CyberConservatory

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Musings from the Front Lines No. 6: Alan plays Ballade in E Minor

By: Paul Sheftel June 5, 2019

Not so long ago, Alan began studying piano as an almost total beginner. It is very impressive and gratifying to see his amazing progress. Here's a sample of his playing, captured on my laptop from a Skype session. The piece is Ballade in E Minor...

Musings from the Front Lines No. 5: J-Cool plays Fifths

By: Paul Sheftel May 29, 2019

J-Cool, still waging the battle to find time to achieve both academic excellence in high school and pianistic prowess, manages to eke out enough piano time to conquer the intricacies of Fifths from Declarations of Independence. Declarations of Independence is available both in print (from Carl Fischer...

Musings from the Front Lines No. 4: Karate Person plays The Game by the Rules

By: Paul Sheftel May 8, 2019

Let the truth be known, Karate Person's true identity is Samuel — shown here with his two grandparents, in New York from out of town. Even though his true name is Samuel, we like to call him Karate Person, a name well deserved — he...

Musings from the Front Lines No. 3: Omer – Ballade

By: Paul Sheftel May 1, 2019

Omer chose basketball over piano as a kid, a mistake he corrected when he reached young adulthood. Having mended his ways, he is now working on subtle aspects of piano playing. In this video, you will hear (and see) how beautifully he is able to...

Can I Print CyberConservatory Publications in SuperScore?

By: George F. Litterst April 14, 2019

I occasionally hear this question: Can I Print CyberConservatory publications in SuperScore? The quick answer is: No, but most of them are available in print. Before talking about the availability of printed versions, I would like to provide some context. In my own studio, this question never arises....

Musings from the Front Lines No. 2: Lessons with J Cool

By: Paul Sheftel March 4, 2019

J Cool (not, obviously, his real name) is the student every teacher would love to have. He is bright, outgoing and talented among many other wonderful traits. He is also a teenager -- 13 to be exact. He got accepted into one of the crack...

Musings from the Front Lines No. 1: My Lesson with Jason

By: Paul Sheftel February 26, 2019

Saw “Jason” last week after an absence of several weeks. Jason who is only eight years old has more than a little problem staying focussed. If he loses interest he becomes a drooping vine. A solution that has been: I present him at the beginning...

Give Me Just 0.23 Percent Of Your Time, And I’ll Teach You How To Play The Piano

By: George F. Litterst December 2, 2018

(This article first appeared in the “Random Access” column of the December/January 2016/2017 issue of American Music Teacher.) One of the most contentious issues in American society today is our educational system. The general assumption is that we’re not doing enough to educate our kids or...