COVID meets Piano!

But first, some silliness:

Coronavirus Etude

In this time of unrest, I’m so grateful to have music as a solace and am thankful to have students to teach whom I know will take this time to learn, grow, and thrive even more in their pianistic journeys. I wanted to share some resources and helpful hints that you might use in the weeks to come. We are off for the next two weeks (March 23 - April 5) for Spring Break, then we will resume lessons over video after that (until social distancing becomes a thing of our past!). Feel free to check out this list of resources during the break:

Liz Kohl House Show

Last week, I did a live streamed concert to Facebook of a mini-house show I played so that I could share music with people who are also sequestered. Besides Hammers by Nils Frahm (and the sing alongs at the beginning and end), these are all original compositions I’ve written. I hope that we all keep composing during this time of isolation!

MuseScore: Composing

Speaking of composing…. I’d encourage everyone to keep up or increase their composing! With greater time and space, creativity tends to flow more freely, so let’s take advantage of that! MuseScore is the music writing software I use, and I’d encourage you all to check out their free software download (some limitations) and play around. For younger students, it can be easier to start small with Alphabet Cards and Rhythm Cards.

These can be made and used by students, here are the particulars:

Alphabet Cards are: A - B - C - D - E - F - G

Rhythm Cards are:

Ta (Quarter Note) Ti - Ti (Two Eighth Notes)

Shh (Quarter Rest) and Ti-ki-Ti-ki (Four Sixteenth Notes)

Listening

(Any method works, but YouTube is great for videos)

Keep up OR increase your listening and actively notice things you’d like to learn. This could be classical music, film music, religious, pop or other genres. I’d also encourage you to notice and compare the difference between pianists on YouTube, watching their technique and any musical distinctions. Also, if you want to check out more silliness, I’d recommend watching some Victor Borge, classical pianist and comedian :)

All-Classical Portland

I’m a huge fan of this station as a supporter, member, and am on their Community Advisory Board. All-Classical Portland is a great, local radio station which is active in the musical community of Portland and features amazing programming of classical music across many genres. Check them out!

Hoffman Academy - tons of resources!

I’m delighted that I had the immense honor to work at Hoffman Academy for 5 years under the esteemed piano instructor, Joseph Hoffman. Joseph has been offering free, online piano lessons for over a decade and, in recent years, has expanded and built a really impressive website with games and other useful tools for pianists. Check out Hoffman Academy!