It’s now going to be even easier for students’ parents to get involved with Piano Maestro.
The author of Piano Maestro, JoyTunes, will automatically send parents an email which will update them on their child’s progress through engaging content including the week’s highlights, fun trivia facts related to songs played, skills learned and shared moments.
Please take advantage of this great new feature so that your student can get the most of out of piano lessonsl
The Pender UMC Choir, Handbells, Orchestra and Liturgical Dancer will present Joel Raney’s Christmas Cantata, Celebrate the Season, at 8:15 and 11:00 am on Sunday, December 7.
Contemporary and upbeat, this superb cantata celebrates the excitement, joy and true meaning of the Christmas season. Joel Raney retells the Christmas story through a unique partnering of creative, original songs with traditional carols. Most of the originals incorporate strains from traditional carols, weaving a tapestry with just enough familiarity to warm our hearts and with enough originality to surprise our ears and lift our spirits. The styles he uses range from traditional classical, to jazz and everything in between.
At Pender’s neighbor, Christ Presbyterian:
The Cathedral Brass will perform “A Cathedral Brass Christmas” at Christ Presbyterian Church, Fairfax, on Sunday, December 7th at 4:00 pm. The concert features beloved Christmas carols and other holiday favorites, including ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, narrated by Alan Cole.
Other selections includeLeRoy Anderson’s Suite of Carols, Antonio DiLorenzo’s The Toymaker, and Alfred Reed’s Joyeux Noel. Jazz trumpeter Roger Rossi, former member of the Army Blues, will be featured. The concert is free; voluntary donations are gratefully accepted.
Cathedral Brass is a brass choir based at Vienna Presbyterian Church and performs under the direction of L. Thomas Vining.
I found this article from the New York Times very interesting about the Steinway Store moving.
The little room where Rachmaninoff practiced, the famous basement where up-and-coming virtuosos catnapped under the pianos, the palatial rotunda conceived by the architecture firm that designed Grand Central Terminal — Steinway & Sons is saying goodbye to all that and moving to a corner of a 1970s office building 14 blocks away.
Steinway sold its 1920s building on West 57th Street in 2012, with a deadline to leave by the end of December. Executives of the piano company are now close to signing a 15-year lease for 40,000 square feet of space at 1133 Avenue of the Americas, at West 43rd Street.
via Changing Keys, Steinway Piano Store Will Relocate in Midtown – NYTimes.com.
We didn’t know it at the time but when my son, Michael, and I practiced there in August, we were the last people to use their practice rooms.
When we play Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart arranged for 2 pianos November 30, we will be the last people to play in the old Steinway Hall.
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 feed back
• 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 and books. 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 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 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.
There is one change in the video below – when you connect to the O’Connor Music Studio, Piano Maestro is free forever.
Now, it’s time to start putting the furniture back where it goes, although I think I’m leaving the piano more in the center of the room for now. It shows the piano off better and I’ll have a place to put the digital keyboard against the wall and closer to the piano.
After a lot of thought, the organs will stay in their respective places next to each other but the music for them will be moving nearer to them.
Then putting all the other books away. I have an iPad app which is a database that adds items by taking pictures of their barcodes. Hopefully, this will help organize some of my books.
It won’t be done by Monday but it will be done enough for teaching purposes!
The studio is just about cleared out and most things moved to the center of the room so that the painters can start painting Tuesday morning.
I had planned on teaching Monday, but with everything moved, it is far too difficult (but not impossible!) to get to the piano.
Painting is supposed to take only two days so it should be done on Wednesday (or Thursday!) and completely dry before the next lessons.
Thanks for your understanding and keep practicing! Next lesson, the studio will be a pretty blue color 🙂
Thanks,
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MaryO'Studio 