Welcome to our fall session!
Summer was a busy, fun time in the studio! I enjoyed hearing about everyone's adventures, vacations, and camps, and can't wait to hear the same from returning students. We also managed to get a lot of learning in! Some highlights this past summer were:

• Reinforcing our understanding of Middle C and Treble C position with "It Smells Like Treble" starring Maxwell A. Skunk
• Completing four different piano "adventures" with Cami the Camel
• Collectively students memorized over 20 songs and composed some beautiful compositions that you can check out on Facebook!
  

Here is a sneak peek of some things we will be working on during the fall:

• Using the surfer themed "Cob Duster" to brush up on skills we may have forgotten over the summer
  
• The "Party Popper" and "Gold Mine" games to help learn intervals and tonic and dominant notes
• Christmas music will begin in October!
  
• Our fall piano recital will be held October 27th at 6:30pm at Rosemont Baptist Church.
  

I've planned fall in the studio to give students performance opportunities to work towards as well as developing new skills and expanding their repertoire. I know after a busy, happy summer it's hard to get back into a routine of school, homework, sports, and piano practice. If I can be of assistance in any way please let me know!

See you in the studio,
Noelle

So Summer is Flying By...

Summer is flying by in the piano studio! Heather, Ava, and Neely all joined the studio in the last few weeks. Heather took lessons back in high school and is ready to focus on piano again, while Ava and Neely are both taking piano lessons for the first time. I love teaching beginners and we're already having a blast together at lessons.
Current students have stayed busy this summer with our "Summer Adventures with Cami the Camel". They've enjoyed racing their camels across the desert by finishing several challenges which have included memorizing songs, composing their own piece, and playing for family and friends. They've come up with some pretty incredible original compositions...and some very origianl song titles including, "Voyage of the Icelandic Vikings," "Mysteries of the Deep," "When France Fell," and "Breaking Free--Not the High School Musical Version." Be sure to check out our Facebook page so you can hear some of their compositions.

Hellos and Goodbyes

This has already been quite the busy summer in the studio! In spite of summer camps, vacations, and other summer fun four new students joined our studio. I'd like to welcome Madi, Autumn, Charlie, and Cooper to piano lessons. They're all ready to work hard and have already established some very good practice habits. I'm having so much fun getting to know them! We've been using play-doh, Easter eggs, and jelly beans to work on proper posture at the piano, rhythm, and note names. Charlie and Autumn have already started note-reading as well.

While this month has been full of "hellos" there have also been a few "goodbyes" as well. Even though my piano studio takes up a small corner of my home my piano students take up a very large portion of my heart...and sometimes I forget how big until it is time to say goodbye. This month I had to say good-bye to three students.
After three years of lessons Philip graduated from piano. He's starting college courses and looking to add more hobbies to his bag of tricks. If you got to hear Philip play at our recitals you were always in for a treat and I know that he is going to do well at whatever he pursues for years to come.
Arisu has taken lessons from me for three years and this summer her family is moving back to Japan. She practiced diligently, enjoyed performing for her classmates at school, and loved composing. I'm going to miss her, but I'm excited that she gets to go back to reconnect with all the friends and family in Japan that she'd been missing.
Hardest of all was saying good-bye to my other Phil. It was even harder because I didn't know his last lesson was "good-bye". Phil started lessons in January at the age of 63. He was determined to learn the piano and even though his job had him flying out of the country on a regular basis he didn't let that stop him. He always did his best to have Monday off work and would spend hours practicing before he came to his lesson. I loved his drive and energy! Sadly, Phil passed away suddenly in a tragic accident over Memorial Day weekend. It was a shock to lose him and I'll miss teaching him, but I'll also miss hearing about his adventures from all over the world and his kind heart. He was an inspiration to me...and hopefully to everyone reading this...that you're never too old to try something new.
If you would like to add to my list of "hellos" and join our studio let me know! Summer spaces and fall spaces are filling up fast!

It's summer at the piano studio!

As we move away from a very structured school year and into the freedom of summer I wanted to thank each and every one of you for your efforts this past spring. Some highlights this past spring were:

• Learning to become efficient at practicing with our Wanted in the Wild West practice incentive
• Our spring recital...featured beginning and advanced students playing everything from classical music to pop music with almost 100 family and friends in attendance
• Re-inforcing our understanding of major and minor pentascales with the very fun "Misadventures of Agent Major and Professor Pentascalius"

Here is a sneak peek of some things we will be focusing on during the summer:

• Reinforcing our understanding of Middle C and Treble C position with "It Smells Like Treble" starring Maxwell A. Skunk
• Completing five different piano "adventures" with Cami the Camel
• Celebrating what we learned over the summer with a pizza and piano party at the end of July for all students in the studio.

 I very much understand that summer is a busy, happy time for both children and adults. I've planned summer in the studio to allow them to shore up students' basic piano knowledge in fun ways that will give them confidence and pride in the progress they have made in piano heading into the fall.


I know family vacations and summer camps will be happening over the next two months so please don't forget to let me know when you'll be out of town!

The Final Showdown!

Three students arrived at the Practice Cactus for the final showdown and successfully completed the Wild West practice challenge! They've learned good practice habits, how to add their own special touch to their songs, and then performed them for family and friends this past week. Hopefully we'll be hearing some of these songs at our spring recital! I'm looking forward to more students making it to the Practice Cactus because I have a lot of yummy prizes to give out.
I'd also like to welcome Cadence, 6, to piano lessons! She started lessons this month and is full of giggles and smiles, loves music, and is so much fun to teach!

We're Breaking the Rules!

Just about everyone has gotten to spend a week at the Repetition Ranch. My favorite comment from a student was: "I didn't want to get stuck at the Ranch!" She then proceeded to play a beautiful rendition of "Vivace". Efficient practice really works!

Last week several students got to move to "Creative Canyon". They have been busy exploring how to personalize their songs and break the rules. Some of them have gotten quite industrious and added chords, eighth notes, and new rhythms to their pieces, while others have been focusing on their dynamics and making the music come alive.

WANTED: Amazing Practice-ers!

Christmas break is over and we are back on our normal schedule! Let's face it...sometimes it is HARD to get back on a routine after a fun couple weeks with family, friends, way too much sugar, and a flexible routine. I miss all my students when my studio is closed over Christmas break, but it is hard for me to get back on a steady routine as well. That's why we're starting the year with a Wild West themed practice event! Over the next four weeks we're going to learn practice techniques that are both fun and efficient that will help aspiring pianists be successful all year long. Dust off your piano books and I can't wait to meet you at the Repetition Ranch this week!

Now that the recital is over...

Congratulations to all my students who participated in the Spring Recital! I was so proud of you and incredibly honored to be your teacher.

Now that the recital is over it's time to focus on learning and growing more as musicians (we'll use our lesson books for that) and also choosing some "just for fun" songs. I've already had students request "It's All About that Bass," "Flight of the Bumblebee," and "Clocks" by Coldplay. If you could play anything what would you choose?

"Like" Us!

Did you know LaGrange Piano Lessons is on Facebook, too? Of course we are! We try to stay relevant and give you the most up-to-date news about what we're up to, so check us out at https://www.facebook.com/LagrangeGApianolessons.

June Notes

Annica, 8, and Barbra, 10 both started lessons in June. They both love music and are off to a great start!

Philip, 13, has started working through a book of classical music on his own in addition to his lesson book and always surprises me with what he's learning each week.

John, 7, is busy mastering the chromatic scale and half steps.

Its summertime, so right now there's a lot of coming and going. I'm enjoying hearing about everyone's vacations--it just makes mine in August seem very far away! Don't forget to let me know if you're going to be out of town so I can put it on my calendar.

When it's too hot to be outdoors take advantage of the time spent inside to get some extra practice in :)

July Notes

While I've had students traveling from Alaska, Rhode Island, Michigan, Disney World, and everywhere in between, I've stayed close to home this summer and done my best to keep track of everyone's crazy schedules. I want to give a shout out to Lily, 7, and Ariana, 9, who both started lessons in June. Ariana has been whizzing through her first book and just started reading notes on the staff. Lily started lessons two weeks later and always comes with songs ready and sometimes memorized!
Will, Emma, Natalie, and Samantha all worked hard on duets in June and the improvement in their timing has been incredible.
There are only a few weeks left in July to take advantage of the summer special: one free lesson your first month of lessons. If you've been thinking about starting piano, why not give it a try?

Summer Special!

As promised, here's a summer special from LaGrange Piano Lessons! All new students starting lessons in the months of June or July will receive one FREE lesson. Contact me through the contact button, set up a lesson time, and you'll receive one free lesson your first month of lessons.

Ahhhh....could summer get any better?

March Notes

Okay, the month of March has flown by, but in spite of how busy both I, and all my students have been, several students managed to squeeze in some great accomplishments. Here's a quick rundown:
Paisley, 13, is finishing level 5 of Faber Piano Adventures. Since she's interested in majoring in music in college we're about to get very serious with classical music and theory. A big job, but something she'll not only be able to tackle, but master.
Nicholas, 10, finished level 2B and has moved into 3A...but since he's let me know how much he loves the Beatles we've also been spending a lot of time working on songs from the stack of Beatles' music he's been bringing to his lessons.
Will, 10, not only completed level 3B and moved onto level 4, but he also played all of Fur Elise with both hands this month! We still have some rough patches to work out, but overall, its sounding good!
Samantha, 9, started level 2B and is getting ready to catch up with her sister.
James, 12, has mastered the second page of Fur Elise, hands together, and it was pretty close to being the best I've ever heard that page.
I've been wanting to spend a lot of time outside in this gorgeous weather, but if your allergies have been driving you inside try spending some of that extra indoors time practicing. Also, we will be not be having lessons the week of April 1st due to spring break. Enjoy your time off and I'll see everyone again the week of April 8th.

February Notes

Valentine's Day is coming up this Tuesday and in honor of the occasion I have several students working on some of Elvis' love ballads. Paisley even improvised the left hand on Love Me Tender and did a pretty good job.
In the last couple weeks Ellie completed her "B" book and has moved to level "C". John finished his "C" book and is now in level 1...not bad for a five year-old! Natalie started level 2B, and Emma just started working on Level 4! Will managed to get through the second page of Fur Elise with both hands...if you've played Fur Elise you know that's an impressive feat after spending just a week on the page.
If the suddenly cooler weather has you spending more time indoors use that opportunity to get some extra practice in. This past week I got to give out a lot As on report cards due to the good practice habits several students displayed. Keep it up!

January News

I'd like to welcome Alexa, 8, to piano this month. She's excited to learn and has already impressed me with the good practicing habits she's developing.

Both Will, 9, and James, 11, started on Fur Elise last week. It's been awhile since I had someone work on the complete, unabridged version. I'm looking forward to seeing how they do, and how long it takes them to finish the song...I'm telling them to expect to spend a looooooooooooong time it.

I have several older students starting to study the history of classical music and different periods of music. I think I'm looking forward to digging through my files and finding music from the different periods even more than they are :)

Keep practicing, everyone!

Lessons Begin Again

After a delightful two week vacation in California with my family over the Christmas holidays I'm back in Georgia. It was fun getting to catch up with lots of extended family, friends, go shopping in downtown LA, wander around the beach, eat lots and lots of Mexican food, AND I even spent some time playing duets with my older sister (as you can see by the toys strewn about in the picture the boys had a great time at their grandparents). Now its January and I'm ready for lessons to resume!
The Christmas Recital was a lot of fun and I enjoyed getting to meet your family and friends and celebrate your accomplishments of the last year. Now that we're in a new year I'm looking forward to helping you learn new music and set new goals. If you have any ideas write them down and bring them to your lesson. January lessons begin tomorrow, January 9th, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Christmas Music is Here!

One of the great things about piano is we get an early start on humming Christmas tunes. October is the month to start working on Christmas music--that way when December rolls around everyone already has several songs ready to share with family and friends. Yesterday I started handing out Christmas music and I was happy the weather cooperated by cooling off...it is a little hard to play "Silent Night" when it's still 80 degrees outside! If you haven't been to your lesson yet this week don't worry! I have a whole stack of Christmas music that I'm still waiting to give out...in the meantime, I need to get my fall decorations out...

Prioritizing Practice

Everyone's been back in school now for a couple weeks and gradually getting into their fall routine which will hopefully be accompanied by cooler weather. I know I'm ready for it!
I've had many students excitedly start piano lessons. It's new, it's exciting, it's fun...and then, a couple months into lessons, practicing is no longer new, exciting, or fun. So what do many students do? Stop practicing! A few months later they're frustrated as they crawl their books not progressing and struggling to pick out simple tunes. I'm never surprised when a student stops progressing shortly after they stop practicing.
Piano practice needs to be looked at the same way as soccer practice or math homework. Whether or not you like doing math, you have to eventually work through the problems the teacher has assigned or you'll never be able to progress to the next level. Just like many boys and girls spend a couple hours a day practicing for one 80 minute soccer game, it takes several days of practicing 15-30 minutes to be able to successfully play all your assigned pieces.
Instead of thinking as piano practice as "optional" this fall, determine to set aside a specific time each day to practice piano. It could be ten minutes before you leave for school in the morning or before bed at night. I could be right before or after homework. Once practice becomes a priority, success will follow...I promise!