julie-hbg-01

PRACTICING

How much practicing is required?

Because I see music study as language acquisition, I think it’s very important to:

1

Set up a regular time of day, with as minimal interruptions as possible

2

Start daily with scales to focus thinking

3

Practicing should start at 15 minutes per day for the youngest beginners, adding 5-10 minutes per year of continued study.

4

Part of the lesson time weekly will be to address issues that arise at home around practicing, i.e. motivations, balance with high school demands, problem solving.

Background image

Bach Schumann Clementi Faber-Adult Celebration-Harris-Perspectives Beyer

Which method books do I prefer?

For the beginner, I prefer Donald Waxman Pageants series, along with Julie Johnson Preparatory Theory book. Other books I might suggest are: Celebration Harris Perspectives, Beyer, Piano Town, Faber Adult.

For students who are transferring from another teacher, I will generally try to stay with the books already in progress, unless they are Bastien or Alfred series books. I will recommend some new books, Clementi, Schumann, Bach based on the student’s experience and preference.