Teaching Piano with a Nintendo DSi?

Yup - that little game system can indeed be a useful tool when teaching piano. It has several advantages - it's cheap, relatively speaking, is easy to use, and the "wow" factor is pretty high (thereby making YOU more interesting to your students, which is a great motivator).


More details in the coming weeks!

Keyboards vs. Pianos - the difference?

What's the Difference - from teaching, learning, and Musician's perspective? Some semi-random thoughts.

1. There's nothing like playing a well-maintained concert grand. NOTHING.
2. But few people have access to a concert grand, much less a well-maintained one.
3. The new Roland V-Piano is supposed to come close, though. At roughly $6,000 it's a lot cheaper than a quality grand, but you're going to have to invest in some amps and speakers.
4. Keyboards/Synths give me capabilities that a piano doesn't - different sounds, etc.
5. I play a Piano and a Keyboard differently - even when the keyboard has a great action (like my Roland RD-700 sx).
6. I'd suggest learning the Piano, and integrating the "keyboard" part of it as a part of the process. To play keys you need to learn how to work your buttons, how to change what you play depending on the sound you're using, and how to improvise a part while looking at a chord chart.
7. Best way to learn how to change your touch? CLASSICAL PIANO music! (especially Classical, Baroque, and Romantic eras).
8. To Comp (i.e. accompany) you need to know your chords and scales. Those are the tools that let you combine bits and pieces into something interesting that fits the song.
9. This is true regardless of the style - rock, jazz, pop, urban, country, world.......
10. You still have to practice - every day is best.

The MacMusicGuy

Is it important for a teacher to perform?

If you want to be able to teach beyond a certain level, yes.

You can't walk a student through a process that you haven't gone through yourself.

If you've never had the frustration of hitting a wall with a piece, or had a bad case of nerves before a performance, or had equipment go down in the middle of a set, or had to deal with lights in your eyes and still try to play - you can't help a student deal with those issues.

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Here I am onstage with the Joey Stuckey Band in Eatonton, where we recently performed at their new arts center (a very nice facility).That's Joey's Roland RS-9 keyboard I'm playing.

Having the ability to play not only classical (I accompany the Macon State Choir, and will be accompanying Rebecca Lanning, a soprano, in in recital at Georgia Southwestern in November) but also church stuff, jazz, and rock gives me a perspective on performing that I can share with my students - and gives me a flexibility to teach not only in a traditional classical vein, but also pop/rock/jazz improv, and even keyboard programming.