Music Blogs for Musicians, Music Students and Music Teachers

The number music-related blogs has exploded since 2008. When Dolphin Music published its list of the "Top Ten Music Related Blogs", music blogs did not make many top ten lists. In 2010, a Google search on "music blogs" yields over 250,000,000 results and nearly 100,000,000 results for "top music blog sites" and subdivided by genre, instrument and musician level.

The following is a compilation of some music related blogs in the blogsphere:

Music Teacher Blogs

There are countless more blogs written by musicians and music teachers which share everything from dealing with teacher burnout to tips on writing studio policies. Two blogs that share a wide mix of information and resources for music teachers are the Music Matters Blog and Layton Music – Games & Resources.

The Music Matters Blog was developed by Kansas-based piano teacher Natalie Wickham. She launched Music Matters in September 2005 and offers "creative, practical and up-to-date resources for the independent music teacher." Entry categories include: group class ideas, ideas for parents, music history, recital ideas, resource reviews, compositions and computer help, and on-line resources. Wickham even welcomes guest posts.

Layton Music – Games & Resources – Where Music Teachers Come to Play was developed by Arizona-based piano teacher D’Net Layton. Her blog includes reviews of music teaching resources, articles about composers, group lesson ideas, student incentive programs and games.

Helpful Blogs for Music Studentsand Their Parents

Many music blogs available are written by music teachers to help music students and their parents with their at-home practice routine. Common blog themes include: quality versus quantity practice, how parents can help their child practice and practice requirements. Two such blogs are Learn Theory of Music Blog and Music Noodle.

Learn Theory of Music Blog was developed by British musician Julian Partridge. To him, "Music education is an emotive subject and this country has seen it's fair share of neglect over the years." Some of his recent posts include: "What Is Stage Fright?", "The ABSOLUTE Beginners Music Dictionary" and "The Best Music Recording Programs". Partridge, a bassoonist for the Ulster Orchestra, launched his blog in 2007.

Music Noodle offers music practice advice to parents of young musicians. It offers a discussion forum where teachers and parents can discuss practicing, motivational challenges and how parents can set their children up for musical success. Some recent posts include "Create a Good Music Practice Environment", "Is Music Practice Supposed to Be Fun?", "No More Music Practice Disasters" and "Bagged! Are You a Pushy Music Parent?"

Useful Blogs for All Musicians: Performers, Students and Teachers

Another growing category are the musician blogs, where they can discuss industry challenges, career paths, practice strategies and more. Two helpful music blogs in this category are The Collaborative Piano Blog and The Practice Blog.

The Collaborative Piano Blog looks at the art of the piano in ensemble, various piano-related resources and events, classical music, music education, technology. Launched in 2005 by Ontario-based pianist, teacher and vocal coach. Some of his popular posts are "How to Get Work as a Freelance Collaborative Pianist", "31 Days to Better Practicing" and "15 Ways To Add 10-minute Practice Blocks To Your Routine."

Foley regularly posts news about upcoming performances, online resources and some humorous posts for stress relief.

The Practice Blog is an ongoing music practice resource for students, teachers, parents and performers. Some popular posts include: "Music Practice Books", "Digital Audio Recorder", "Zoom H4n Review", "Lesson Notes and Practice Targets" and "Essential music practice techniques for all instruments".

This list is just a sampling of music blogs available. There are countless more blogs, from jazz music blogs to classical music blogs and from guitar blogs to rock music blogs. The blogs listed above contain a wealth of information for all musicians, from resources and pedagogy tips for music teachers to practicing ideas and advice for music students and their parents. All musicians, regardless of playing level can learn something new from the music practice and performance-related blogs.

This article was originally published on Suite101.com on May 29, 2010. All rights reserved by Rhona-Mae Arca.

Piano Teacher's Resource Kit

I picked up the Piano Teacher's Resource Kit a few months ago. For years, I've been using  some of Alfred Music's reproducible sheets, but needed some new teaching materials. When my music students go away on vacation, I usually give them "airplane homework" to do while they are away. I am always on the look out for music crossword puzzles, word searches, music sudoku and composer reading and comprehension. The Piano Teacher's Resource Kit is handy for these situations (along for those who need remedial work in a particular area, such as rhythm).

It contains 88 pages of reproducible worksheets, cheat sheets and music games. There are five levels of difficulty.

For us music teachers, there is a handy answer key in the back. I love how the pages are perforated so we can take them out and photocopy them in batches. However, that creates another challenge - how to store theme without getting them mixed up, but that's a challenge for another day.

The Keynote Writer has been a handy cheat sheet for my students struggling with keyboard geography.

It's available at your local music store as well as Sheet Music Plus (below):

look inside

Piano Teacher's Resource Kit Reproducible Worksheets, Games, Puzzles, and More!. Educational Piano Library. Teacher Resource. Softcover. 88 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.296802).

and Amazon: Piano Teacher's Resource Kit.

Keyboard Geography Cheat Sheets

This year, I have seven students who have had a tough time with their keyboard geography at the piano. One of them is an ARK learner (aural, read/write, kinesthetic. Another one is a VR (visual, read/write. The others are VA (visual, aural) learners. We've tried landmark notes. We've tried colour-coding lines or notes (that worked pretty well, until I started to wean them from the colour-coding). We've tried the good old phrases that everyone knows (e.g., "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge"). No matter what, they look at me and ask "Where do my hands go?" or they'll look at Bass C and play me Treble C, as if any C will do.

This new idea came to me as another student and I were checking with DaTuner Lite to see how well my acoustic piano was holding its pitch.

I pulled out my Piano Teacher's Resource Kit and photocopied the reproducible Keynote Reader worksheets. Next, I had those students write in the letter names and draw a line connecting the note on the keyboard to the corresponding position on the staff.

Next, the pièce de résistance: I introduced the keyboard number system. For instance, the lowest C on the piano is C1, with the notes below being A0 to B0. I labelled the first one for them and had them finish the rest.

Next, I had them apply this new knowledge to the pieces they have been working on. It didn't take them long at all once they labelled their starting notes as "C4" instead of just any old "C".

Thank you DaTuner Lite and Piano Teacher's Resource Kit!

look inside

Piano Teacher's Resource Kit Reproducible Worksheets, Games, Puzzles, and More!. Educational Piano Library. Teacher Resource. Softcover. 88 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.296802).

Advice on Music Exams, Cramming and Number Games

Sometimes, our music students are still scrambling to get ready for their music exams. If you're like my one Grade 9 piano student who has been trying to memorize his Brahms' Intermezzo, it's too late. You need to start looking at the numbers and focusing your energy on the areas where it is do-able to in the time you have left to prepare. Take a look at what he'll be doing at his Gr. 9 partial examination through Conservatory Canada:

1. List C (Romantic): 10 marks

2. List D (Late Romantic to Contemporary Classical): 10 marks

3. Studies (2): 10 marks (worth 5 apiece)

4. Technical Tests: 14 marks

5. Memory: 2 marks (1 for List C and 1 for List D)

Now take a look at what examiners are looking to award Honours (70 - 79%)

• consistent tempo

• clean rhythms

• clean notes

• technical facility

• clear dynamic contrasts

• some articulation

• a sense of phrasing

• good tone

• sense of musical style

Memory needs lots of time for the music to settle (and performances). As you can see, memorization is only worth one mark for his Intermezzo. I asked him if he wanted to sacrifice the 70ish marks he'd get for all of the above for that one measly memory mark. For a piece that's not completely secure, there is a good chance that these things will crumble under the pressure of an exam.

If you're like my student, you're better off focusing on getting the basics as stated above. If those are secure, you can still walk away with Honours or even First Class Honours.

Technique is a big area. It's worth 14 - 16 marks alone, depending upon the grade and the music conservatory you are following. If your technical facility is lacking, examiners will penalize you. This is not an area to cram in at the last minute.

Sight-reading, rhythm and ear training are crammable - to a degree. If this is truly a weak spot for you, then it is an area you need to work on throughout the year, not just one week before your exam. However, bear in mind that sight-reading is worth 10 marks (clapping and playing), while ear and rhythm training are worth 10 marks. Those are easy marks to give away but just as easy to keep with some consistent practice.

I used to panic over melody playback (worth four marks). In hindsight, I should have focussed on nailing my intervals, chords and cadences more (worth six marks). That, combined with my clap backs, would have balanced the scales a bit.

To wrap up, when you're trying to play the "numbers game" with your exam marks, keep in mind the following:

1. Beef up the foundation (the basics) of the areas that are worth the most marks.

2. If you know that one area is going to be wobbly no matter what, then look at the other elements in that section and try to strengthen those areas.

3. Just guess on the wobbly areas. You may get partial marks.

Speak with your teacher if you have any questions on this or need more advice. The mark breakdown for each grade is listed in the conservatory syllabi.

Sources: Conservatory Canada Piano Syllabus & Royal Conservatory of Music Examiner's Guidelines for Assessment of Repertoire.

Memory needs lots of time for the music to settle (and performances). As you can see, memorization is only worth one mark for his Intermezzo. I asked him if he wanted to sacrifice the 60 or so marks he'd get for having most of the notes, rhythm and the tempo there for that one measly memory mark. For a piece that's not completely secure, there is a good chance that things will fall apart under the pressure of an exam.

White-Out on Music? Why Not?

This is a nifty tip I learned from my colleague, RCM examiner Colleen Athparia: If you keep coming to a dead halt at the barline, get rid of the barlines!

I've tried this with a few students recently with songs in triple meter, or in the above case, in 6/8 time. It works like a charm!

Of course, you want to make sure that you know your rhythms and time signature well. This is best used when you are trying to get the music flowing.