Parents who have never learned to play a musical instrument often feel lost when it comes to helping their child practice at home. This is a real concern, but doesn’t have to be! Even if they can’t carry a tune in a bucket, couldn’t play their way out of a paper bag, or don’t even know what a treble clef looks like, PARENTS have the tools necessary to help their children learn how to play music. If you’re a parent reading this right now, you might be thinking “There is no way.” Let me assure you though THERE IS A WAY. Neither of my parents nor my grandparents ever played an instrument and nobody in my family ever played the piano before I did. In fact, for many years we could not even afford a piano. In spite of this (or maybe even because of it) I not only learned how…
Even these days, when cheap secondhand pianos are in plentiful supply, having been tossed aside to make way for compact, sophisticated keyboards, not many people can brag about owning a Steinway. Fewer own one that’s not worth bragging about. And then there’s the guy who actually went out of his way to buy one that’s not worth bragging about.
So gather ’round my 133-year-old Steinway upright, and hear a little ditty about a man with a laptop, a rental van and impulse-spending issues.
My tune is not quite a dirge, I suppose, since this piano is actually an improvement on the troll it displaced from my living room. But I’d have endured far less angst, and gotten more piano for my money, if I had listened to the experts before leaping at my “bargain” discovery…
As we celebrate a Century of Service, Jordan Kitt’s Music wants to support the area Music Education Community by giving away a new Yamaha b2 Professional Upright piano for both an area student, and for their piano teacher!
Click to register for a chance to win (for you and your piano teacher)! Sweepstakes winners will be randomly selected from all qualified applications in December.
Sweepstakes Entry Rules and Requirements:
The student (or parent/guardian) must be registered with their teacher’s name to be eligible to win, and all requested information must be provided for the entry to be valid. One entry per family. Eligible student entrants must be current students of a piano teacher in good standing in Maryland, DC or Virginia. All entries must be received by online registration at www.jordankitts.com/win by November 30, 2014. Entrants under 18 must have parent or guardian complete entry form. Winners must be residents of Maryland, Virginia or the District of Columbia and will be chosen randomly from eligible entries received by 11/30/14. Student/teacher winners will be announced on December 12, 2014. No purchase necessary. Any related taxes are the responsibility of the winners. All winning entrants agree to allow use of their likeness and name for publicity purposes.
Employees and vendors of JKM Music Group, LLC, dba Jordan Kitt’s Music are not eligible to win.
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.
Vivaldi, one of the greatest baroque composers, has a very interesting story. He ran an orphanage in the 18th century in Italy that became famous all over the western world for its musically talented children. A lot of his pieces were written for specific children in his school. Vivaldi learned the violin from his father, and was trained as a priest. He was nicknamed “the red priest” for his red hair and was apparently somewhat sure of himself, having claimed once he can compose a concerto faster than it can be copied.
Vivaldi wrote over 500 pieces, most of which are lost today. He is considered one of the greatest musical landmarks in history, having inspired many composers that followed him, including J.S.Bach and others.
The manuscript of Mozart’s A major piano sonata K331 has recently been discovered in Budapest. Having spent the majority of its life in the Budapest’s National Széchényi Library for decades, the coveted manuscript was rediscovered by Haydn scholar Balazs Mikusi.
The piece was composed in 1783 and contains Mozart’s most popular jam, “Turkish March,” which has become a piano lesson staple all over the world.
Although, unfortunately, Mikusi can’t say how or when these pages found their way to Hungary; they reveal subtle differences from the published editions of the sonata. The key variances are seen in the phrasing, dynamics and occasionally the notes themselves.
“It is very rare that a Mozart manuscript pops up. Moreover the A Major Sonata had no known manuscript, so it is a really big discovery,” he said.
The library has only released teasing images of the manuscript, nothing more.
The O’Connor Music Studio features fully functional parent/student portals. These are a great way to share information with you, save time, and add value to your lessons.
The student portal provides you with:
Student’s calendar with upcoming lessons and events
Student’s repertoire
Student’s practice log
Family’s account and invoice information (only visible to parents/adult students)
Access to your download library and a list of borrowed items
Students can also join and cancel lessons based on the OCMS studio cancellation policy. Using the student portal is completely optional, but highly recommended.
Check your email for information about logging in!
Wanted: Temporary space for the world’s largest piano. Must have flat access, as requires forklift.
A piano handcrafted in a garage near Timaru, weighing in at 1.4 tonnes and with a length of 5.7 metres, is rolling through Wellington next month and its maker is hunting for a place to show it off.
It took Adrian Mann, 25, four years to build the piano, and he has spent the past few years giving people around New Zealand a chance to play it – he even tried, unsuccessfully, to get Elton John to give it a tinkle.
It all started when, as a curious 15-year-old, he wanted to see how long a piece of piano wire would be if it were not wrapped in copper.
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.
MaryO'Studio 