Tag: piano lessons charlotte nc

Need More Christmas Music

Posted on by Heather Brunner

This whole new piano thing is leading to a lot of new music.  As a teacher, I try to keep a good variety on hand for when a student needs some variation in the schedule.  As a musician, I love to have music that sounds great and I am pretty much sit down and sight read.  So yesterday it was back to the music store.

First up is Popular Christmas Hits by Dan Coates published by Alfred.

This book includes songs from Bethlehem Morning, Frosty the Snowman, and Growup Christmas List.  It is very diverse.  My favorite surprise is that it offers interesting key changes.  When was the last time you saw 6 flats in a popular book?

For full disclosure on the next selection, I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan.  I can’t wait until the Hobbit comes out next week.  So when I saw The Lord of the Rings:  The Motion Picture Trilogy by Howard Shore for Piano and Voice, I knew it was for me.

Some of these songs are familiar right off the bat and others I had to search my memory for the correct scene.  This book has interesting arrangements that are fairly close to the sound from the score.

I would recommend either one of these books to one my students of an advanced level.

That Was A Great Recital

Posted on by Heather Brunner

It’s been a few weeks since I managed to sit down and blog.  First there was the recital, then Thanksgiving, and a few days away with friends. 

Let’s start with the recital.  The students all did a great job.  Even the ones that I worried about all week.  Never let it be said that I don’t have faith that a kid can pull it together when it counts.  All the practice paid off. 

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We were missing a few student but everyone played 2 or 3 pieces so it was a very nice recital.

When I arrived at Miller Piano to make sure everything was set up a little something caught my eye.  The conversation with Steve went a little like this:

“Is that a Baldwin Artist Series Piano?”-  me

“Why yes it is.”- him

“Let me go call my husband.”- me

ring ring-  “Are you going to be upset if I buy a grand piano today?”-  me

“Go for it.”-  husband

to Steve  “I’ll take it.”-  me

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Say hello to my new piano.  It is a Baldwin Artist series built in 1975.  The sound is glorious.

Happy Birthday to me is all I can say.

The students are enjoying it and already commenting on how much better prepared they will be for festivals and recitals since they will have a chance to practice on a grand.  Lessons the first week with the piano were quite fun and I am having a wonderful time playing all my favorite Christmas tunes.

Recital Deadlines

Posted on by Heather Brunner

The studio Halloween/Fall/Christmas recital is on Nov. 17 this year.  Other than the anomaly of last week, the students are doing a good job of preparing well in advance.  I try to impress upon them that having a whole week of leeway in memorization or learning a piece for a performance is a good idea.  What if you get sick?  What if there is a big school project?  What if you go out of town?  There are so many scenarios that if a student plans on learning music until the last minute can create the recipe for a poor performance.  While some of the issues could be prevented sometimes things just come up. 

To a young student a month is like forever.  If you tell them they have a month you can guarantee procrastination.  However, if I am very specific about what we need to accomplish each week to meet the goal then they understand that a month really isn’t so long. 

Good luck to all those students and teachers out there preparing for a winter concert.  Plan ahead and keep practicing.

October Competition and Prizes

Posted on by Heather Brunner

This month in the studio we have been having a competition of sorts.  With the recital coming up, the students needed a little added incentive to work extra hard.  So I purchased a few small prizes and then declared that the grand prize would be a hand knit scarf of the winner’s choosing.  Pretty much saying Harry Potter scarf did the trick.    Here were the ways to earn points:

1.  Meet Your Practice Goal- 5 points

2.  Exceed your practice goal by 30 minute increments – 15 points per 30 min. interval

3.  Perfect Technique- 5 points

4.  Pass Ear-Training Test- 20 points

5.  Complete a Piece- 5 points per page

6.  Theory Completed- 5 points

7.  Theory Completed with no mistakes- 5 points per page

8.  Memorization- 2 points per measure

9.  Memorize an entire piece in 1 week- 20 points

10.  Memorize a recital piece by Nov. 1- 50 points

The students did really well in earning their points and trying to beat each other.  I can’t wait to tell them how they did at their lesson next week. 

Halloween Lessons

Posted on by Heather Brunner

Just a food for thought post on Halloween.  Does your piano teacher offer lessons on Halloween?  Are the lessons interrupted by trick-or-treaters?  Do you wear a costume to your lesson?

Hopefully there are no scary lessons today!

Brunner Studios will have our piano, voice, or oboe lessons at the regularly schedule times today.  Students were offered the opportunity to choose a different time slot for this week if there was a conflicting event for this evening.  Hopefully everyone will stay safe and have fun this evening.

NFMC 2013

Posted on by Heather Brunner

This is just a reminder that Brunner Studios will be participating in NFMC Festival and Scholarship Festival in February of 2013.  Piano, voice, and oboe students are welcome.  This is a great festival to learn the ropes or to participate in a competition.  Students will begin receiving music next week to reduce the stress of learning music over the winter holidays.

If you are interested in participating in this event or beginning music lessons please contact Brunner Studios.  It is not unreasonable to think that a student could begin lessons now and participate in this event in February.  National Federation of Music Clubs is a nationally recognized music organization.

For more information regarding piano, voice, or oboe lessons please contact Brunner Studios. 

Fall Recital

Posted on by Heather Brunner

Brunner Studios is happy to announce that our fall concert has been scheduled.  We will be playing at Miller Piano on Independence Blvd on November 17 at 3:00.

Recitals provide an excellent opportunity for students to practice their performance skills and to show off what they have been working on.  Students will be able to perform up to 3 pieces.  Right now the studio is having a competition to help us memorize those recital pieces. 

I would love to see community members and other teachers in the audience.  The more the merrier!

What A Problem To Have

Posted on by Heather Brunner

I am teaching a wonderful group of students piano lessons right now.  In fact, they are so great they aren’t giving me much material to write about on how to run a studio.  What a problem to have!  We are learning Halloween music and Christmas music started leaving the studio this week. 

I am so proud of my younger students.  I have 3 students who just started lessons last year and are about to move from 30 minute to 45 minute lessons.  These kids are really practicing and excelling in their art. 

More students are participating in the National Achievement Program and one will be playing in a Piano Sonata competition later this month. 

This group of students is working hard!

Piano Weekend at UNC School of the Arts

Posted on by Heather Brunner

A very exciting opportunity landed in my inbox last week.  The UNC School of the Arts is hosting a Piano Weekend for young musicians.  The event date is October 20, 2012.  The students are being invited to participate in Master Classes, a Sonata Competition, and a Recital. 

 

I love events like this.  It is a chance for students and parents to go and hear other young musicians.  The motivation boost and the experience of playing in a competition are extremely important.

 

If you are interested in participating in this event please let me know.  The registration deadline is Oct. 1.

Voices of Liberty

Posted on by Heather Brunner

Here is the next update of my Disney Music blog series.  This is a video of the Voice of Liberty in the American Pavilion at Epcot.  These might be my very favorite entertainers in all of WDW.  I spoke with the group leader and he indicated that not all of the singers have professional training but many of them do. 

 

I will be posting more vidoes throughout the week.  The woman in the light blue dress is my favorite performer.  She is a fantastic soprano with excellent technique.