Pre-Reading LDS Primary Songs

Have you seen all of Susan’s wonderful pre-reading songs?  I have used these with so many students, and they have all been well-loved.  Following in her example, I have done up some LDS children’s Primary songs into a pre-reading format.  I have versions with finger numbers and letter names.  So far I only done 8 songs, [...]

“Piano is Fun” Computer Game Chart

Since so many students are naturally competitive, I made a chart to track their progress on the Piano is Fun note naming game.  Students are not competing against anyone, but it sure does motivate them to do the lessons so they can get a sticker on the square.  This chart will print on 2 pages of paper, and [...]

Fun Game Ideas

Megan, a piano pedagogy master’s student at Wichita State University, shared some fantastic games. I am excited to try these with my students. Review Cube: I made a giant dice by wrapping a styrofoam cube in paper. For each class I teach, I make 6 cards with the concepts we worked on in that class [...]

Music Certificates

I had my recital a couple of weeks ago, and wanted to hand out certificates to my students. Unfortunately, the ones I wanted were back-ordered, and would not get to me before the recital date. So, with some help from my trusty computer, I made these up. I printed them on Staples matte finish double-sided [...]

Recital Program Templates

Since this is a busy time of year for so many music teachers, I thought it might be helpful to post a few of the recital programs I have used in the past. They are done in Microsoft Word, and all you need to do is type your information in over the sample text. Feel [...]

Look What I Did!

On Saturday, Feb. 23 I was at the local high school for a piano rehearsal.  On the way to the car I stepped wrong off a curb, twisted my knee, heard a loud crack, and was down on the pavement.  Seeing as how my leg was at an unnatural angle, and it hurt something fierce [...]

More Simplified LDS Primary Songs

The list keeps on growig, and now there are over 30 simplified LDS Primary songs.  You can find them at my Primary Page.  If there is a song that you would like me to do, drop me an e-mail, and I’ll see what I can do.  Happy Playing!

Favorite Programs and Fonts for Creating Games

A question I get asked a lot is how do I make all of these materials? What programs do I use, and where do I find the notation fonts? Well, I will divulge my secrets. Not that they are anything extraordinary at all. My mainstay for everything is Microsoft Publisher. I use it for everything. [...]

New Website Format

In an attempt to better organize the games and resources, I’ve decided to go to a blog format. Hopefully it will be easier to get around and find ideas to help you in your music teaching. Games are now categorized, and there is also a search function to quickly find specific files. You can also [...]

Simplified LDS Primary Songs

Each year, children in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) learn songs for a presentation given to the congregation in the Fall. I have taken the songs for next year and arranged them for Primer/Level 1 students. You can find them at my Primary Page, as well as a few other [...]