Many of the promises made for the New Year have already been broken.  I didn’t actually make a New Year’s resolution, but I did start a new project this month.

Although I have been playing the piano for over 50 years and teaching piano for about 30 years, I still need a teacher to keep me going.  Some time ago my piano mentor, Deanna Ziarko, suggested that I start working on Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# Minor.   First, I just stared at her.  Then I laughed, but eventually she convinced me that I could — and should – try it.

Since we are both busy teaching 6 days of the week, we only have Sunday for my lesson, but the time that we spend on this work stays with me all week.  It is going well and I have such a feeling of accomplishment.  Demanding the practice time of myself also makes me appreciate what my students struggle with.

How is your resolve?  Drop me a line and I’ll put it into this blog.

Thanks for stopping by.  mlt

Happy New Year!  The airwaves, internet and print have been full of suggestions for keeping your resolutions.  It all boils down to small, specific goals.  Rather than say, “I’m going to practice the piano more,” try a small, attainable step. 

Set yourself up to succeed with a resolution to practice for 20 minutes everyday.  Or, change the time that you practice to see if that makes a difference.  Most of my life I practiced piano at the end of the day;  I was amazed at the difference it made to practice first thing in the morning.

Reward yourself with more good things.  Such as: if I practice for 30 minutes, then I can take a quick 10 minute walk.  Of course, practicing any musical instrument incorporates it’s own reward….you get better!

What’s your resolution to improve? Let me know and I’ll post it in an upcoming blog. The movers and shakers of Piano PALS are determined to get more active members.  Keep checking this blog for more information.

Thanks for stopping by.  mlt