Bastien Piano

Go to work...

Since I have been on spring break all week, I have had the opportunity to be able to attend 5 of my daughter's high school softball games.

Her coaches are really great and I love watching them coach the team.There are three coaches, all calm and level-headed. They treat the girls with utmost respect and they are encouraging! They use the expression, "go to work, now!" often during games. For example: if the pitcher is at full count, they say, "you got this, just go to work now!" If a batter has two strikes against her, they say, "no problem, let's just get to work now!"  If the team has a great inning at bat, and they are winning the game, the coaches will say, "great inning, but let's keep working out there!" The team is united and motivated and with these coaches' support, they do well under pressure.

Work is a part of all of our lives, but how we view it determines the outcome of our work, as well as our satisfaction with the effort we put into it. In my own piano teaching, my favorite part of a lesson is the actual "work" with a student. I like to teach a concept and then spend some time practicing this concept. I realized this week in watching these softball games, that the coaches are doing their team a great service by showing them that work is fun and rewarding.

I have a favorite memory of a moment spent at my mom's house in her office. She needed to relocate an old desk...it was her very first desk from childhood. I will never forget her telling me, "I had to move this desk out of my mom's home and I've decided to put it right here in my office. I worked on this desk as a child and I wrote my first piece of music here. Some of the best times of my life were spent at this desk!"

As a busy adult, some of the times I treasure most in my life right now are the times when I am completely engaged in my work. I attribute these happy moments to all of the inspiring teachers from my past and I always hope to portray to my students how good it feels to work hard and to have goals.

 

My Garden!

Here are some pictures from my garden at the moment. It is different this year...I have a little less color due to the fact that I have converted most of my plants over to water-saving succulents over the past year. They are beautiful and lush and they grow with no effort on my part. They do bloom on occaision, however!  Enjoy!

Spring in San Diego

I'm taking an early spring break so there is not much piano news for the moment. However, spring has sprung and I would like to share some garden pictures of beautiful San Diego spring gardens, starting with Mom's. I was visiting with her today and she took me on a walk around her garden which is filled with color galore!

 

Disneyland Resort...MTNA Convention 2013

It seems Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth! It was a gorgeous convention site with Mickey, Minney and Goofy at every turn! The convention was filled with great exhibits and sessions of all kinds.  I especially enjoyed the master class I observed with teacher, Peter Mack from Washington. I loved the pieces performed by the students, the Prelude and Fugue in A minor of Bach, and a piece I had never heard, Variations on the theme of Paganini for solo piano by Muczinski.

I always learn a lot by attending conventions. I learn from just being around music teachers and hearing their ideas shared aloud. It is really inspiring, every time I go, and I find it a great opportunity  to improve my teaching abilities.

This convention location made the event better than ever because of the teacups, the flowers and the gorgeous weather!

 

 

Jane's Showcase in Anaheim

Jane will present a showcase at the MTNA Convention in Anaheim on Sunday, March 10 at 8 a.m., featuring the Bastien Piano Literature series. Her presentation on this material brings years and years of teaching experience to introducing classical literature to young students. Hope to see you all there!         ~Lori

The Pedagogy Class from University of Redlands

I really enjoyed having the pedagogy class from University of Redlands down to visit my studio! They observed lessons and looked through Bastien books with me for a two-day session. I wish these new teachers all the best and hope they left my studio inspired and excited about teaching piano!       

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a Valentine's celebration last week! Students performed for their families, followed by treats and Valentine's crafts. Here are some video clips of students working on their pieces preparing for this event at their lessons. Download Hearts from heaven  from A Debut for You, Book 3, Bastien, Download Valentine boogie, from Happy Valentine's, Bastien.

Opening the Store

About once every 6 weeks or so, I open "the store" and students look forward to spending the music money they have earned at lessons. I have fun throughout the year trying to find things I think students will want to buy such as:

• garage sale/estate sale items of all kinds...especially knick knacks
• beads
• gift cards for In and Out Burger or Starbucks
• small stuffed animals
• erasers
• grab bags filled with fabric, ribbon, buttons, craft items
• super balls

the list goes on...Students earn music money in my studio for almost everything they do. They earn money for practicing, for playing in recitals, for completing a book, for counting aloud, for using the metronome...I pay them for whatever they are working on at the time. The money seems to motivate them to accomplish a task on their own. TCW Resources designed the music money which is sold through the Neil A. Kjos Music Company. The bills come in 1s, 5s, 10s, 20s, 50s and 100s and have pictures of master composers on them.

The earning of money is an on-going thing in my studio throughout the years.  Students learn a lot about earning and saving, and they learn how to count money. A 5-year old who starts lessons with me usually has no concept of money at all and very quickly learns to count by 5s or 10s and starts to understand how to count and save. The "shopping" adds a fun and very entertaining element to lessons and I love to watch which students will instantly go for the bargain box and which ones try to save up for one more expensive item. Some students never spend any money and really enjoy just having a lot of money.  Some students will loan each other money when they see a friend in need. I also see a lot of students buying gifts for their family members, their teachers or friends.

 

 

Concerto Competition

We are so fortunate to have a terrific concerto event run through our branch of San Diego MTAC. Students who enter this event work extremely hard, practicing hours and hours on these long works. It is a wonderful learning and performance experience and students who take on this task find in greatly rewarding. Here are a few video clips of a student performing the third movement of Haydn's Piano Concerto in D Major on the day of the event, which took place at USD in Shiley Hall. Students in this event perform their solo part with a piano accompanist. The first place prize for this competition is an opportunity to perform as a soloist with an orchestra. Download Concerto1   Download Concerto2

Making the Most of Lesson Time...

A great way to "add" time to a private lesson is to schedule families back-to-back when possible. Pictured here are older and younger sisters from two families. Their lessons are scheduled in a row and often I will teach certain items to the older two sisters on the piano at the same time. The younger students pictured here are working on theory books together at a table in the same room, having the opportunity to hear what their older sisters are playing in the background. I have a lot of flexibility with this block of time each week--for example, if a recital is coming up, we can have an impromptu performance class. We can easily work on duets without having to schedule extra rehearsal times. Technic and sight reading can be taught in this semi-private way, making it more fun and saving me time to hear more repertoire because I was able to hear two sets of scales and chords at the same time. Another huge benefit in scheduling like this is that the families in my studio become good friends. Here is a video clip from this lesson: Download Quality time lessons