Piano Is a Year-Round Sport: Making Practice Work When School Starts
Every August, the family calendar gets rewritten. School starts, activities…
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What Kind of Piano or Keyboard Do You Need to Start Lessons?
You do not need to spend a fortune to start piano lessons, but the instrument you practice on shapes everything about how you learn. Here is what actually matters: 88 keys, weighted hammer action, and touch sensitivity.
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What to Expect at Your First Piano Lesson
The decision is made, the first lesson is on the…
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Why Beginners Can’t Skip the Fundamentals (What Running Taught Me About Piano)
One of my students came to me this week with…
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Is Playing Music Good for the Brain? What the Research Actually Says
Learning to play an instrument changes the brain in measurable…
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The Fastest Path to Reading Music Fluently
Many pianists taught to read music letter-by-letter progress slowly through scores, silently naming each note: E, G, B, D, F. They can decipher any piece eventually, but fluent sight-reading remains elusive.
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The Psychology of Staying Motivated at the Piano
Motivation seems like it should be simple. You either want to practice or you don’t. But decades of research in psychology reveals a more nuanced picture.
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Why You Shouldn’t Skip Ahead: The Case for Mastery-Based Learning
One of the most common requests from piano students is to skip ahead. “Can we learn this piece instead?” “I don’t need scales; can we just work on repertoire?” “Why do we have to learn this before moving on?” The impulse is understandable.
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Stop Practicing for 30 Minutes. Start Practicing with Purpose.
“Practice for 30 minutes” is not deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is a rigorous methodology based on decades of cognitive psychology research, formalized most notably by psychologist Anders Ericsson.
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The Science of Stage Fright (and How to Make It Work for You)
Your hands are shaking. Your heart is hammering against your ribs. In that moment, it is easy to believe that your body is betraying you. But that surge of adrenaline is not your enemy.
