By Dr. Julie Knerr

We thank everyone who attended our Piano Safari Summer Institute this past weekend in Athens, Ohio. It was a wonderful, pedagogy-packed event. We really enjoyed meeting teachers from OH, KY, PA, NC, NY, IL, VA, AL, and even Australia. If you missed it, don’t worry! We have another summer institute planned for Saturday, July 23 in Westport, Connecticut. Here is the Registration page. We would love to have you join us!

One of the topics we discussed at the Piano Safari Summer Institute was how teaching Rote Pieces in the beginning of study, alongside a systematic reading system, can enhance not only a student’s motivation and aural training, but also their Concentration, Confidence, Keyboard Orientation, Reading (yes, it’s really true!), Pattern Recognition, Rhythm, Technique, and Artistry.

In this blog post, I would like … Read More

by Julie Knerr

Technique Book 3 delves into the world of scales, chord inversions, and chord progressions. Students learn these common pianistic patterns gradually in the keys of C Major, A Minor, G Major, E Minor, F Major, and D Minor. As they are learning these patterns, they are exploring pieces in their Repertoire Book 3 in the same keys, and practicing using these keys in their Sight Reading Cards as well.

Our motto in Technique Book 3 is “Mastery through repetition.” Students become fluent and increase their tempo in scales by building up gradually through repetition. By the end of the book, they should have mastered these basic building blocks of music, so it is time to celebrate by playing the Technique Extravaganza.

 

The Technique Extravaganza is a student – teacher duet at … Read More