A Studio Update- Winter 2014

Here's a post to let you know what's happening at my music studio. March is often a difficult month, as the "winter blahs" can really set in and motivation/positive thinking is low. This winter is no exception as the snow continues to pile up and temperatures are frequently below -20 degrees Celsius. We are working on some good goals though, and I think we're going to make it through. And although this time of year feels slow, it's amazing how fast the music festival, exams, and recitals creep up come springtime!

First let me remind you about about my great new studio tool, the iPad (you may remember from a previous post how excited I was to start applying its usefulness in the studio). Well, I have gotten some great new apps including two for note recognition (Note Teacher Kids and Name That Note!) and two incredible whiteboard apps (Doodle Buddy and Educreations). Educreations is amazing and I am learning lots of great ways to use it with students, as you can see below. The best part is, these apps are all FREE!

You also must take a look at this app called Singing Fingers. I'm trying to decide on the best way to use it...I'm thinking composition for sure...take a look and you will be amazed!

We are also getting ready for the Kiwanis Music Festival this April (to learn more about the music festival see this blog post). It's time now for everyone to start memorizing their piece(s), and then at the end of the month we will try them out in a casual performance class setting. Sometimes with the younger kids, they learn their piece so quickly that it is ready now! It is a challenge to keep them interested in playing it until April...the timing is so tricky! Take a listen to Chloe's festival piece, Penguins. Great job, Chloe!

Finally, some students are getting ready for spring examinations. Ella is preparing for a Northern Lights CNCM exam and will prepare eight pieces for this recital-style examination. She is a natural performer as you will see from the video, and is doing an amazing job getting ready for this exam.

So that is my studio update for now- thanks for reading!
~ Jennifer