Beginnings of Christmas

Christmas time began a couple of weeks ago for me. I have a substantial list of all of the Christmas carols and holiday songs my students want to learn for the season. Now I have to buy, copy, print, and arrange all of these songs for each of them taking note of their respective levels and abilities. All of this has to be done before the middle of October so that they have plenty of time to learn their holiday repertoire. Yes, it's not even Halloween yet and we're already starting on Christmas. Let the games begin. (And may the odds be ever in our favor.)

P.S. I'm sharing this document that I spent the morning putting together. If you haven't seen color music before, you should. It's easy to make, and it's great for pre-readers. This is one of at least two Christmas carols I am going to arrange in color music for my littlest guys so that they too can participate in the Christmas recital this year. I see no reason anyone should be left out of a recital because there are no pieces arranged for their level when color music is so accessible for them and in my power to create.

Teaching Fiasco

My last piano student of the night dropped one of her books in the gutter outside our house as she was putting them in the car. Her mom and I tried to fish it out by laying on the sidewalk and lowering various makeshift implements attached to the end of a broomhandle down under the grate including tongs and a metal skewer. Amidst side-splitting laughter, we resorted to attaching duct tape sticky side out to the top of the broom handle. She watched while I jabbed one of the pages with the taped handle and tried to lift the book, successfully tearing the page out. Luckily it was the page my student had to practice this week because we never did get the book out. In a last ditch effort we tried to scoot the book onto a shovel with the end of the broom handle, closing the book. Glancing at the front of the book, I read the title in bold lettering, "My First Piano Adventure."