Please take a minute to visit the newest sponsor of Piano Teacher’s Retreat, Animusic.  You can see their ad over there on the right —->

Animusic’s DVDs provide a fresh and exciting way to illustrate musical concepts and to inspire students about artistic creativity. The first DVD has 7 unique music animations and the second one has 8. Each animation lasts about 4 or 5 minutes, so you can show one then discuss, or fill a whole class by showing several.

Words don’t really do justice, you simply have to watch Animusic.  See a video clip here:

 (Note: video and sound quality are far better on the actual DVDs)

The visuals and the music are precisely matched, revealing many details about pitch, rhythm, melody, instrumentation and more.

For example, using the video above – “Pipe Dream” – you could discuss pitch and ask which instruments are creating high pitches and which ones create low pitches. And are there some instruments that are NOT pitched?   Also in Pipe Dream, ask about the rhythm or “pulse” of the piece…it’s not immediately obvious what it is, but as the piece progresses students should be able to clap along with the beat.

Music teachers at all grade levels have shown these unique videos. To help guide class discussion and activities there are “Teacher Tips” in PDF format that are free to print.

These guides were prepared by music teachers and correlate with items 6, 7, and 8 of the National Standards for Music Education.

And perhaps best of all, students really enjoy seeing and hearing novel instruments.

Private piano teacher Gregory Brown from Five Smooth Stones Music has also found the DVDs helpful.  “I actually use Animusic to assist in teaching rhythm to my beginning piano students. There is some type of motion or movement to correspond to EVERY sound that you here.  I cannot emphasize to you how helpful that is to a 7 year old.”

The videos on the Animusic DVDs have original instrumental music, which spans a variety of musical (and visual) styles. There is also one version of a classical piece, “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Muggorsky.

The DVDs are currently on sale at www.animusic.com – and schools may also buy the DVDs with purchase orders through educational stores such as West Music and MusicK8.com.

I am happy to announce that I am a new affiliate with the report, “Learn the Piano More Quickly,” by Sebastian Mitchell!

Sebastian began taking piano lessons in high school, and quickly became frustrated as he saw children passing him up while he was stuck playing “Jingle Bells” and other silly pieces. After 8 months, he decided he wanted to learn a Chopin nocturne. He researched heavily to find the best ways to practice and learn the piano. After strengthening and solidifying a great practice routine, Sebastian was able to play the nocturne well after only two months! He started taking lessons from a new teacher at this point, who after seeing him play the nocturne, thought he had been taking lessons for years! He continued with great success in learning all kinds of piano music.

He has now written this report from his experience and knowledge. His methods and techniques promise the ability to learn the piano 10 times faster!

As a busy mom and piano teacher who doesn’t get much real time at the piano (I am only able to sneak in practice here and there while my daughter is distracted), I am so excited to start implementing his methods with my own practicing. I was surprised to learn that some instinctual practice methods I have been using are actually detrimental to my improvement. Sebastian’s program shows you how to change the way you practice so that you ONLY spend time improving. There is no wasted time! You learn how to effectively manage your time at the piano, as well as away from the piano so that you can become a much better pianist in a shorter amount of time.

Sebastian’s idea is that “proper learning style increases learning speed” and his program gives you the tools to have that “proper learning style!”

Sebastian claims that with these methods, you will learn the piano more quickly than 99% of people.

Not only am I excited to use his methods in my own limited practicing time, I am even more excited to teach these methods to my students! I am constantly trying to help my students understand better ways to practice, but without a clear-cut method and routine, I know my students aren’t always getting it.

This report is useful for any pianist who wants to be better. That means it’s useful for you! It is also a great report to recommend to adult students, as well as to the parents of your young students.

Click here to view more details