Hi Reader,

I’m back! It’s been about two months since I last sent out an installment of this newsletter - and I know that a bunch of you are new here. So, first off, HELLO! 👋

The time off coincided perfectly with the end of summer and the process of ramping up into the new academic year. I’m learning in my new role as “content creator” to build in some time away from the creation process, to recharge my batteries so that I can come back to you refreshed, with new ideas.

This newsletter started quite modestly, over 10 years ago, as a way to update folks about my upcoming performances and events in my teaching studio, and over time it has grown significantly and morphed into something quite different!

To that end, I decided it was time to freshen things up around here! I chose a new template and designed a BRAND-NEW banner for this newsletter (let me know what you think!).

“Notes from the Piano Prof” will come out every Wednesday morning, and it will include:

• A brief musing about my life as a pianist and professor
• A practice tip, with an action item for YOU, dear reader
• Links to my latest online resources
• Shout-outs to my students
• Upcoming events

My hope with this newsletter is to elevate the profession by providing high-value resources to you, and to give you a glimpse into what the life of a real-world piano professor is like, by sharing the sorts of things I think about in my own teaching, practicing and performing.

It amazes me that we are all united in our shared passion for the piano and its music, and I'm so excited to be on this journey with you!

Happy Practicing! 🎹

-Kate

In every newsletter I share one practice tip based on that month’s practice theme. September’s theme is “Starting a New Piece.”

Today's Practice Tip: Look for Patterns and Repetitions!

When you open the music for a brand new piece for the first time, before you jump in and start playing it, take about 5 minutes to silently study the music. [Pro tip: this involves looking at ALL of the pages, not just page 1!!]

Look for the following things: the overall form of the piece (such as Sonata-Allegro, ABA, Rondo, AABB, etc); where the main themes are and where they repeat; recurring rhythmic patterns and melodic motives. Looking for obvious section breaks and texture changes will help you with this.

This is like looking at the picture of a puzzle before you start to put it together. Not only should you understand WHAT the puzzle will be (balloons? Vienna? monkeys in the zoo?), but you will save time if you also identify the various shades of color in the puzzle so you can already start to tell the different types of blue pieces apart (for example) and not use sky pieces to try to put together the lake or lake pieces to try to put together the sky.

This week’s exercise: For a new piece that you (or your student) are planning to learn, take out your pencil and mark any large-scale patterns and repetitions you see. Look for sections that repeat exactly the same, and also similar motives that may appear in different keys or with slight modifications. Label themes that recur so you can easily recognize them (the typical parlance is to give each theme a letter, i.e., “Theme A,” “Theme B,” but there’s no reason you can’t give them numbers or even a name like Steve or Betty!).

Notice that you are already creating a road map of the piece, and thereby “chunking” the music into cohesive segments by doing this exercise.

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