Every day, I teach piano online to student across the country. Students log in from their homes, and together we learn how to play piano, explore music theory, practice technique, and celebrate progress.
But once a year, something truly special happens—I fly from my home in Florida to California to join Oclef for a Week of Piano Summer Camp in person.
Today I would like to showcase one of my Oclef students as we are practicing on “Sword Dance” from the Piano Adventures Method Book 2A. This piece introduces important musical concepts such as allegro tempo, fermata, and expressive dynamics including crescendo and diminuendo. This blog post also highlights the value of listening a full music score to enhance students' ear training, sense of mood, and overall musicality.
Ever feel like music theory is a confusing puzzle that never quite fits the song you're learning? What if the key to mastering your next piece isn't just more practice—but actually understanding the chords behind the notes?
In this post, I’ll show you how starting with one simple theory concept—primary chords in a key (I-IV-V7)—can completely transform the way piano students learn and play music.
Before diving into any new piece, I always make it a point to start with music theory. Why? Be...
