wenjenpiano.com Blog

Piano Teachers: Unique and Budget-Friendly Student Gifts for the Holidays..Ornaments!

Administrator — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:47:04 +0000

Tis The Season…for Homemade Holiday Music Ornaments!
The holiday season has approached faster than a student can play the Alla Turca, and the thought of heading to the mall or ordering music gifts online with express shipping would bring out the “Bag Humbug” in any piano teacher! If you can spare a short trip to your local drug store, an hour to spin your creative artistic web, you can have a unique holiday gift for each student in less time than it takes to spell fortississimo.

Last Year’s Student Gifts…
In previous years, I would get an ice cream gift certificate for each student, which used to cost about $2 per students. Last year, I found that it’s now difficult to get an ice cream, or a gift certificate for less than $5 per student, since most of the gift cards come prepaid. If you have a large piano studio of over 30 students, $5 per student may just break your monthly studio budget! There’s also the issue of all of students from my two piano studios being able to find the same ice cream store nearby.

This Year’s Student Gifts’ Inspiration
This year, as I was decorating our Christmas tree with my family, I was reminiscing about my special collection of piano ornaments that students had given me over my past 18 years of teaching. There is the collection of the very cool White House ornaments that are fun to learn about, various pianos (one is the size of a thimble, up to larger ceramic grand pianos,) and notes, and instruments of every style and color. I came up with the idea of making my own music ornaments that the students could bring out yearly, remembering their piano lessons with me long after they were off to college.

Create your Own Music Ornaments!

So let’s get on with it before that mistletoe wilts!

Supplies: (I found these at Rite Aid Pharmacy)

* Glitter Ornaments (I found them on sale for just $1 for a set of 8 different colors!

* Ornament Hangers Pack of 20 for $1

* Glitter pen (Around $5. I like the ones that dry and look puffy. Get the largest size pens as possible, with the smallest tip for writing)

Just lay out newspaper to protect your table surface, and decorate the ornaments with your favorite music motifs! I think that the ornaments with a treble clef on one side and an 8th note on the other turned out the best. Use contrasting colors! These ornaments can even be given to student that celebrate Hanukkah…just use the light blue balls and gold writing. Some of my students are hanging them on the rear view mirror to their car to drive around with that musical holiday spirit!

Happy Holidays from Wenjen Piano Studios!

www.wenjenpiano.com

Celebrate with a Holiday Music Workshop!

Administrator — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 19:30:30 +0000

Plan a Holiday Workshop

Every year my piano studio takes a brief diversion from the Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms and everyone chooses a non-classical solo or duet piece for the annual Holiday Workshop. Students play Christmas pieces, Hanukkah pieces, or rock and roll pieces for our December workshop. I am always surprised that most of my younger piano students recognize only three or four holiday pieces: Jolly Old St. Nicholas, Deck the Halls, and of course, Jingle Bells. Public schools are now so worried about offending anyone from the various religions, that most school holiday programs now feature music and themes that don’t include Christmas or Hanukkah music! This makes my Holiday Workshop as important as any of my classical piano workshops!

Get everyone involved, including the parents!

During the year, I usually provide two monthly performance workshops a month, with about 25 kids up through middle school into the earlier one, and about 8 high school and adult students into the later one. I bring my entire studio together for the holiday workshop and encourage students to play shorter pieces for this 75 minute program. Students can play solo or duet pieces and if the students or parents play an instrument other than the piano, they can perform on that instrument also! This is a great time to get the musically inclined parents involved in the fun! I’ve had entire family ensembles, with some parents playing the triangle or sleigh bells! This year, one of the parents is going to bring in his mandolin, and my niece that sings like an angel will sing some Les Miserable and Sound of Music songs.

Food Brings Everyone Together

To celebrate the diversity of our piano studio, each family brings a dessert or appetizer from their ethnic background. We are also going to try something new this year with all of the students: A three-piano, 5-hands-ensemble of Heart and Soul, with the students rotating from the secondo to primo part, and rotating to the different pianos, in the style of Victor Borge. It may turn into musical mayhem, but I know that we will get a smile and a laugh from every student and parent as we celebrate the joy of making music together.

Sneak in the Sight Reading

The day after the workshop, the students return to the serious business of preparing for their Certificate of Merit theory, technique, and performance exams. They probably won’t even realize that they’ve all just worked on two weeks of sight reading with their holiday pieces!

Take the time to help the students celebrate the holidays by learning Christmas or Hanukkah pieces, or even Linus and Lucy! Pass on the tradition of Christmas Carols and Hanukkah songs so that the younger generations associate the joy of music with the spirit of the holidays.

Here is a link to some of our favorite holiday piano pieces from Wenjen Piano Studios

Enjoy and Happy Holidays from Wenjen Piano Studios!

Daniel Pollack, Internationally renown pianist gives free recital on Sun. Nov. 11th, 4 pm @ USC

Administrator — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:33:52 +0000

Info: http://web-app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/113/event/873337

RSVP: http://www.usc.edu/dept/pubrel/visionsandvoices/RSVP/reserveGeneral_Multi.php?RSVPEvtCode=132

Piano Piano Extenders, Piano Foot-Pedal Stools; Piano Posture

Administrator — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:18:19 +0000

Why is piano posture so important? It’s important to stress the correct hand and seating position of all piano students. Piano posture can affect more than just the uncomfortable side effects of sitting with poor posture. It affects tone and sound production, and can make it almost impossible for students to create that beautiful, rounded hand position that all teachers work on.

It’s difficult to get the very young students, from ages 3 to 7, to sit correctly at the piano. While adjudicating, I’ve found that most students sit too close to the piano, too far back on the bench (they should be sitting on the front half of the bench,) are used to having their feet dangling off of the bench(although I’ve seen some pretty creative foot stools created out of phone books,) and are slightly leaning backwards instead of forwards. The students’ posture must begin with their feet being flat on the ground or a flat surface, with the help of a piano foot stool. I’ve always kept a number of foot stools at my disposal while teaching, from a higher, padded foot stool, to a low plastic foot stool that I got a for a few dollar at Ikea. However, the best one that I have found that has withstood time and countless adjustments, is the one from http://www.cpsimports.com/foot_pedal_stool.html I like that students can use both the damper pedal and the una corda pedal correctly with this box. My students get an early start on the damper pedal with my Musical Journeys piano method and also with the Faber Piano Adventure series. They love being able to push down their own pedals without having to stand up while playing (which is how most smaller students without foot pedal stools use the damper pedal) or ask their parents to help out!

The older version had a double-latch system, and it looks like the newer one has a roller system that is probably easier for the students to adjust. The other problem with the old foot stool was that there was only one thin strip of padding behind the box, so my piano would get scratched about the pedals. I fixed this by sticking small pads to the back of each metal pedal on the box. It looks like the newer pedal box is now padded on this area. The sale price is $129.99, way down from the $259.99, which is what I probably paid many years ago! While $129.99 is still kind of a steep musical investment, rivaling the cost of the best sounding wood metronomes, it has been a tradition for my piano students to either resell or gift their foot stool to another smaller and younger member of my piano studio, when their own toes can finally touch ground.

Free iphone Ear Training App

Administrator — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:19:56 +0000

Practice your Ear training (intervals, triads and even modes and scales with full version) anywhere for Download the free Ear Training Lite for iPhone Check out this… http://fb.me/FZnn4BYA

Free Shipping on CD’s & DVD’s

Administrator — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:33:05 +0000



SAT Tutoring with Cameron Lee
Administrator — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:15:41 +0000
Start early and get SAT tutoring to boost your SAT scores with help from my former piano student, Cameron Lee.  He was in the 99th percentile on his SAT’s, is patient and is experienced in tutoring.  He has great tips that I continue to pass along to my piano students over the years.  –Noreen
Cameron’s College Consulting SAT/Admissions/Essay Advising

(562) 400-8522

Cameron.Lee@alumni.brown.edu
Brown University Grad 2009

SAT 99th percentile

Former SAT Instructor in Korea
Allowing enough time to prepare for the SAT can be incredibly important in achieving one’s full potential on the test.  While each student is different, most will benefit from beginning preparations at least two months before their scheduled test.
I offer one-on-one, in-home tutoring for the SAT, and have helped students prepare for their first test, or improve their score on their second or third SAT.  One-on-one tutoring allows me to work with each student at his or her own pace, focusing on the areas they need the most help in.  I am also able to offer tutoring at rates significantly lower than the major SAT prep companies.  I really enjoy helping students of all different levels, so don’t hesitate at all to contact me.  I also offer tutoring for school subjects, as well as the ACT.
(562) 400-8522

Cameron.Lee@alumni.brown.edu



Young Writer’s Camp in Los Alamitos at http://wenjenpiano.com/blog
Administrator — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:26:27 +0000
WAA_Summer 2010_Four Camps
My friend Karol, who works in the education field, highly recommends this summer writing camp in Los Alamitos, taught by her daughter’s school teacher.  The camp includes 2nd through 12 grades.  Please click on the link above for the registration brochure.
“I mentioned, Linnea’s stellar teacher (Tracy DeLucca) has a young writer’s camp this summer

and has now added  a session for grades 2 and 3.     The camp is in Los Alamitos

Tracy has been a Literacy Specialist and trained teachers in writing and language arts.

Please pass on the attached to parents who may have an interest.”–
The Write Start (WS):

Incoming 2nd and 3rd Graders

A camp focused on the youngest writers to develop sen-

tence structure, paragraph organization, idea generation,

fluency, dialogue, word choice and conventions. The writ-

ers in this camp will walk away with a solid understanding

of foundational writing skills that can easily be built upon

as they become more developed.



MTAC South Bay Announcement – Beach Cities Symphony Scholarships at http://wenjenpiano.com/blog
Administrator — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 20:53:20 +0000
BEACH CITIES SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES TWO 2010

$500 SCHOLARSHIPS

FOR DESERVING MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS
Do you have, or know of, a middle school music student who could use $500 to further his/her musical studies? If so, please provide the following instructions and application, or direct that student to this BCSA website announcementhttp://BeachCitiesSymphony.org/Scholarship/ScholarshipFlyer.htm.
One $500 scholarship will be awarded to a string player and one $500 scholarship will be awarded to a student playing an orchestral instrument other than strings. The scholarship may be used to pay for music lessons; the purchase, rental, or maintenance of an instrument; or attending a music camp. The student will be given a certificate when the award is announced at the Beach Cities Symphony’s opening concert in Fall 2010.
To be eligible, an applicant must be attending a South Bay public, private, or home school (6th, 7th, or 8th grade) at the time of application. Students of all ability levels will be considered.
Application postmark deadline is Friday, May 28, 2010.
Applications and instructions may be downloaded and reproduced from the BCSA websitehttp://BeachCitiesSymphony.org. Click here for an application.

Click here for scholarship rules and instructions.
Click here and scroll to the bottom for a biography of the 2008 winner Jeff Mohan.

Click here and scroll to the bottom for biographies of the 2009 winners James Chung and Zachary Seligman-Karen.
Beach Cities Symphony Association

P.O. Box 248 • Redondo Beach, CA 90277-0248

(310) 379-9725 • (310) 539-4649

http://BeachCitiesSymphony.org



Piano Studio Policy and Scheduling Piano Lesson Breaks; Summer Break, Spring Break, Holidays at http://wenjenpiano.com/blog
Administrator — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:26:37 +0000
Take a Break: Even the most dedicated piano student or piano teacher needs a few breaks throughout the year to relax, recharge, and come back to the very next lesson with the energy and excitement comparable to the first day of starting lessons or teaching.  I also use this time to spend quality time with my family and to catch up or get ahead on things such as tax preparation, writing recommendations.  Teachers have very different philosophies and preferences in taking holidays and breaks.  Just remember that “all work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy,” a quote from The Shining!
Short Summer Break: Some teachers take off the whole summer.  A pro is that a teacher can book an extended judging event or take a long vacation out of town.  The con is that the students return in the fall forgetting most of what they worked so hard to learn from fall to summer.  It’s virtually back to square one with beginning students.  I tried taking the entire summer off teaching my very first year of teaching, and it was my last year of taking more than a two-week summer break ever again!
Summer Motivation Can Wax and Wane: I’ve talked to a lot of teachers that take summer breaks that say that many of their high school students end up quitting piano lessons over the summer.  They fall out of the habit of practicing and taking lessons, lose motivation, become busier, and drop the lessons, despite having studied piano for as many as ten years!  Remind the high school student that college applications generally don’t care about activities that don’t continue into the high school years.  While it is primarily the private schools and not the U.C. schools that allow high school seniors to list extra-curricular activities on the application form, I’ve found that many of my students enjoy writing about their love of music and playing the piano in their essays, no matter what they plan to study!  I always feel so honored when a high-school senior tells me that they want to continue their piano lessons right up until the week they leave home for college!
Set Summer Goals:   I feel that it’s important to keep the students playing the piano and motivated throughout the summer.  My competitive students perform in the Southwestern Youth Music Festival (SYMF) which is a competition with categories based upon the student’s age and length of study.  My students enjoy participating in both the solo and duet categories, performing with other students in my piano studio.  The event runs at the end of July and first week of August, so students work on polishing their SYMF pieces right after the June recital.  Summer is a great time for all students to work on piano duets, duos, or concertos.
Teach Duets, Piano Duos & Concertos: Many of my students participate in the CAPMT Piano Auditions held in November that requires two solo works and a duet, duo, or concerto movement.  Summer is the perfect time to take on learning a new concerto!  It always amazes me how hard a student will work to get his or her piece learned well enough to play it with the 2nd piano part!
What Works for Me: I try to follow the general school schedule.  I take two weeks off in the summer (the last week of August, first week of September because most families like to sneak in that last vacation before the busy school year begins,) two weeks off in winter, a spring break (which doesn’t line up with all of the schools’ breaks,) and national holidays.   The parents actually appreciate that they can go off on vacation without feeling like they are missing out on their piano lessons.  The students continue to practice during the breaks.  Many of the parents will bring a small keyboard with them on holiday or will seek out hotels that have pianos in them!  Basically, each student will have eight holidays throughout the year.  I compensate for these days by holding 8 or 9 performance workshops monthly during the school year, mandatory for the students, but at no additional charge to the monthly tuition.  The key is to schedule out all of the holidays WAY in advance, and to keep the number of holidays the same for each lesson day.   By fall, I have my calendar for the next 12 months all planned.  This is courteous to the piano students, and makes everyone’s busy lives easier.
Well, after taking my own kids to the park for a play date, lunch, out to a 3D movie, practicing piano with kids to prepare for the workshop on Saturday,  going for a run, emailing students and parents, calling some friends, helping my husband prep for his first photography exhibit, cooking and enjoying a semi-quiet dinner together, finishing bedtime rituals for kids, and working on my blog, I’m officially putting day 1 of my spring break to bed.  See why I need an entire week of spring break?  Stay tuned…