Recitals do more than just entertaining family and friends; they actually stimulate musical development and trigger student motivation. Motivation is especially important during these difficult times when most learning is done virtually and where competitions are no longer an option.

As piano teachers, we spend much of our time inspiring, reminding, asking, and begging parents to help their children practice at home. In fact, it is by far the most common “piano teaching problem” cited by teachers.

But there are times when the opposite should happen. There are times when asking piano parents to make sure practice happens will actually work against our goals. Sound counter-intuitive? Let us explain…

Certificate of Merit is a statewide program of graded music education made available to students of music teachers who are members of the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC).

Let’s create Music Rhythm Puzzles! This is a fun way to visually see the beats in music and a simple way for young students to learn rhythm. Try it out!

Throughout time, many studies revealed that plants exposed to music were significantly healthier than plants that were not. Music can help plants thrive and ensure that they live long luscious lives. A study in 1962 (one of the earliest studies conducted) by Dr. Singh at Annamalai University showed that plants exposed to classical music had a 20% increase in growth compared to the group that was not exposed to any music at all. This same study was also done on crops, which showed a 25% to 60% increase in growth. Another study by researcher Dorothy Retallack at Colorado Women’s College showed plants exposed to an extended F note to be much healthier than the control group with no exposure to music.