.

Since our time each week is just too short, this app will give me eyes on the ground and it will keep them practicing longer and improving more quickly.

How will it be used in lessons?

I will spend a few minutes of each lesson helping your child master a couple of new songs all while having fun! I will also teach them how to use the practice options at home.

At the end of the lesson, we will choose Home Challenge assignments within the app that will show up in your account at home. I’ll get updates when progress is made.

Getting Started
Wow, this sounds awesome. Now, how do I get started?

1) Download Piano Maestro on your iPad from the AppStore
2) Create a JoyTunes account with a parent’s email, under which, you can have multiple profiles for each member of the family.
3) Create a profile for each family member (that means you too Mom and Dad!) inside the Parent/Teacher zone (top right-hand corner of the main screen)
4) Connect to your teacher, me! After creating a profile in the “profiles” tab of the parent/teacher zone, select the student’s profile and click “connect to teacher.” Once I approve the connection to your child, they will receive full access to all content for FREE! I will then also begin receiving weekly progress reports.
5) Start Playing – I will now start assigning you homework, meanwhile, get started on Journey Mode.

When you connect to the O’Connor Music Studio, Piano Maestro is free for as long as you study here.

Christmas Listening and Coloring Pages

I have just purchased a set of Christmas Shades of Sound Listening & Coloring Book for the studio.

Please let me know if you do not want your student to participate in Christmas activities and I will assign alternate activities.

Each week, I will print out some of the pages for your student and put them in his/her notebook.  After listening to the music on YouTube, the student may color the pages.

After they are colored, please return them to the notebook so that there will be a complete book when finished.

If you are an adult and want to listen and color, too, just let me know and I’ll print you a set.

From the website:

Get your piano students listening to great classical music!

The Shades of Sound Listening and Coloring Books are a great way to encourage students to listen to great piano and orchestral repertoire. Students of all ages will love coloring the fun pictures while listening to and learning from the music of the great composers.

This Shades of Sound Christmas edition includes 20 pieces of piano and orchestral literature for the Christmas season, from the Baroque to the Modern period. Includes background and historical information on the pieces and the composers, and a beautiful coloring page for each piece.

The Christmas Shades of Sound book includes 20 different pieces, including:

  • In Dulci Jubilo from the Christmas Tree Suite by Liszt
  • Pastorale from the Christmas Oratorio by Bach
  • Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring by Bach/Hess
  • Farandole from L’arlesienne Suite #1 by Bizet
  • Christmas Sonatina by Reinecke
  • Elegy #4 by Busoni
  • The Adoration of the Magi by Respighi
  • Winter Sonatina by Rowley
  • Christmas Concerto by Corelli
  • Ave Maria by Schubert/Liszt
  • Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Gillock
  • Diversions by Dello Joio
  • Nuit de Noel by Busoni
  • Sheep May Safely Graze by Bach/Petri
  • Carol Symphony by Hely-Hutchinson
  • Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Tchaikovsky
  • Trepak by Tchaikovsky
  • Arabian Dance by Tchaikovsky
  • Waltz of the Flowers by Tchaikovsky
  • Hallelujah Chorus by Handel

 

Dr. Maurice Hinson

hinson

 

I have always respected Dr. Hinson’s work and his music.  So much so that I went to Connecticut to take a class on Piano Pedagogy with him several years ago.  I have also attended several local piano teacher workshops with him.  At one of them, he claimed to remember me from that Connecticut class.  Whether true or not, I treasure that comment and the signature on a piano book he gave me.

We have several of his books at the O’Connor Music Studio and many are available for loan.  If you are interested in buying any for yourself, amazon.com has a great selection.  In addition to those books he has authored, he has edited the works of many composers.  Amazon lists 270 works edited and annotated by Dr. Hinson.

 

From his page on alfred.com:

One of America’s most respected authorities on piano literature, Dr. Maurice Hinson received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Music Teachers National Association at its Washington, D.C. convention in the spring of 1994, the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Florida in 1990, and the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Michigan in the fall of 1995. Hailed as a specialist in American piano music, some of his articles appear in the New Grove Dictionary of American Music in the United States.

Dr. Hinson received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida and his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Michigan. He also studied at The Juilliard School and the Conservatoire National in Nancy, France.

While a Senior Professor of Piano in the School of Church Music at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. Hinson’s curriculum included teaching piano, piano literature, and piano chamber music. He performed, lectured, and gave masterclasses worldwide. His books and editions have become classic standards in the studios of serious piano teachers and students the world over.


From his obituary at legacy.com:

Hinson, Dr. G. Maurice, age 84 died November 11, 2015 in the company of his family. Dr. Hinson was Professor and Senior Professor of Piano at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1957 to 2015, and a member of Broadway Baptist Church. He was also organist-choirmaster of churches in Florida, Michigan and Kentucky from 1943 to 1980. Dr. Hinson received his BA degree from the University of Florida and his MM and DMA degrees from the University of Michigan, and also studied at The Julliard School and the University of Nancy, France (Conservatoire National).

He was the first president of the Greater Louisville Music Teachers Association, and president of the Kentucky Music Teachers Association as well as the Southern Division of the MTNA. He also taught “The Dorsey Class,” a group of selected piano teachers from 1963 to 2015.

Dr. Hinson is the author of 14 books mostly published by Indiana University Press, plus over 100 articles for music publications. He was a senior editor for The Alfred Publishing Company of California. He edited more than 300 editions of classical piano music and recorded five DVDs of piano music.

As Professor of Piano at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for 58 years, he taught and nurtured many pianists who now hold distinguished positions in churches and universities throughout the world.

Dr. Hinson received many awards in piano pedagogy and performance. He was awarded the Liszt Commemorative Medal by the Hungarian Government and the Medal of Excellence by the American Liszt Society for his research on the music of Franz Liszt. He was hailed as a specialist in American Piano music and some of his most recent articles appeared in the NEW GROVE DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN MUSIC. He gave recitals, lectures, and master classes in five continents and 50 states.

Hinson was the founding editor of the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN LISZT SOCIETY, past editor of THE AMERICAN MUSIC TEACHER, and contributing editor of THE PIANO QUARTERLY and PIANO AND KEYBOARD.

Music for Halloween: Funeral March of a Marionette by Charles Gounod

funeral

The Funeral March of a Marionette (Marche funèbre d’une marionnette) is a short piece by Charles Gounod. It was written in 1872 for solo piano and orchestrated in 1879. It is perhaps best known as the theme music for the television program Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which originally aired from 1955 to 1965.

In 1871-72, while residing in London, Gounod started to write a suite for piano called “Suite Burlesque”. After completing one movement, the Funeral March of a Marionette, he abandoned the suite and had the single movement published by Goddard & Co. In 1879 he orchestrated the piece. The instrumentation is: piccolo, flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in D, 2 trumpets in A, 3 trombones, ophicleide, timpani, bass drum, triangle, strings. The work is in the key of D minor, with a central section in D major. Various arrangements by other hands exist.

There is a program underlying the Funeral March of a Marionette: The Marionette has died in a duel. The funeral procession commences (D minor). A central section (D Major) depicts the mourners taking refreshments, before returning to the funeral march (D minor).

The score contains the following inscriptions in appropriate places:

La Marionnette est cassée!!! (The Marionette is broken!!!)
Murmure de regrets de la troupe (Murmurs of regret from the troupe)
Le Cortège (The Procession)
Ici plusieurs des principaux personnages de la troupe s’arrêtent pour sa rafrâichir (Here many of the principal personages stop for refreshments)
Retour a la maison (Return to the house). (Wikipedia)

Download this music in several versions from IMSLP.  Click on Arrangements and Transcriptions.  There are also some arrangements for piano at the O’Connor Music Studio, including an advanced level.  This is arranged for three levels starting with very easy piano in PIano Maestro.

 

On Alfred Hitchcock:

From Faber Piano Adventures Performance Book Level 3B No.7 (Also available in the OCMS Library):

Piano 4-hands:

With animation:

On organ:

Mannheim Steamroller:

And, finally, a light show!

Music for Halloween: The Addams Family

 

Students always find this piece fun with its finger snaps.  There are three versions in Piano Maestro and it’s in several piano books including Halloween Songbook (Easy Piano).  There was a a new Addams Family animated movie out in 2019, so your students are going to be snapping all over the place when this Halloween rolls around.

The original:

From the 2019 movie:

The cartoon opening:

All intros from 1964-1998

Piano:

Organ:

Sing along:

It’s all about the finger snap!

Trunk or Treat!

 

Pender’s Annual Trunk or Treat is returning bigger and better than ever!

Our 2023 upcoming fall festival features trunk or treat (wear costumes), snacks, games for all ages, and live music by our Common Ground Praise Band (including karaoke so everyone can get involved).

This will be a lot of fun for everyone.

The main date is Saturday, October 21 from 2-4 pm) and the rain date is Sunday, October 29 from 2-4 pm. Please wear a costume!

Parents! How to Help Your Students Practice ~ Day Eight

 

We have established that regular practice routines will not happen without proactive piano parents. So, how can parents be proactive practice assistants even if they have never touched a piano?

 

Day 8. The Timekeeper: Some of the O’Connor Music Studio students are using Andrea And Trevor Dow’s Timed Note Reading Tests For Piano, so their parents can be the timekeeper when it is time for their daily note reading practice.

Andrea And Trevor Dow’s Timed Note Reading Tests For Piano, Book 1: 90 Days Of Exercises In Middle C Position And C Position

and

Andrea And Trevor Dow’s Timed Note Reading Tests For Piano, Book 2: 95 Days Of Exercises In Treble C Position And G Position

 

The Simply Piano App

Simply-Piano

 

iOS: Learning to play the piano can be difficult, and even moreso if you don’t have someone there to help you fix your errors and learn good tempo. Simply Piano can do both of those things, and all it takes is your iPhone or iPad. Best of all, it’s free.

Like many “piano-learning” apps, Simply Piano teaches you various pieces of music by essentially displaying sheet music in front of you to play, guiding you to the right keys on your piano or keyboard, and showing you the right order in which to press them and when — that’s all great, and not terribly unique, even if it works well. Where the app shines however is its listening feature. Simply put the phone down near the keyboard, and Simply Piano will “listen” to you play.

As you play, the app identifies what you’re playing and gives you feedback on how to improve. Maybe you need to pick up the tempo, or maybe you missed a few notes here or there — whatever it is, the app can give you a few tips, and encourages you to try again, all while it listens and tries to help.

Simply Piano is free, and available now. It comes bundled with a ton of songs to learn (including classical and pop songs you’ll probably recognise), and is geared to all skill levels — and keyboard types, so you don’t need a fancy piano just to use the app, any keyboard will do. Hit the link below to try it out.

Simply Piano (Free) [iTunes App Store via JoyTunes]

From http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/10/simply-piano-teaches-you-piano-listens-and-corrects-your-mistakes/

 

Sing or Play Happy Birthday Whenever You Want

happy birthday

 

You’re legal now!

None of the companies that have collected royalties on the “Happy Birthday” song for the past 80 years held a valid copyright claim to one of the most popular songs in history, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled on Tuesday.

In a stunning reversal of decades of copyright claims, the judge ruled that Warner/Chappell never had the right to charge for the use of the “Happy Birthday To You” song. Warner had been enforcing a copyright since 1988, when it bought Birch Tree Group, the successor to Clayton F. Summy Co., which claimed the original disputed copyright.

Judge George H. King ruled that a copyright filed by the Summy Co. in 1935 granted only the rights to specific piano arrangements of the music, not the actual song.

Read more at http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-happy-birthday-song-lawsuit-decision-20150922-story.html

The following version is in the O’Connor Music Studio library, if you wish to borrow it.  It is also available on amazon.com