The Lesson Line is a newsletter providing special information for students taking Simply Music piano lessons through Potluck Creative Arts. Get useful tips to help make your piano lesson experience as successful as possible!
Heading to the end of the year, here’s a fun video with a baby giving a “lecture” on the benefits of exposing young kids to the piano. Of course, I wouldn’t recommend the Hal Leonard method that she mentions (it’s what I used to teach myself), but I bet that baby Olivia wouldn’t either...
When it comes to the amount of new project work, your teacher always strives to take the Baby Bear approach — not too hot, not too cold, just right. If new assignments seem to be either too much or too little for you, there are options. The first thing you should do is optimize...
Here are two really inspirational videos. The first is of a girl who plays piano with no fingers on her right hand. The second is of an armless man who uses his toes to perform. I bet they spent a lot of time playing slowly and controlling the events! Leave a comment below.
John Cleese is not only a comedy legend, he’s also got an inquiring mind, interested in many things including how the human mind works. Below you’ll find an excellent video of a lecture in which he talks about creativity. One of the things he mentions is the “tortoise mind” and the importance of patiently...
Another of my writings has been republished by Simply Music, in their July newsletter. When I wrote, Why Simply Music Piano Lessons Are Easier Than Traditional Methods, I wanted to do a few things. Most obvious was making the case for why Simply Music was fundamentally more worth taking on, even for students who...
There’s a fun Virtual Keyboard on the web that lets you play with different instrument sounds, add drum beats, and even play chords. You can play notes with mouse clicks or, even better, with your computer’s keyboard. Check out the instructions. One great tip not mentioned in the instructions: you can play chords even...
Have you recently looked at Why We Do It — The Profound Benefits of Learning to Play the Piano? Even this is an incomplete description of the many benefits of piano. At an annual conference of Simply Music teachers this past January, a list of over 80 reasons to play piano was compiled! It’s...
Almost a year ago, I created the Formula for Success and the Coach’s Formula for Success. These self-evaluation tools can help students and coaches see more clearly where they are with the various tools and techniques of the Simply Music program, pointing the way toward opportunities for improved results. Neil Moore and others at...
Here’s a fun video, with legendary vocalist Bobby McFerrin getting an audience involved at World Science Festival 2009. Together, they make music with the pentatonic scale. That may sound technical, but it’s just a particular set of five notes. There a really easy way you can play with them yourself — just use the...
Earlier today, I got to demonstrate the Simply Music piano method as a guest on Linda & Chester Freeman’s Swing Shift radio show. Linda & Chester run Got2Lindy Dance Studios, and their radio show airs on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month from 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. on WHVW 950AM out of Poughkeepsie,...
