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…read more
As pianists, our clients can be anyone from parents to ballet teachers to managers to friends. Although it’s true that there isn’t such thing as a bad client, bad client relationships are everywhere. Browsing through The 50 (Things Every Creative Should Know), this jumped up and down at me: “There’s no such thing as a bad client. The onus is on you to make a…read more
Today, we’re featuring fabulous blogger and pianist Joy Morin! Her passion for piano and teaching shines through in her writing and I’m excited to welcome Joy! Joy runs a piano studio in Ohio and shares her teaching experience on her blog ColorInMyPiano. Joy also holds a Master of Music degree in piano performance and pedagogy. Below, Joy shares great tips for performing and teaching piano. “…my ultimate…read more
As musicians, we face a lot of critique. Friends, judges, parents, everyone says this and that. The sinking disappointment when someone plainly says your music isn’t good enough isn’t too far away. We risk lots when we open up to critique. My heart’s been shattered too many times to count, but that’s beside the point. I’m going to talk about how you can critique without hurting anyone…read more
Neat records make a neat studio. If you’re like me, you love it when things run smoothly. Today, I’m sharing the student record forms that I designed for this year as a free pdf. Saving Time & Energy These student records have all the important information right in one spot– no hunting around or shuffling papers. Plus they’re designed to be super flexible and user-friendly. No…read more
As we step into fall, we can’t forget how great our last season was, full of yummy pianist goodness! Check out some of our favourite posts from spring/summer 2012, featuring lots of inspiring guests and great content. The Ultimate Guide to Playing Piano Works Like Magic: Be Inspired in 3 Seconds One Simple Tip for Accomplishing Anything How to Achieve Any Goal Once and For…read more
Every few weeks I share some of the best articles and resources from around the web that will help pianists. This week, we have links on teaching improvisation, the benefits of being weirdly creative, memory boosters, and more. Strategies for teaching improvisation to beginners “… I’m talking about non-jazz improvising. We all know that students can readily improvise using a blues scale over a blues or…read more
It’s probably happened to all of us– you’re performing and your mind goes blank, your memory slips. Uh-oh. Mostly we’re about dealing with slips, but I’ve got ways to prevent slips in the first place. I’ll share two unusually powerful ways to prevent memory slips, but I’ll stress one fact: You can apply tactic after tactic (and they’ll work), but you’ll just repeat the same…read more
Despite the evidence that creativity in today’s popular music is dying, all is not lost. A new genre is emerging and it’s gaining popularity fast– it’s modclass, the “modernization of Classical music”. Reuel Meditz, the creator of modclass, originally trained as a Classical pianist, has won numerous competitions both nationally and internationally. Reuel’s compositions move beyond existing genres, into Modclass, and he doesn’t limit himself…read more
What scares you onstage? How do you reach peak performance all the time? It’s psychology. When you apply psychology to music, you’re using both your mind and body effectively… Which means: better results in less time and better performances. I often write about applying psychology to music and holistic practicing because it drastically improves performance. There’s no fluke or gimmick. Performing is a (Fun) Sport Today, we’re…read more