More Muscle Builders for Older Beginners

June 3, 2015 Jennifer Boster

I think it is super important as one is learning the piano to become comfortable playing in all of the keys. Students benefit so much as they are able to play chords in any key, including major and minor, and chords in all of the different inversions. As students learn to play simple chord progressions and to play different accompaniment patterns in these progressions, not only will they be able to learn (and understand!) their pieces more easily, but they will have skills and knowledge that will be so important in composing, improvising, and other creative keyboard skills. I wish that I had learned more of these skills right from the get-go in my piano study as a young girl. It’s totally possible even for beginning students to acquire these skills quickly and to feel confident playing anywhere on the piano – it will help them to soar in their piano progress!

Now available to purchase on the Muscle Builders page are Levels 2 and 3 of the Piano Muscle Builders for Older Beginners. (See Level 1 here.) I love the visual aspect of these books, which include easy-to-follow chord diagrams in each of the keys.

These books cover the same (and more!) material as the Muscle Builder Books for kids, but they are much more concise. They explain concepts more in-depth so the older beginners can understand everything, and they include reviews in playing, spelling, and notating on the staff the different chords and concepts learned.

Here is what is covered in each of the levels!

Level 2: Chords

Level 2 builds on the concepts learned in Level 1, and we learn all different varieties of chords in the white key major and minor keys. This includes chord inversions, tonic, subdominant and dominant 7th chords, simple chord progressions, and left hand accompaniment patterns in those progressions.

Here are some sample pages from Level 2:

Level 3: Black Key 5-Finger Patterns

Level 3 teaches all of the black key major and minor five-finger scales and chords. In preparation for these scales with trickier fingerings, students will learn how to cross thumbs under and fingers over. Emphasis is placed on playing these scales with correct fingerings, and also in playing them in five different musical ways. Students will play scales and chords in each of these major and minor keys, and then at the end will review by playing them all in a row, spelling the chords and notating the chords on the staff.

Here are some sample pages from Level 3:

Each book is a digital download. A download link will be emailed to you immediately following purchase (please check your email settings to ensure it does not go to your junk mail folder). Purchase below or on the Muscle Builders page.

Piano Muscle Builders for Older Beginners Level 2: Chords

Digital download, 16 pages

Piano Muscle Builders for Older Beginners Level 3: Black Key 5-Finger Patterns

Digital download, 11 pages

Giveaway Winner!

May 6, 2015 Jennifer Boster

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Thanks to all who entered the giveaway for a free piano camp, and thanks for all your well-wishes!

Our sweet little Norah was born on May 1 at 8:13 am, making Olivia our winner! Congratulations, Olivia – you win a free copy of the Mighty Musicians camp! Please contact me and let me know which email address I can send the camp download link to. I hope you love it!

Limited Time: Save 25% off Summer Piano Camps & more!

April 17, 2015 Jennifer Boster

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This is a fun time of year for piano teachers – finishing up Spring recitals and prepping for some summer studio fun! My spring/summer is looking a little different than that this year – I’m finishing up a pregnancy and prepping for baby number four to be born! I am in super nesting mode and have frantically been trying to pack my hospital bag and clean up my house in anticipation of another sweet little girl joining our family.

In my nesting excitement, I thought I’d offer up a fun little discount for all of you preparing for your piano teaching summers! From TODAY until the day my baby girl is born (give or take a few days – you can’t expect me to be on the computer in the hospital, right?), I am offering some of my bestselling piano teaching resources for 25% off!

Here are the products included in this discount (click on titles for more information):

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Preschool Piano Camp

This awesome piano camp will introduce your young students to a year of music, going through each season from Spring through Winter. It works perfectly as a week-long, four-day camp, or as a month-long once-a-week class.
Regular Price: $38

Limited-Time Price: $28.50!

Mighty Musicians Piano Camp

This super fun camp for children ages 5-6 is a positive and fun introduction to the world of music-making and a good jump-start into piano lessons. Children will listen, sing, move and play, use their new-found knowledge to work on their basic piano skills, learn about the great composers and their music, and will even do some composing themselves!

Regular Price: $46

Limited-Time Price: $34.50!

Building Blocks of Piano Incentive Program

A fun practicing incentive program for your creative students who love building with Legos! Students earn blocks for daily practice of assigned “projects” in four elements of piano lessons.
Regular Price: $10
Limited-Time Price: $7.50!

Piano Pirate Incentive Pack

This incentive pack features an awesome piano-themed pirate map to hang in your studio to track students’ progress through the summer. Students complete practicing goals to earn points which move them forward on the treasure map to find the buried treasure!
Regular Price: $10
Limited-Time Price: $7.50!

My Muscle Builder Pack (Includes Books 1-4 and Extras)

Don’t miss this opportunity to grab this bestselling resource at an amazing price! My Muscle Builder Books keep students motivated and having fun as they learn to play scales, chords, arpeggios and more all over the piano. With full-col0r cute illustrations and easy-to-follow instructions for correct practicing at home.
Regular Price: $27
Limited-Time Price: $20.25!

Giant Floor Keyboard & Staff Manipulatives Pack

Printable, full-color circular flashcards to use with a giant floor keyboard and giant floor staff. Includes letter names, finger numbers, sharps and flats, notes on the staff, notes on the keyboard, lines and spaces and more. Activity suggestions are given for each set of printable circles. Just print as many as you’d like, cut them out, laminate, and you’re ready to play!
Regular Price: $20
Limited-Time Price: $15!

Discount will be applied automatically at checkout, whether from the links in this post or from The Teaching Studio Store. All products are digital downloads. Discount lasts from today until my baby comes – which could last a few days or up to about two weeks! (My due date is May 2.) Don’t miss out on these great prices!

To celebrate this fun time, I’m in the mood for a GIVEAWAY! Simply leave a comment guessing the date and time you think my baby will be born. (Due date is May 2!) Whoever guesses closest to the actual birthday and time will win a Piano Camp of your choice for FREE!! Choose between the Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Camp and the Mighty Musicians Camp (let me know which you would prefer in your comment).

On My Wall

February 13, 2015 Jennifer Boster

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Hanging above my piano, I have framed pages from three pieces that have been meaningful to me in my piano education. I love how this turned out, and I love looking up and seeing these pieces on my wall – it’s motivating, that’s for sure!

Here are the three pieces I have framed:

1) La fille aux cheveux de lin, or The Girl with the Flaxen Hair by Debussy

This is the first “real” classical piece I learned. I studied for years with a wonderful teacher in my neighborhood, going through mainly just method books (finishing both the entire Eckstein and Schaum methods), never really learning any “real” classical pieces except for versions that were in my method books. My Dad has always loved classical music though, and was always so supportive of me and my music. He came to me one day and encouraged me to learn this Debussy prelude, one of his favorite pieces. So I learned it all on my own and loved it! I used it to audition with my next teacher, who really got me playing correctly, playing some wonderful literature, and who really encouraged and inspired me to become a piano teacher.

2) Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto in G minor, Op 25, 3rd movement

I played this concerto with my high school orchestra my senior year of high school. It’s important to me because it is the piece that helped me get into the piano program at Brigham Young University, where I wanted to study piano performance. I had actually already auditioned and had not been accepted, when I performed this piece with the school orchestra. It went so well that my piano teacher got all determined and decided to send a letter, along with a video recording of me playing this piece, to the piano department of the school, asking them to reconsider. Pretty soon I received a phone call from the head of the piano department, telling me that they had watched the video and decided to move me to #1 on the waiting list. I was so excited and so grateful when I got another phone call letting me know I had gotten in! My 4 years in the piano program at BYU were so amazing and have been so important to me in my life.

3) Polonaise-Fantasie in A-flat Major, Op. 61 by Chopin

This is the piece that I concluded my senior recital in college with – sort of the peak of my college career I guess you could say. This piece is meaningful to me because it reminds me how much I learned and accomplished during those four years.

Which pieces have been meaningful to you as you have studied piano?

Piano Beanbags

February 12, 2015 Jennifer Boster

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Today I just wanted to share something fun I made for my daughter! I have been teaching my 3-year-old daughter piano lately, and she really loves it. Her almost-2-year-old brother likes to tag along as well; it’s a fun part of our day!

Sometimes when I get awakened early in the morning by my *darling* children, the wheels in my mind start turning and I just can’t shut it off and go back to sleep – this was one of those early morning ideas that came to me last week, and it turned out so fun!

Since my daughter is pretty little, right now we are doing a combination of piano basics (keyboard topography, black key patterns, high/low, etc.), pre-staff notation/rote songs, music & movement, games on my giant floor keyboard, etc. I wanted a fun way to get her to start recognizing the different white keys without necessarily quizzing her on the letter names (she is still learning her alphabet anyway, and doesn’t know them all yet). So I made these fun beanbags for her! Each beanbag has either 2 black keys or 3 black keys with their coordinating white keys; each also has a colorful circle on one of the white keys.

When I sewed these my daughter was thrilled! We have put them to good use already. Here are a few of the ways we have used them in her lessons:

*matching them up with the black key groups on the giant floor keyboard (she puts them on either a 2-black-key group or a 3-black-key group)

*matching them up on the giant floor keyboard with the specific white key shown with the colorful circle – she got the hang of this so quick and did a great job! A good first step to learning the letter names on the keyboard.

*putting them all together in a row in the correct pattern (2 black keys, 3 black keys, 2 black keys, 3 black keys) to make a beanbag keyboard

*pretending to play some of her little songs on the beanbags once they are put together in a row!

The backs of the beanbags are just fun colorful patterns.

I’m having lots of fun teaching my daughter and focusing on coming up with ideas for one-on-one lessons for preschoolers. They are such a fun age group, and are so excited about music and learning things that it is a perfect age to start if you do it right (LOTS and lots of off-the-bench learning, music and movement, listening games, and just teaching with excitement and joy).

What things have you found that work with teaching little ones? Or with teaching your own children?

Free Download: Piano Muscle Builders for Older Beginners

February 2, 2015 Jennifer Boster

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I have been wanting for a long time to make a “muscle builder” technique booklet for older beginners – something similar to the My Muscle Builder Books but less cutesy and more concise, something that could be used by beginners who are teenagers or even adults. I finally have taken one that I made a couple of years ago and revamped it a bit, and I’m excited to offer it to you today as a free download!

Piano Muscle Builders, Level 1: White-Key 5-Finger Patterns covers all of the same material that is in My Muscle Builder Book 1, and much of the same material in My Muscle Builder Book 2. Concepts/exercises in this book include five-finger scales, simple arpeggios, “fancy” arpeggios, and block chords in the fourteen white-key major and minor keys.

As older beginners use this book, my goal is that they accomplish three main objectives: understand what they are playing, learn to play with good technique, and play with a musical purpose. To achieve these goals, this book contains more theory and terminology explanations than the My Muscle Builder Books; each page contains reminders of good technical practices; and exercises include articulation suggestions to make them musical.

I have also included a review at the end of the book to test students’ knowledge of the exercises learned. This review includes spelling all of the major and minor chords, playing the scales and chords all in a row, and notating the major and minor chords on the staff.

This resource is available as a free digital download and is 12 pages long. It may be downloaded in this post, or on the Muscle Builders page of The Teaching Studio Store, or on the Freebies page. I hope you enjoy it!

Piano Muscle Builders, Level 1: White-Key 5-Finger Patterns

12 pages

Now Available: Muscle Builder Book 6

January 28, 2015 Jennifer Boster

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Now available to purchase is the 6th book in the My Muscle Builder Book series! This book is a lot of fun and continues to build on the techniques learned in previous books.

In Book 6 we continue working on hands-alone two-octave major white key scales, this time adding in some interesting rhythms and articulations to help make our scales more even and musical. We begin working on hands-alone two-octave black key major scales as well, using our Sneaky Thumb and Finger Crossover exercises to achieve a nice, even scale.

Students will review chord inversions, playing some inversion exercises in all of the white key minor keys – these exercises include “walking up” the chords one note at a time as well as playing them in block chords.

Next, students will do some simple transposing into the keys of D-flat, E-flat, G-flat, A-flat and B-flat.

And who doesn’t love playing a good, fast chromatic scale?? In Book 6 we learn the right hand and left hand fingerings of the chromatic scale, and then practice each one several different ways – gradually speeding it up with a metronome, playing it in different rhythms – until we get to try and play it at lightning speed!

And finally, students will work on listening and identifying a few different intervals – minor 2nds, major 2nds, and perfect 4ths, 5ths and 8ths. Each exercise is accompanied by colorful diagrams of the notes in each scale and the correct fingerings, so students of any age will be able to become fluent in playing all over the piano.

As always, this product is in the format of a digital download. I recommend printing the Muscle Builder Book in booklet form, with 2 pages per sheet, then folding and stapling together. Each exercise has a little circle that students/teachers can check off or place a sticker on when the exercise is mastered.

Also available is the companion Muscle Builder Extras – Book 6, which includes 2 reference sheets: black key major scales (right hand fingering and left hand fingering) and chromatic scales (right hand fingering and left hand fingering). It also includes a 2-page “Book 6 At a Glance” sheet, a handy sheet where you can check off and keep track of your students’ progress.

Both resources may be purchased in this post, or in the Teaching Studio Store on the Muscle Builders page.

My Muscle Builder Book 6
42 pages, digital download

My Muscle Builder Extras – Book 6
4 pages, digital download

Piano Anno: A New Resource for Fingering and Interpretation

January 15, 2015 Jennifer Boster

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Today I’m excited to share another guest post written by pianist and teacher Christie Sowby. I love Christie’s insights into using technology in our teaching, and today she is going to introduce us to an amazing new website for pianists and teachers!

I would like to share an excellent new resource I have found for piano teachers and students. It’s called Piano Anno (www.pianoanno.com) and is an online platform for sharing annotated music in the public domain. The “Annos” contain fingering, markings, interpretation, and performance tips from professional pianists. Annos sell for $3 each in the form of a downloadable PDF.

For teachers, this is a welcome relief. How many times have I written in fingering for the same piece of music for my students? Or how many times have I wondered if there is a better fingering out there to approach something technically? Piano Anno is a real timesaver in this way with its reliable fingerings and other interpretive markings. I can affordably purchase as many copies as I need for my students. (Annos are licensed for a single user.) Sometimes I have found its fingering suggestions better than my own, as they have been stage-tested by other pianists.

For students, Piano Anno jumpstarts the often time-consuming process of annotating one’s own copy of the same music. The print-ready Annos are handy and inexpensive. Even if you don’t use the public-domain edition (perhaps you prefer your own), the Anno is still a good reference and you can hand-copy as many fingerings to your preferred edition as you need to.

Piano Anno invites qualified contributors to submit their own Annos and earn a commission on each sale. They are always looking for new pieces, or even new Annos of a piece already offered. Since only public-domain works are shared on Piano Anno, many 20th-century composers like Bartók, Scriabin, and Cage are off limits. Nevertheless, there is a growing selection of other favorites to which you might add your own. If you have great fingerings or ideas and want to share them with the world, this is a good opportunity. (And maybe even to get paid while you sleep!)

I’m thrilled to see innovative efforts like this, where pianists can harness digital technology to share their ideas and advance their musicianship. Think of it. A digital library of classical piano scores, with annotations by real performers. It’s like downloading some of that performer’s experience into your own learning, and it also gives you a way to pass on yours.

Visit Piano Anno to see what Annos are currently available, to suggest Annos you want to see there, or to become a contributor yourself. This is an excellent resource for all pianists, so please share this website with your students, colleagues, and the music community.

Now Available: Muscle Builder Book 5

December 31, 2014 Jennifer Boster

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Now available in the Store is the next volume of the My Muscle Builder Book technique series! I’m super excited about Book 5 and about all of the things students have learned once they have reached this level. In this book we are using our “Sneaky Thumbs” and finger crossovers learned in previous volumes to play two-octave major scales!

Students will learn the basic scale fingering patterns and put them to good use on and off of the piano. We review our minor triads and then use them to play some fancy, musical arpeggios on both ends of the piano.

We also start dabbling in full-octave arpeggios, using the black-key major keys of D-flat, E-flat, G-flat, A-flat and B-flat. Students will really have a fun time as they cross over and under and play all over the piano in 19 different keys! As always, this Muscle Builder Book is in full color and includes all of the colorful picture scales and arpeggios to help students of all ages become literate at the piano.

Also available to purchase is the companion Muscle Builders Extras pack, including 3 full-color picture scale/arpeggio reference sheets and a “Book 5 At a Glance” page, where teachers or students can keep track of their Book 5 technique progress on one handy sheet. I recommend printing the Muscle Builder Book 2 pages per sheet in booklet format.

My Muscle Builder Book 5 and the Book 5 Extras pack may be purchased in the Store or at the bottom of this post. Enjoy some preview page views below. Have a happy new teaching year!

My Muscle Builder Book 5
40 pages, digital download
.

My Muscle Builder Extras – Book 5
4 pages, digital download

A Merry Musical Christmas: Piano Advent Calendar

November 18, 2014 Jennifer Boster

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25 days, 25 Christmas piano activities to bring in the
Christmas season

Now available for free download on my Freebies page is a Christmas advent calendar activity to use with your piano students during the month of December.

This fun activity will encourage good practicing skills as students count
down the days until Christmas with a Christmas practicing activity each day
of December. It includes a variety of activities to practice sight reading,
performing, technique, theory and more.

Print the colorful numbered cards with the activities on the backs, and each day students have a short activity to do to help bring in the Christmas season!

Once each activity is completed they may tape or
glue the card to their blank calendar, filling up the days and counting down until
Christmas! You may want to decide on a prize they receive when the whole
chart is filled out, or a very small treat to go along with each day’s activity.

Merry Christmas!