Bastien Piano

Pre-Reading Pieces with Duets

Young students learn easily to play and count as they make music with another person, especially when they are given the opportunity to play in ensembles from the very beginning. Many beginning books have teacher accompaniments to go along with pieces students are learning, and that is a great place to begin playing together. Often, if I am teaching two or more children from the same family, I encourage an older sibling to accompany his younger brother or sister. This short video clip was taken at a recent studio recital. These were the first performers on the program and they are playing an arrangement of "Ring Around the Rosy" from Bastiens' Invitation to Music, Piano Party Book B.  Download MVI_6356

Sight Reading

My Students recently performed their auditions for the California State Certificate of Merit program. Each student was required to sight read a small piece of music as part of the audition. As I prepared students for the event, I realized that I need to allow more time for sight reading at each lesson. I enjoy having students sight read together as a part of our weekly group lesson. Sight reading as part of a group helps students to grasp the concept of keeping the rhythm moving forward, rather than stopping to figure out a note, or going back to fix a mistake. 

~Lori 

Learning to Play a Triad

All of my beginning students have learned to play a triad by now. The new students I started in September are now in the middle of Piano Party Book B, and are reading and counting pre-reading notation well. We will be transitioning into note-reading on the staff very soon.

~Lori

Happy New Year!

Here are some updates of things going on in my studio... I have one adult student who works hard! She enters piano festivals along with the younger students which helps her stay motivated to practice and keeps her coming to lessons regularly. I was recently reminded of a book I haven't used in a long time, 3rd Parade of Solos, by Jane Bastien. It is in the Certificate of Merit syllabus and my adult student is working on a piece called Tacos, Burritos and Enchiladas from this collection of solos. It is a great piece in the key of E Major in an ABA form, easy to learn and memorize, but challenging to count. She is also learning a movement from Jane Bastien's newest sonatina, called Jazzy Sonatina. It is a syncopated piece written in typical sonatina form.

I have also really enjoyed teaching beginners this year! I have six young students between the ages of 5-8 who started in September. Most of them played in a recital in December and just finished learning a whole book of Christmas carols. It has been really interesting to me to have so many beginners again and to get to know a lot of new families. The two pictured here are working on identifying white keys and accidentals on cloth keyboards designed by TCW Resources, now sold through Neil A. Kjos Music.

Piano Party!

I have really enjoyed teaching my new beginning students this year! Pictured are two 6-year olds who began in September. They have private half-hour lessons back-to-back but they spend 10 minutes together, working on theory and ear training. So, the schedule is like this:

• 4:15: Zoe arrives and has her private lesson.
• 4:40: Michelle arrives and the two girls work on theory and ear-training together.
• 4:50: Zoe leaves and Michelle has her private lesson.
• 5:15: Michelle's private lesson ends.

It saves me time, because I don't have to teach the theory lesson twice, and the students actually each get a longer lesson.

~Lori

Back to School, Back to Teaching!

It has been so nice to see students coming through the door again! I enjoy seeing how much kids have grown, how many teeth have been lost, and hearing about how the new school year is going. I added this collage to my studio which showcases some of the artwork kids created at my summer camp.

At the end of August, I sent out my brochure and calendar to each returning and new family I am teaching. (You are welcome to view it here Download 2008brochure_for_blog.doc ) I like to begin my fall semester at least one week after school starts so that students have a chance to adjust to being back in school before they come for lessons.

Happy Fall!

~Lori

Piano Camp 2008--Teaching Theory

Students spent 25 minutes each day playing computer games which focused on music theory. My favorite games are the various levels of PBJ Basics of Keyboard Theory. They are available in 6 levels, and cover most of the basic theory facts. The games are straight-forward, clever, and students love them!

~Lori

Piano Camp 2008--Art Projects!

Planning and creating art projects is one of my favorite parts of teaching camp. Here are a few that we completed this year:

• tie-died t-shirts
• hand painting terra-cotta pots, wood frames, and wood tiles
• lanyards

Piano Camp 2008--Practicing!

Each day of my piano camp sessions included an hour of supervised piano practice, as well as 20 minutes of un-supervised practice. The focus of the 4-day camp was on sight reading, both in a group settings and in private settings. I have 3 rooms in my house with acoustic pianos, where students practiced with a teacher. Students practicing on their own did so on electronic keyboards with headphones. Some of the materials used were:

• Vacation Magic Series, Primer Level-Level 4, by Jane, Lisa and Lori Bastien
• Patriotic Songs for Piano, arranged by Jane Bastien
• Play-Along Classics, Books 1 and 2, by Jane, Lisa and Lori Bastien
• Boogie, Rock and Country series by James Bastien

Students had  a daily schedule to follow which included their piano lesson assignment for the day or week. Click here to see a sample student schedule: Download Sarah.xls  I also had an overall schedule for each day for myself and the other counselors/teachers to follow: Download scheduleweekofJuly7-10.xls

~Lori

Piano Camp 2008

This summer I held two sessions of Piano Camp in my home. I will be detailing a little bit about different aspects of the camp in the days to come. Each session had an enrollment of 10 students and met for four consecutive days from 9:30 -1:00. The days were broken down into 20 minute segments, with each student having a rotating schedule of private piano practice with an instructor, group piano work, individual private practice, theory work, art projects, baking, and recess/sports activities.

This was the 5th summer I have run the camp and it seems to get easier each year. The biggest challenge is always organizing the week, as I have no specific age or musical level requirements. Lesson plans take time and I try to plan ahead to the best of my ability. I have six basic "stations" in which students work and play on a rotating schedule throughout the day, and they are pictured below:

• the main studio
• my living room
• my waiting room
• the computer area
• the art area
• the "playground" in my backyard

New! Theory Boosters!

We are very excited to present our new series, Theory Boosters... a great set of fun, easy-to-use, single-subject activity books, perfect for summer when students are traveling and need something to keep them busy on an airplane or in the car. The books are a small size, and will easily fit on a tray table of an airplane, in a child's lap, or in a mother's purse! We hope students will find enjoyment as they complete many different activities in these books: games, mazes, riddles and puzzles...and improve their theory skills along the way!

~Lori

Piano Literature Volume 5

Piano Literature Volume 5 was published in the spring of 2008. This volume, edited by Jane Smisor Bastien, is a compilation of Jane's favorite early-advanced literature from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary periods. A compact disc is also available which contains a recording of each piece from the book, performed by Diane Hidy.

~Lori

Summer is Here!

For the first time ever we have planted a vegetable garden in our back yard. We planted various seeds and seedlings back in March and here is what the garden looks like today. The tomato plant is really taking off and we have already had delicious radishes, herbs, green beans, and lettuces. It has been a lot of fun to watch the plants grow, and to enjoy the taste of fresh vegetables!

As I prepare to teach two weeks of summer piano camp, I am planning on incorporating a little bit of gardening into each day's activities.

~Lori

Interviews for Fall

I am so excited to begin meeting with potential new students. I love to take beginning students and it has been a long time since I was able to start a new class. Between this year and next, I will see my high school class graduate and I realize it is time to start some new ones! My favorite age to start beginners is kindergarten, if the students are ready and if their parents can commit to helping their children practice at home. I hope to take at least 6 new little ones for fall and I am really looking forward to a studio full of loose teeth and big smiles!

~Lori

Guild Auditions

The last event my students will play for will be Guild Auditions. To help prepare for this event, I asked each student to create a program listing the pieces he will be performing. I held rehearsals where students brought their programs, and passed them out to audience members before it was their turn to play. I allowed each student 6 minutes to perform their choice of pieces off of their program. We also heard the required scales and chords and it gave parents and students a better understanding of what Guild Auditions will be like. Click here to view a sample Guild program!Download guild_program_2008.doc

~Lori

March 21! Happy Spring!

At least here in San Diego it is an incredibly beautiful spring day! I am enjoying planning Guild pieces for my students as we get ready to finish out this school year. This last event that my students prepare for takes place in mid-May and they have the opportunity to play several pieces for an adjudicator in a warm, low-key atmosphere. The National Piano Guild has been around for years and is a great event for students of all levels and ages. More information can be found at: http://pianoguild.com/page/nztj/Auditions_Programs.html.

The book being held by my student is A Debut for You, a solo book written by Jane, Lisa and Lori Bastien, which comes in Levels 1- 4. These are the types of solos I like to program for my elementary students.        ~Lori

New Orleans

The New Orleans Music Teachers' Association had a beautiful luncheon in honor of my mom last weekend. Lisa, her husband and I as well as many New Orleans teachers and former students of Jane's attended the event, which was superb!

It was exciting to visit New Orleans again... I had not been back to New Orleans for about fifteen years. My parents lived there for seventeen years and Lisa and I were born there and lived there until our family moved to California in 1976. Lisa also lived in New Orleans as an adult for five years, where she had one of her first teaching jobs. We had a wonderful weekend catching up with old friends, eating incredible food, and seeing the city.

~Lori

Enjoyable Visit in La Jolla!

We had a wonderful time with several Japanese piano teachers who spent a few days in La Jolla observing our teaching studios. Thank you to all the teachers who visited. We really enjoyed seeing all of you and hope you will come back soon!

~Lori and Jane

Smiles on Concerto Day!

We had several students who participated in the our local music teachers' concerto competition in February. What a great experience to learn a concerto movement and have the opportunity to perform it with an accompanist in a beautiful hall on a big stage. The students who participated worked hard, learned a lot and had fun! I always feel that the students gain so much confidence from playing in this event, and I feel fortunate that our organization is able to provide this event each year.  ~Lori

What is Frustration?

As a teacher of children of all ages, I frequently hear comments from parents who tell me their children get frustrated while practicing the piano.  As the mother of two children who practice at home, I see my own children frustrated on a weekly basis, sometimes pounding the piano when they can't master something...(often followed by tears and "why can't I do this right?") I am in the same place as so many of the parents of students I teach right now. So if I hear, "Lori, you can't imagine how upset my child gets when I ask him to count aloud while playing. He gets so frustrated and our fighting is causing a huge strain in our household." I really sympathize with this situation, and I explain that, yes, I truly can imagine how the parent and child feel!

However, besides the feeling of frustration, I like to remind parents that on a weekly or monthly basis, (not a daily basis!) I also see feelings of pride when a difficult hurdle has been overcome. I hear comments such as, "After I have practiced and done my homework, may I play a computer game?", reminding me of the discipline that is being instilled in my children from having to practice regularly. And even occasionally, I have the pleasure of hearing, "I love this new piece of music!" In the end, I think that having music lessons is a wonderful learning experience to have as part of any child's education, frustrations and all!

~Lori

The Gift of Music

Years ago, my grandmother gave me a poster with this saying and I put it up the first time I had a piano studio to decorate. I don't know who wrote the saying, or created the poster, but I was never able to find it again. Students have commented on these words, year after year, so last summer when students were painting a mural around the door to my studio, I painted those words at the top, and there they remain!

~Lori

Happy 2008!

The holidays flew by even though I had a nice long break! The kids went back to school yesterday and I was excited to start teaching again. My biggest teaching day in the week is Monday, and I love it because I get to see almost all of my students on Mondays. I have a few private lessons on that day and three different group lessons, as well.

The semester starts out quickly here with an upcoming concerto competition in early February. I love teaching students to play a concerto. My daughter is playing her first concerto this year, as well, and I am learning so much from helping her practice at home. I realize that learning to play a much longer work is a great experience for a child who is ready for this. It is a mental, musical, and discipline challenge!

  Yesterday, one of my students asked me for specific practice directions on her piece, which is the Mozart Concerto in G Major, K. 453. In her own words, "I need to organize my practicing and I'm having trouble knowing how to get through all this music each day." Here is the advice I gave her for her one hour of practice each day this week:

• Play through the piece at the beginning of your practice time, without music or metronome.
• Practice in sections. Practice any sections you had trouble with first, hands separately and hands together, with music and with the metronome at a slow tempo, counting aloud.
• Practice "starting places", meaning practice starting at many different places on a page, so that you can easily rehearse with an accompanist, or easily go on in a performance, should you get off.
• Study the piece of music away from the piano for a few minutes each day. Notice what keys you are in, and the form of your piece.
• Practice larger sections, up to tempo, hands together with metronome, counting aloud.
• Finally, throughout the week, try to sit down several different times, "cold" meaning, not warmed up, or having practiced first, and play straight through your piece.

~Lori

Preparing Students for Sonata Contest

Our annual Sonata Contest (sponsored by our local Music Teachers' group) will be this Saturday. It is an event where all students competing play a required piece off of a repertoire list. There are 11 different levels, so students can play in this event from an early age, all the way through high school. It is an unusual event in that students compete against other students who are playing exactly the same piece. My students look forward to the event every year, and I view it to be one of our most competitive events... I struggle a little each year as they work so hard on their music, and then worry so much about whether they will win or even be chosen as a finalist. But I have come to realize, time and again, that most students are highly motivated when preparing to perform or compete, especially when there are possible prizes involved! They work harder than they would for a regular week of lessons, and their abilities improve greatly in the weeks they spend preparing for this type of event. I remind them that whether they hold a trophy at the end of the day or not, they have already won because they have worked hard, tried their best, and learned a piece of music really well.

~Lori

Group Lesson Get-Togethers!

Pictured are a group of third-year students of Jane. She and I both teach both private and group lessons weekly. The group lessons are 45 minutes and provide extra time to focus on theory, ear training, sight reading, ensemble, and performance. Her class met yesterday in the form of a rehearsal. The parents were invited to hear their children play pieces which they will be playing in up-coming recitals. She also gave out Christmas music as well as showed the parents a little bit about key signatures!

~Lori 

Brighten up the Studio, or Make a Fun Gift!

The glass jars pictured were made as a craft project in my summer piano camp, but they give color and warmth to my studio all year long! They also make great gifts and are so easy to make. I save jars throughout the year and use puffy paint to decorate these jars. I fill them with flowers, pencils or candy, and even if they are left empty, they still make a great decoration.

~Lori

Associated Arts Women's Club

I attended a meeting of the Associated Arts Women's Club this week. They are an organization in San Diego whose sole purpose is to award scholarship money to music students. They hold auditions once a year in May and award scholarships in June for the following school year. Then, from September through June, the women in the group meet once a month to have lunch together and hear the scholarship students perform. The students who receive these scholarships gain so much from performing at these meetings. They play for 5-10 minutes each, in a nice hall, on a stage, in front of people who really love music. Performing for this kind of group is so inspiring for a student! I really appreciate this group who has given so much support to aspiring young artists of San Diego.

Happy Halloween (from Austin Powers!)

A Passion for Teaching

I was born into a family of teachers, all of whom became my role models. Both of my own parents were piano teachers, my mother's mother was a piano teacher, and my father's mother was a high school English teacher. I was fortunate to be surrounded by their words of wisdom and their compassionate viewpoints as I was growing up.

I began teaching piano as a teenager, first as a practice tutor for my mother's students. I enjoyed helping students practice, seeing their progress as they learned a new piece, or helping them understand theory concepts. In high school and college, I began taking on private students of my own. I didn't know then that what started out as a part-time job for me would turn into a life-long career!

Now, as a wife, mother, piano teacher and composer, the part of my time that I spend teaching piano rounds out the rest of my life. In working with students, I am reminded on a daily basis that the key to success in anything is to have patience, and to never give up! I love the people I work with... there is something fascinating to me about sitting in my studio, listening to kindergarten students ponder over new crayons, or talking to a high school senior who I have known for years, about his interests and dreams for the future. And then, of course, there is so much joy in bringing music into another person's life. I feel fortunate to have this job that brings me peace and happiness on so many levels!

~Lori

Challenges for a Third-Year Student

This student is in 3rd grade, and this is the start of his third year of piano lessons. He has a private lesson with me once a week for 30 minutes and he practices at home about 30 minutes a day. Our main focus right now is in building a strong foundation in reading music. We are concentrating on reading the correct notes, rhythm and fingering in several pieces of about the same level each week. He has an easy time with reading the correct notes and fingering, but it is the rhythm that is challenging him. To improve his ability to count and play in rhythm, we are working on these things:

• writing the counts in every piece of music he learns
• counting aloud while playing
• counting aloud while playing with the metronome
• playing duets together
• playing music with accompaniment tracks

Some of the music he is working on includes:

• Halloween Treats, Level 1, by Jane and Lisa Bastien
• More Mini Sonatinas, by Jane Bastien
• Piano Party Series, Books C and D by Jane, Lisa and Lori Bastien
• Halloween Witches, sheet music, by Jane Bastien

~Lori

Getting Ready for Halloween!

I love to celebrate any holiday with my students! Elementary-age students seem to really love Halloween and I am getting my students ready now for upcoming parties which we will have during the last week of October. Pictured here are two Primer-level students working on pieces  and theory pages out of the series, Halloween Treats, by Jane and Lisa Bastien.

~Lori

Teaching How to Teach...

My high school students seem to be enjoying their pedagogy class! I am enjoying it as well! This past week we went over what a typical lesson plan could be for the first two private lessons in working with a beginning piano student. We are using the primer level of the Bastien Piano Basics series as our curriculm for teaching an average-age beginner. The series has four books at each level and I am taking my students through the books, page by page, talking about different concepts which are presented.

As part of this pedagogy class, I have requested that each of my students find their own private student(s) to teach. A fun assignment which has been completed was to design a flyer or brochure in order to help obtain prospective students. Click on this link to see a sample brochure designed by a 17-year-old student!Download pianoad1by_james_gu.doc

Back to Teaching!

I had my first regular day back to teaching yesterday and I was so excited to see my students again! I have three group lessons on Mondays, and seeing the students work together is one of my favorite parts of teaching. I will tell you a little about my high school class this year, which consists of two juniors and two seniors. I decided to spend the first part of the year teaching them a little bit about how to teach piano. It is the first time I have taught a pedagogy class, especially to students so young. I was so pleased with their interest level and will be curious to see how this class goes! Yesterday my focus on the class was how to get started with a beginning piano student. I mainly talked about meeting a student and his parents for the first time and what kinds of information should be discussed at this first meeting. I am using two books to help my students get started with this subject matter:

• How To Teach Piano Successfully, by James Bastien
• Teachers' Guide to Piano Party Book A, by Jane, Lisa and Lori Bastien

I am looking forward to another wonderful year of teaching!

~Lori

News from The Road!

I spent the last two weeks traveling to different cities around the country to give workshops on the latest Bastien piano books. I so enjoy meeting other piano teachers who have the same love for teaching that I do! My favorite part of doing a tour is being able to spend time with music dealers and piano teachers who give me so much input into what they like and need to make their jobs more successful. I thank the following dealers for having me these past weeks and also a big thank you goes out to those teachers who made time in their days to come out and see me!

• The Music Store--Garland Texas
• Ron's Music--Grand Island, Nebraska
• Piano Works--Duluth, Georgia
• Asheville Music & Arts--Asheville, North Carolina
• Dori's Music Studio--Spencerport, New York
• The Music Library--Jacksonville, Florida

A final word of thanks goes to my 10-year-old daughter, who traveled with me the second week and helped me demonstrate some of the music.       ~Lori

A Word from Shannon

I have written a lot about how much I have enjoyed working with young students over the summers in a camp setting. I have also really loved to work with high school and college-age students as they try out teaching for the first time. Having had this opportunity has inspired me to try teaching my first pedagogy course to my high school students in the fall, which I will write about soon!

The words below were written by Shannon, who will be a senior in high school this September. She has been a student of my mom's for many years, and she has been a teaching assistant in my piano camp for four years. Her dedication to the camp and the students has been an incredible blessing to me! She has developed wonderful relationships with the students over the years and they have admired and adored her for who she is!

"When I started teaching piano camp, I hoped that I would be a role model for children like myself with a love of music.  I even imagined that perhaps a student or two might look up to me as a talented musician, or find some bit of inspiration from my guidance.  I was not prepared to be honorably christened as 'Shanny-Cuckoo-Head!'  I found more in this name though, than some funny jokes with campers and a silly new alias.  I realized that the kids came to admire me for my personality, and in turn were inspired to pursue their musical and artistic goals and potentials as I grew closer and closer to them with every day.  Now, I can't think of a more noble title than 'Shanny-Cuckoo-Head!'

"I've taught piano camp for four years, but working with young students each making their own exciting discoveries makes each day special. The true inspiration for me at piano camp is the kids. Every year I have come back to teach piano camp because it is a wonderful opportunity to share my love of music with younger budding musicians and to learn from them in a wonderful environment.  The variety of activities, sports, games, and of course the music keeps everyone entertained and excited.There is nothing better than seeing a young student come to you, ready to be taught, with an expectant look upon his or her face."

"I believe I've learned just as much as the campers have at piano camp.  Sitting down and helping a student grow really makes me look at my own development as a musician.  Coming home from a day at camp filled with 'good work, now try it slower, and with the metronome' makes me take that second to remember to count slowly as I begin to play.  Teaching kids at piano camp always reminds me that playing the piano takes a lot of hard work, hours of practice, and above all else, a desire to have fun and enjoy music!"

~Shannon

Favorite Art Projects

Art projects from this session's Piano Camp included:

• painting t-shirts
• painting wooden frames
• painting terra-cotta pots
• painting old canning jars to be used as vases
• lanyard projects and bracelet/jewelery-making
• And my favorite: painting a mural on my studio wall!

~Lori

• 

Beethoven's Wig

I love this children's book and cd! I had the younger students in my camp listen to a portion of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, a piano minuet in G Major, and the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata, recorded along with hilarious lyrics which the children will never forget! It was a wonderful introduction to Beethoven's music, and this new book which goes along with the cd was a big hit. More information about the book and recording can be found at: www.beethovenswig.com.

~Lori

Piano Camp 2007--The Second Session

We had a blast last week with eight kids, ages 7-12, for a 4-day session of Piano Camp! The class broke down into two groups, with six kids at the early-intermediate level and two kids at the early-elementary level.

I had four assistants who helped me this summer and today you are hearing from Sanaz, a 22-year-old graduate student (piano major) who was a student of my mom's from age 10-17. She helped me with the camp last summer for the first time, but this year, I really put her to work!

"I had the wonderful opportunity to be one of Lori’s assistants for her summer music camp.  It was extremely rewarding and provided me with great teaching experience.

My preparation for the camp usually began the night before.  I found pieces which I worked on or loved as a child and the next morning performed them for about thirty minutes as the parents dropped of their children. 

Then, I presented a mini history lesson for fifteen to twenty minutes to the older students on the different music time eras. Each day was based on one specific music period and I would relate similarities among the paintings, architecture, and music of the time.  I explained how the keyboard developed throughout the time periods and how music of the time was shaped according to the possibilities of the piano.  On the last day we reviewed the characteristics and looked at scores and listened to recordings with various instrumentations and guessed what period the piece came from. 

The group broke into smaller groups and I practiced individually with some of the students. For fifteen, twenty, or thirty minutes, the students and I worked on new repertoire such as a concerto or a duet as well as other pieces that Lori assigned daily. I tried to reinforce counting aloud, slow practice, and maintaining eye contact with the music.

I think my favorite part of the day came after lunch! On the first day of camp, Lori’s children taught me an amazing game: DDR (Dance Dance Revolution).  At the end of the day, I looked forward to a dance-off with the children!"   ~Sanaz 

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Convention in Santa Clara

Mom and I attended the MTAC Convention in Santa Clara last week. It was a great time to meet with other piano teachers and gather new ideas. The exhibit hall was full of new teaching materials from all publishers and many composers presented new works at showcase sessions. I enjoyed Bradley Sowash's presentation on his new Jazz method, as well as the TCW Resources presentation where many fun theory games were presented. As a branch, the San Diego members were proud of our friend and member, Lee Galloway, who was inaugurated as the incoming state president for the new term. We wish him all the best! Both the student concerto competition and the solo performance given by Menahem Pressler were fabulous concerts which I was thrilled to have had the opportunity to hear.

~Lori

Piano Camp 2007...Organizing the Day

One of the most challenging parts of planning for a 4-day week of camp is trying to organize each day well. Every camp session is different, because the ages and levels of the students is varied. Below I list a schedule that has worked well for me:

• 9:15-9:30  Students arrive, listen to live music being played and work on simple crafts.
• 9:30-9:50  Music history lesson--often split into two groups, depending on students' ages
• 9:50-10:45  Piano practice sessions, individually, or in a group setting, computer time, or free time scheduled for students to work on individual assignments.
• 10:45-11:15  RECESS--play outside, eat snack, often play kick-ball, whiffle ball, or some other group game.
• 11:15-11:45  Piano practice sessions, individually, or in a group setting, computer time, or free time scheduled for students to work on individual assignments.
• 11:45-12:00  Games. Sessions split up into small groups depending on age and levels.
• 12:00-1:00  Lunch, art, recess.

Piano Camp 2007...Teaching Theory

Theory lessons are included each day of piano camp. I use computer games, activity books, and play theory games with small groups of students to teach different concepts. I plan for 20-30 minutes of theory activites in the day and most of the material being covered has been presented at some time throughout the year. I like to reinforce concepts and let students have the opportunity to apply and have fun with what they have learned throughout the year.

~Lori

Piano Camp 2007--Arts and Crafts

I always look forward to doing any type of arts and crafts projects! I set aside a craft area in my back yard and always have a few projects planned for each day of camp. A few that we did this past week included:

• hand painting music bags
• hand painting small wooden trays
• lanyard projects
• "Shrinky-Dinks"

~Lori

Piano Camp 2007...Sight Reading

One of my goals in a 4-day camp setting is to have students do a lot of sight reading, both individually, and as a group. Students who read at approximately the same level have short group lessons with me and play duets, trios or solo music as a group. Some of the music I use in the camp includes:

• Vacation Magic Series, various levels, by Jane, Lisa and Lori Bastien
• Duet Favorites, various levels, by Jane Bastien
• Patriotic Favorites, by Jane Bastien
• First Pops for Piano, by Jane Bastien

I view summer camp as a big block of extra time that I am fortunate to have with my students. I like to do things during these camps that I don't necessarily have time for during the school-year. Therefore, I like to assign pieces which are easy for students, so that they can learn the music quickly and have success playing with their peers. It is a great opportunity for me to observe students while they are sight reading and see where they need to improve. 

~Lori

Piano Camp 2007

The first week of piano camp ended today with a splash...literally! We started out our final party with a few (somewhat) calm relay races in the backyard, and ended up having a hilarious water fight which left us soaked from head to toe on a beautiful 85-degree San Diego day! With 10 kids enrolled, ages 6-13, and three fabulous assistants helping me, the week was terrific--full of all kinds of music, laughter, kick-ball, crafts, pizza and Popsicles!

I'll start by telling you a little about the music...we started off each day as the students rolled in, with one of my assistants playing music from different periods. As I greeted students or talked with parents, another assistant escorted students to a seat around the piano to hear the music being played. The first day, we heard Baroque music. The second day we heard music from the Classical period. The third day we heard Romantic music, and the fourth day, Contemporary music. We talked about the different time periods and also discussed characteristics which are typical of each period of music. While enjoying live music, students worked on simple crafts, such as "shrinky dinks" or lanyards.

~Lori

" Stop this Train"

I can't stop listening to this song, "Stop this Train" by John Mayer. I bought his album, Continuum, a few days ago, along with an old favorite that I happened to see, which was James Taylor's Greatest Hits. I listened to the James Taylor CD first, because I knew it was familiar and I couldn't wait to hear those favorite old tunes. A little later I put in the John Mayer CD, and I decided that Mayer sounds kind of like a modern-day James Taylor...anyway, I loved this song that got me with these lyrics:

Don't stop this train
Don't for a minute change the place you're in
Dont think I couldn't ever understand
I tried my hand
John, honestly
We'll never stop this train...

It's a song about not wanting to grow older..."stop this train..." and the above lyrics are advice from his father. Every time I hear the song I think of how life always goes on, no matter what goes on around us, and we just have to enjoy the moment we're in. 

I had my last recital of the semester tonight, and a parent who I hadn't seen in a while said to me, "I haven't been to a studio recital in a while, and I don't recognize your students! They have all grown up and you have new beginners I've never seen before. I don't know where the time has gone. It must be fun for you to see students grow and get to know them over a long period of time." And that is what I love the most about teaching--enjoying the little moments that come along with each student that I teach, and then seeing all those little moments add up into a big part of our lives. 

~Lori

Informal Recital

My last recital of the semester is coming up soon, and for a change, I am holding it in my own home. I held a rehearsal for it and will type programs, etc., but am looking forward to a little more of an informal feel. I find that May and June are crazy, busy times for parents and students. For that reason, I like to keep things simple as they end another school-year and this recital will be a fun conclusion to our year with a reception following in the back yard. It will be the last get-together of the year for students and parents and it will help prepare my students for their up-coming Piano Guild auditons, as well.

~Lori

Dance Dance Revolution!

For Mother's Day I received Dance Dance Revolution for the X-Box 360! I have been watching my husband and two kids play video games on this console for quite some time now, and never could see where the fun was in it...until my husband got me this new game! I actually find this to be a great game for working on rhythm and counting! My eight year old has been telling me all weekend, "Mom, you need to count out loud and feel the beat!" It has been a lot of fun and a great workout!

~Lori

Summer Piano Camp

Check back to my July 2006 archives to see an overview of four different days of last summer's piano camp.

This summer, I'm looking forward to hosting two weeks of half-day camps in my home studio. Teaching in a group setting with a variety of students at different ages and levels is challenging, but also fun! I eagerly anticipate organizing the camps at this time of year, and I start to see the weeks take shape as the camps fill.

~Lori

National Piano Guild

My students are preparing for their last performance event of the semester, which is the National Piano Guild Audition. This is my favorite event for students, especially young students, because it is a very positive, rewarding event. Students are heard individually by an adjudicator and can play as few as two pieces. Most of my students will play between 4-10 pieces, and they will also play scales and cadences. The adjudicator will write comments and students receive a pin and certificate/report card to take home. My students look forward to this event every year and can play in it at any age or level. More information on this event can be found at: www.pianoguild.com.

~Lori

Piano Camp--Preliminary Stages

I am getting excited for summer to be here! I have planned two one-week sessions of piano camp and have sent out fliers and hired counselors. As the enrollment starts to come in, I will begin to make lesson plans according to the students I will have. I am planning half-day sessions with emphasis on sight reading, ensemble playing, music history and music theory lessons. I take up to 10 students per session and incorporate arts and crafts and group sports activities. This will be my fourth summer to teach in a "camp" setting, and I look forward to the fun we will have!

~Lori

March Visit to Tokyo

My mom and I had the opportunity to travel to Tokyo recently. It was the second time for me to be in Japan, but 14 years had passed since I was there the first time. Tokyo is such a beautiful, clean city, and the people are so nice and friendly there. We had a wonderful visit with many piano teachers from all over Japan. It was truly a pleasure to be there. The first picture below is the view we had from our hotel, which was in downtown Tokyo. The second picture is of my mom and I with some friends from Japan!    ~Lori