Four Important Female Composers You Should Know About
Every student of music, regardless of their gender, needs someone to look up to. One of these people they look up to may be you, the music teacher, and one of these other people may be Beethoven (or even today's biggest pop star!).
Musician of the Month: Charlie Parker
A master of jazz improvisation, Charlie Parker worked hard to make it to the top. Read more about October’s Musician of the Month to learn about the saxophonists life and contributions to the world of music.
Composer of the Month: Andrew York
Andrew York is an accomplished composer and performer with an eclectic style, changing the world of classical guitar and music in general for the better.
The Suzuki Method: Why We Love it
Like any other aspect of life, musical ability is a skill that one needs to sharpen over time. The more time you spend practicing and learning music, the better you will become at it. Of course, there are many approaches to learning music.
Effective Practice: Get the Most Out of Your Music Lessons!
A few easy tips to help parents make the most of their students’ at home practice!
Musician of the Month: Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt continues to inspire guitarists six decades after his death. His talents, ability to overcome life-changing challenges and unique style awarded him the title “King of European Jazz.” While Django is still the most significant European jazz musician today, it’s the feeling his music draws out of listeners that makes him an excellent choice for our musician of the month.
Four Ways to Take Your Online Teaching to the Next Level
Duе to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent social distancing nоrmѕ, music tеасhеrѕ аrоund the world аrе blending offline teaching practices with technology tооlѕ tо сrеаtе the bеѕt online learning experience fоr students. Many components оf online music teaching will continue tо ѕtау, еvеn when tеасhеrѕ and students go back tо regular classrooms. It іѕ therefore practical tо hone teachers' online music teaching ѕkіllѕ.
Music Bingo: Tempo Terms
Schedule a Bingo party online with your students! Give everyone a unique Bingo card, and get a group video call scheduled! As you say the definition of a term, your students will check off the term on their sheet!
This is such a great way to build community in your studio and to help your students learn important terms that all musicians need to know!
Composer of the Month: Gabriela Lena Frank
This month we focus on a contemporary composer who has made a huge impact not just in the world of classical music, but in her community as well.
Creating a Musical Environment at Home
Aside from practice, one of the most important things parents can do to help music students grow is to create an immersive environment at home. Check out some of the ways you can foster a more musical home by reading more.
Musician of the Month: Chick Corea
Chick Corea can be considered one of the most influential jazz pianists of modern times, contributing to the creation of the jazz fusion genre as well as establishing himself as a composer. Read more to find out about Chick’s fascinating musical background!
Composer of the Month: Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington was widely known for his complex yet accessible jazz pieces that left listeners feelin’ good. A unique blend of melodies, rhythm, and sonic movements, let’s take a closer look at the contributions that landed this great American composer 12 Grammy Awards from 1959-2000.
Student Spotlight: Nathan Ng
In today's student spotlight, we are excited to feature a young guitarist in California, Nathan Ng. Nathan has been using the Practice Space app for about six months now and has shown tremendous progress and motivation since he started using it. We want to give a huge thanks to Nathan, who is ten years old, for taking the time to answer the student spotlight interview questions below.
Musician of the Month: Chris Thile
Chris Thile already has an impressive resumé as a mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality. Despite the fact that he’s under the age of 40, he’s already well known in the musical genres of acoustic folk and progressive bluegrass. Breaking onto the public stage at the young age of 8, Thile already had a remarkable career with both solo and collaborative albums before he could even drive himself to his gigs. It’s no wonder this Grammy-award-winning Californian is our pick for July’s Musician of the Month.
Student Spotlight: Nick Wu
We are excited to start highlighting students around the world who are current Practice Space users. It’s fantastic to hear from students about which features they enjoy the most in Practice Space and how it has positive impacts on their practice sessions.
Feature Friday: Student Store
A couple of Practice Space’s goals is to motivate students to practice more and to help them stay organized. Having a clear sense of exactly what to practice goes such a long way when it is followed day in and day out. When you create a lesson for one of your music students in the practice space app they will see a clear list of what practice tasks they need to complete as well as any detailed notes you gave them in your lesson plan!
Three Tips to Help Organize Your Online Teaching
We know that you are all online teaching pros by now, but teachers are still continually trying to find innovative ways to keep lessons organized. Staying organized in your lessons will help you stay fully committed to your students, and also puts your students and their parents at ease knowing that they are getting the most of their weekly lessons. Here are three tips to help organize your online teaching.
Feature Friday: Demonstration Videos
One thing I love about the Practice Space App is after I make a video, I can save it to my searchable library to use again with a different student. When a student starts learning a piece you use in your teaching studio, you can easily upload it to the student’s lesson. They will then be able to access it in their practice at home and have a clear idea of exactly what they need to do!
Feature Friday: Practice Streaks
The practice streak awards gives your students a clear goal to work towards as well as rewards along the way to continue to motivate them and keep the positivity rolling. All you have to do is teach great lessons and watch the Practice Space App do the work!