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.

Spring Recital Assignments

Our Spring recital will be held on April 12th, 2:00pm, at LaGrange College. This is going to be a Duets Recital. Each student will get to play one solo piece and one duet. Here are your duet buddies:

Philip/Liam
Philip/Asher
Barbara/Gage
Isaiah/John
Analee/Angel
Arisu/Megan
Camp/Jonah
Leah/Dharma

If your name is not on the list and you HAVEN'T told me you'll be able to make it to the recital, please let me know by your next lesson.
If your name is not on the list and you HAVE told me you'll be at the recital, I'm still working out a duet buddy for you.

This is going to be an awesome event!