The Best Of: Considerations Edition

Normally I post "The Best Of:" on Friday afternoons, but my computer was giving me fits and would not post! Instead, you get to enjoy a Monday edition, so sit back and enjoy some great reads. Happy Monday!

Welcome to The Best Of: where I round up some great links for you from around the www. that I have enjoyed this week! PS: These links are best enjoyed with a hot cup of coffee. :)

Some things to Read:
Don't Warm Up - WHAAATT?? Greatest piano tip ever! :)
Adding Another Dimension to your Studio - Karate? Who knew?
Called to Authenticity - do we take this call seriously enough?
I Have Been doing this for 30 Years 
Teaching Tips from Snowboard School - this has been a great series so far! Who would have known that snowboard school and piano could go together! :)
Congregational Accompaniment Considerations - 3rd in a series of great posts

Specifically for teachers:
Assignment Notebook/Pages for Students - Joy has such and interesting discussion going on in the comments section! It is inspiring to learn from other teachers!
When Students Forget Their Books - 25 great ideas

Giveaways!
Vintage sheet music candle (ends today!!!)
Music-inspired necklaces (ends Thursday)

What musically-inspiring things have you been reading this week??

An App Giveaway

It seems like most piano teachers I read about these days are getting iPads for their studios. They sound like so much fun! I can't wait for the day that I can add one to my "teaching materials." (Solely for teaching, I assure you....ok, maybe not!) Actually my brother is entered to win one, and he is VERY sure he is going to win...and when he does he is going to give it to me, because he has no need for it, right? RIGHT?

Anyway, I enjoy reading about all the great apps that are out there in relation to teaching, and I can't wait for the day that I get to try them out. I have wondered, though...how on earth will I remember all these great apps? I can just see myself doing searches for "apps" on all of your blogs to see the ones you use. I will probably post a question on my blog, "What great apps are out there for teaching? What apps do you use in your studio?" I will search high and low for the best apps, comparing all those metronomes, and finally settling on what I think I will use the most.

OR,

I could compile all of your "app" posts into one convenient list so that not only me, but other piano teachers who add an iPad to their studios will have a place to go read the reviews about teaching apps.

Bingo!

Much like I did with the recital posts, I can keep updating this list with apps that you all think are great. I am going to begin putting this list together, so if you have blogged about an app that you would recommend, please leave a comment and let me know!

And in the meantime, Natalie from Music Matters Blog is hosting an app giveaway as we speak! Not just one, but TWO great apps, with three copies of each being given away. So you have six chances to win! So head on over to her review to leave your comment to enter and (hopefully) win!

Goodbye to Jen's Piano Studio Blog

Yes, you read that right. Jen's Piano Studio Blog is leaving us. But never fear! It is turning into Pianimation instead!

Jen is combining the valuable resources found at her blog and her studio website into one great place, Pianimation. It appears that this will make it much easier for us to use her resources. Thank you, Jen!

And in honor of the move Jen is offering a discount and a giveaway! Go here for all the details. You won't want to miss it!

Check out Pianimation and be sure to update your information if you already followed her blog.

Giveaway You Won't Want To miss!

Head on over to "Pianoantics", where Anne is giving away a set of "Barnyard Friends"

Ok, so she's not giving away her friends, but a packet of material that she has designed. I really like the look of these for young students, and I would be eager to try them out! Watch the video...this thing captivates me, so I can imagine how much fun this would be with my students!

Hurry over for a chance to win! Thanks, Anne!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you some important news...

If you are a regular blogger, you know how it goes. Blog A and Blog B and Blog C are sponsoring giveaways of one type or another, and you enter them all, hoping to win a frying pan or something. But you don't win. Ever. Its like the comment you leave has "Don't Pick Me!" written all over it. But what do you do? You keep on entering those giveaways.

I must admit that I do the same thing....A LOT! I especially make a point to enter these drawings if it is something piano related. I love piano music, piano books, anything that may help me become a better piano player and teacher, or help my students become better musicians. Well, it has finally, finally, finally paid off. Thats right, I won!!!

(Yes, I am doing a major happy dance right now. Join me!)

Oh, and I guess I should tell you what I won, shouldn't I? Minor detail. I entered to win the drawing for the book, "Chord Piano is Fun" over at Music Matters Blog. After reading Natalies review of the book, and looking into it on my own, I felt it would be a book that would be a help to me as I try to teach theory to my students. Because sometimes, I don't know how to do that. I think this book will be a big help to me!

I will be sure to let you know what I think of the book when I get it, and keep you posted on how it is a help to me.

Now lets all go do a little more of that happy dance!

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming...

A CD Giveaway

Head over to Music Matters Blog, where Natalie is hosting a beautiful piano cd giveaway. I greatly enjoyed what I heard of Sandy's cd. So simple and relaxing. Sounds like a perfect cd to play while sewing and drinking a cup of coffee. :)

I will soon post about how my last lessons of the year went as well as how much my students LOVED the various Christmas activities and songs we did. Stay tuned!

Last Minute Christmas

Before we take a break from lessons for the Christmas holidays, I just wanted to let you know about two more resources to take advantage of this season:

A GIVEAWAY!! (Jumping for joy...)

Leah is hosting a Christmas CD giveaway on her blog, Drops From My Cup. Leah is a piano teacher in New Brunswick. I listened to the clips from this cd and LOVE IT!! (With a capital heart) There are even ways to enter more than once. So head on over to her blog and find out how to enter this fantastic giveaway!! Even if you don't win the cd, you will enjoy the clips you hear and you will purchase your own. Yeah, its just that good.

Secondly, A RESOURCE:

Over at Layton Music they have a great rhythm game using Christmas carols. The rhythm of a carol is written out on little cards that the student has to put in order. How neat is that? I am planning on using these this week in my lessons. One of the great things I like about it is that it will be thought provoking even for my most advanced student. And games for him are hard to find. I did notice as I was cutting them out that the song "O Christmas Tree" has one too many beats in the top right-hand box. Minor detail, I just used a little white-out on mine. But it sure did have me stumped for a bit!!

I hope you enjoy these last few lessons with your students and that you are able to use some of these great resources.

What all have you been doing in your lessons lately? How long of a break are you taking off this Christmas?

Book Review and Giveaway!

No, I am not giving away a book. Sorry. :) But someone I know is!!! So although I do not have my blogroll up yet, nor have I talked about any of my favorite blogs, I wanted to share this one with you so that you could enter it as well. Natalie, over at Music Matters Blog is the one sponsoring the giveaway, and the book is the newest one by Jenifer Cook over at The Church Pianist website. I personally love playing any of the arrangements that Jenifer Cook has written, and am excited about this book because it is for intermediate students. I have a couple of those!

Both of these blogs rank in my top five favorite piano blogs, so I hope that not only will you participate in the giveaway, you will also check out all the amazing resources these ladies have to offer. If you don't have time to do that now, I will be talking about both of these sites more in the future, so stay tuned for that!

And by all means, if you win the book because I told you about it, let me know!! :)