Have you been using the Fright Playing Checklist? I'm using it more than I expected. It has changed the way I think about playing. Using it with Trick or Treat with Zombies this year has sparked lots of discussions and creativity in the studio. Is the piece about kinder-zombies? Is the trick-or-treater trick-or-treating in the afternoon or at 2 am? Do you play this piece petrifyingly quiet and grave, or frighteningly loud and furioso? What's the scariest moment of the piece?

It's that time of year. Fall. Last year I did a challenge for my students, they had to recite the order of sharps or flats on the circle of 5ths at the end of each lesson. (you can check out last year's blog with the challenge here) Then they got a treat. This year my students started asking if I was going to give out candy again. Some had forgotten there was a challenge attached. This year's challenge is playing some spooky pieces as a sight playing exercise. However, I was

Noticing Happiness in the Fall It's fall. One of my favorite times to teach, minor keys, spooky stuff, stories about spiders, pumpkins, and my students are full of exuberant high spirits. It's also a time to introduce new sets of Happiness Cards. Little Cards Big Impact I'm still marveling over the impact of these little cards. I was at the dentist this week for a cleaning. The last time I was there, there was a new dental assistant. At the end of that appointment, I had

This is the year (2026) that you and your students warm up going around the circle of 5ths. Last year I did a new circle every month. I think the VW bug was my favorite. This fall I'm using the tracking sheet in the middle. Here's what I do: At the beginning of a lesson we choose something to play around the circle; for example, 5 note scales, a chord progression, a song. Depending on the level of the student, we choose one hand or the other or both. Then we either roll a 12

My son was here for a month this summer. He's a jazz double bassist studying in Norway. He is a huge fan of Barry Harris, and was encouraging me to listen to and copy what Harris was teaching. Here's a video from Harris on Chopin Changes Changes are basically cadences. In jazz they are always referred to by number. My students are learning chord changes and scale degrees in every single lesson. I'm using all sorts of terminology, even with the younger ones that's completely c

It's the end of July 2026. I started using little cards at the end of lessons to write one or two small things that students did. These are shared with permission of my student. He likes to read them on his way to lessons. The example above was started at the end of January this year. These little cards have improved all of my lessons. Here's how: I pay attention more. I know at the end of a lesson I need to write something positive, so I spend more time looking for positive.

Back in February I wrote about Notice Happiness Cards in a blog post (you can read here) . In it I shared that I've started ending all my lessons by writing on the back of a card with a small piece of art. Four months later my students now have mini-art galleries filled with positive comments and joy. I've written things like: I love how you connected the melody of Somewhere in My Memory to the Pachelbel chord pattern. (to a 9 yr old) I love being able to talk 2-5-1-4 chord p

If you don't know who Priya Parker is, you're missing out. She's the author of "The Art of Gathering." From her website and in her own words: "I’m a facilitator, strategic advisor, author, and life-long curious student. I believe everyone has the ability to gather well. I’m here to help you rethink and reimagine how we spend our time together and infuse it with creativity and meaning." Last week I opened one of her emails which had a audio recording of her latest thoughs. She

After teaching this piece for a while, I have some observations and strategies. This piece is supposed to be fun. If modifications are needed for a student to be able to play it, go for it! The Moonlight Birthday police won't crash your party. Small hands, don't play the octave, for the bass, play the lower notes, and in the treble, don't play the thumb. For the most part, the chords are diatonic triads related to E major and C sharp minor. Happy Birthday is most commonly pla

Have you ever had students start a piece, and get really good at the beginning, only to not finish it? Do you need a good, crowd pleasing version of Happy Birthday that everyone will fall in love with? Do you know people with birthdays? If you answered yes to any of these questions, I have the piece for you. Here's Beethoven's Moonlight Birthday I thought about doing a series of birthday versions of half finished pieces. But really, this one is so good, it will be hard to bea

My studio is working on a group project to build the Lego Grand Piano. It is one of the most fun projects I have ever worked on with my students. At the end of each lesson, everyone (from ages 7-70+) builds a few steps. I write their name and the date on the page in the instruction book and take a picture on my phone. The grand piano has 3600 pieces and 840 steps (this is where I show what a nerd I am). It's taking about a month to get through 25%, so if we started in March,

Do you have students who come to you bouncing off the walls because they have already had a busy and over scheduled day? I do. For me, it's generally the younger ones and the ones who I suspect have ADHD. After reading a chapter about managing transitions in Strong Ground, by Brené Brown, I shifted how I start lessons. For the first 5-7 minutes, I'm playing bass lines with chords while my students play improvised melodies. Playing Heart and Soul in G flat, for example, allows

Have you ever wanted to know what it's like to be your own student? I started live streaming lessons a week and a half ago. (Today's the 10th of March 2026) I'm going to do my 6th one today or tomorrow. It's such an interesting experience. You should try it. I started by teaching an imaginary student. At the moment, I'm working on having all my students be able to keep steady beats with repeated chord patterns and bass lines in all 12 keys, both major and minor. I'm probably

Today I recorded the 3rd lesson in the Key Finder Lesson series. For whatever reason, I can't link the live stream video on this page, but you can find it here: https://youtube.com/live/9ekBn3YajOg?feature=share I'm a nerd. I like counting things, tracking things, and playing around with ideas to see what works and what doesn't. In the first two lessons, I played around the circle of 5ths with I-IV major chords, using a syncopated rhythm with the left hand chords. Notes from

Yesterday I live streamed a complete first lesson. It was about an hour, and this is pretty much what I do with a brand new student 12 years and older. Most of my newer students are adults at the moment. Here's the link to the video https://www.youtube.com/live/8PLNCo1S1AU In a lesson, the student would be the one playing, not me. If you were my student, at the end of the video I would be asking: What did you notice? (I let this question sink in for a few minutes, students of

Many of you who have some of the key finder cards are at a loss on how to use them effectively with students. I'm creating a video lesson series of what I do with all of my new students. Here's the introduction: Over the course of the next few weeks, I will be recording 7-9 lesson videos to go demonstrate how the cards are used to build a solid foundation of being able to play in all 12 keys from the very first lesson. Here are the materials I refer to in the video: Many of

Because noticing a good thing is a good thing. At the end of every lesson I fill out the back of one of these cards with something I noticed my student doing well that day. I'll write things like I noticed : you played that passage with really great fingering the melodies you were playing when we were improvising were well formed as soon as you corrected the left hand fingering for that passage, the music was magical you noticed things about the circle of 5ths that normally t

Last month I changed my job description. I'm now officially a Happiness Teacher . I teach happiness in the form of playing the piano. Happy people learn more easily, are more resilient, are able to deal with adversity better, and, in general are more fun to be around. Who doesn't want to be happier? Arthur Brooks, a professor at the Harvard Business School and happiness researcher has a podcast, Office Hours (check it out on youtube here ) I have been listening to it for a w

How are you with transposition? I wasn't good before I started with the chord and scale cards. Now I'm a lot better. I can play a lot of things in different keys, but, I couldn't take a piece of music and transpose it on the fly. . . until now. 3 years ago, I created piano key finder cards. One of the cards is a key name card. Align the black keys with the black strips on the cards, and they keys practically name themselves. Key names moved up, so when I play in "C" I'm actua

Happiness, I am moving my company in the direction of happiness. Care to join me? Happiness is playing music, teaching music, playing with others, and helping my students find the same sense of delight I get when I play. Over the holidays my reading list was filled with Brené Brown (Strong Ground), Arthur Brooks (The Happiness Files), Simon Sinek (Start with Why), Donella H. Meadows (Thinking in Systems), Charles Mackesy (Always Remember), and Robin Ha (Cook Korean!). These b