This is about a UFO, magical animals, and why we don’t choose wisely.

Remember the Chronicles of Narnia?

Narnia is a place with magical, talking creatures.

We get to Narnia through a wardrobe.

In one part, four kids find Narnia.

The kids bring their Uncle Andrew to Narnia, but he can’t hear the animals talk…

He convinced himself that they don’t talk.

Aslan explains it with something like:

“People believe what they want to believe.”

And it’s one of the most profound things ever (double awesome coming from a lion– Aslan is a really big lion) because it describes how people work.

What do magical animals, UFOs, and choosing wisely have in common?

Read on… will you choose wisely? ;)

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Grace Miles | April 29, 2013
Filed Under: Business of Music, Inspiration, Resources, Smart Tips, Teaching Toolkit | Tags: psychology, tips and tricks |

You probably have an amazing goal right now.

We all have goals…

But we always say things like:

“I don’t have enough time…” or

“If only I had enough money…”

And we give up on our goals.

Sometimes we get into ruts and we get stuck for a long, long time.

Some of us force ourselves to practice for 10 hours straight until the piano exam, then start to dread practicing.

(Playing the same passage for hours.)

You shouldn’t be forcing yourself to do dreadful things… or dreading what you think you should love.

I’ve come up with a system that’s tried-and-true, and I’m excited to share it with you!

It’s 3 steps, and I first shared it with my students.

It works.

The system works for both piano teachers and piano students: if you’re ready to play your way to your goals, then read on.

If you’re looking to ‘read for fun’ and forget about it afterwards, then this isn’t for you right now—don’t waste my time or yours, please! :)

The 3-Step Goal

Want to play (almost) any piano music, no matter how much time you have or how “good” you are?

Want piano students to practice more, by doing just one thing? (Want to make yourself practice more with just one thing?)

What about read notes more quickly and sight read better?

Here’s the cool thing about the 3-Step Goal:

It works for any goal, piano-related or not.

I’m showing it to you for free.

I use this in my own life and to teach piano.

Click here for the download link.

It’s that powerful, and that awesome.

Yes, free, in exchange that you apply the 3-Step Goal to ONE goal. Just one. That’s all I ask.

I don’t usually share things like this here (publicly– it usually gets sent to my subscribers only), so I’m super excited to see what you come up with!

Here is the link to download the book.

Enjoy!

Grace Miles | January 20, 2013
Filed Under: Resources, Smart Practicing, Smart Tips, Teaching Toolkit | Tags: how to, motivation, psychology, sight reading, tips and tricks |

Feel like there’s almost nothing new in Christmas music?

You’re wrong. ;)

If you’re looking for Christmas pieces that aren’t common, I’ve got you covered.

I’ve found these awesome pieces that are now on my to-order list. :D

They’re great for private performances, recitals, and personal enjoyment.

If you’re ever perplexed over duplicate Christmas pieces for recitals, these are great alternatives.

The videos are embedded below with the sheet music.* (Click here if the videos don’t show up.)

Let me know below: what are your favourite Christmas pieces?

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Grace Miles | December 9, 2012
Filed Under: Inspiration, Resources | Tags: pieces, showcase, sight reading |

Have you ever felt like it was the right time to raise your prices, but held back?

Here’s something to think about:

We’re selling our time for a price: How much is your time worth?

There’s a lot of hush-hush about raising prices and we don’t talk about it a lot.

If you raise your prices, people will desert you– right?

Nope.

People can be happy to pay more, because they want to keep you– you’re worth it.

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Grace Miles | October 15, 2012
Filed Under: Business of Music, Resources |

There’s no question that our past experiences shape our music.

And it’s often interesting how we each breathe life into our music differently.

Today, we’re featuring Robin Spielberg, a veteran of the stage.

Robin is an actress-turned-piano-performer, and I’m happy to welcome Robin as a guest to Artiden!

Performing is what Robin loves and does best; after all, Robin’s onstage career has been quite exciting so far (you can read Robin’s bio below).

So, I invited Robin to share her performance tips, and maybe divulge a couple theatre secrets…

“[M]y ability to… connect to audiences through both my playing and story-telling separates me…”

Keep Reading

Grace Miles | October 4, 2012
Filed Under: Basics, Performing Your Best, Resources, Smart Tips | Tags: interview |