Dear Friends,

Before we get started, I wanted to let you know that I’m attending the MTNA National Conference next weekend in Minneapolis. If you’re going to be there, let me know—it would be fun to connect!

Lately, I’ve been thinking about structure—the way it gives shape to things, provides a framework, and helps create stability. This week, I’ve noticed it in four seemingly unrelated contexts: musical form, the academic semester, soil, and practicing.

Musical form. One of the first things I do when I start a new piece is look at the form, or structure. I go through the piece and identify the main themes, as well as the important structural moments, such as cadences, high points, and low points. Doing this creates a roadmap for the piece and makes it much easier to learn because each phrase then fits inside the structure that I’ve already mapped out.

The academic semester. I write this on the first day of Spring Break, a pause in the middle of the spring semester. A typical semester is 15 weeks, which means when we return, there are just 7 weeks left before final exams.

My husband (also an academic) and I were joking the other day that our entire calendar year revolves around the structure of the academic schedule, making us live like permanent students. The intensity of the semester gives way to looser, more flexible time during breaks and summers: time to rest, reflect, and tackle projects that require more breathing room.

Soil. This is also the time of year when my garden starts to get into gear. I just started my tomato seeds indoors on heat mats this past weekend. One thing we gardeners think about is soil structure. For plants to grow well, the soil needs to be loose and loamy, not compacted. Here in Indiana, I have spent a fair bit of time amending our garden’s soil structure, to make it less like clay!

Practicing. Learning music at the piano is, in essence, project management. When you learn multiple pieces, you have to structure your practice sessions—making sure you’re covering what needs attention each day while still making forward progress. Without structure, it’s easy to feel lost.

It’s interesting to think about structure in these four contexts: musical form, the academic semester, soil, and practicing. What they all have in common is that structure isn’t restrictive; it’s a foundation that supports learning, growth, and renewal.

And so my question for you this week is: what routines or frameworks (i.e., structures) help you stay on track, whether in music, work, or daily life? Write back and let me know - I love hearing from you!

👋 Have a great week! Happy practicing! 🎹

-Kate

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Practice TIP of the week:

Each week's practice tip follows a monthly theme. This month’s theme is Rhythm & Timing.

In case you missed it, here was last week's tip:
🎵 March 2: Feeling the Pulse​

Today's Practice Tip: Syncing with the Metronome

The metronome is one of the most helpful tools you can use while practicing, but you need to use it strategically. One of the most common mistakes students make with the metronome is turning it on and playing long passages with the metronome in the background.

That is not particularly helpful in the long run, because your goal needs to be to learn how to play with an active and stable internal pulse, and a metronome is just one way of externalizing the pulse.

It can be helpful to re-frame your thoughts about the metronome from a tool that forces you into playing rigidly in time, to a tool that helps you find the places where you are rushing or dragging: in other words, places where you your internal pulse is weaker.

This is why I don’t recommend spending long practice sessions with it clicking on every beat. Instead, here are some strategies to improve your ability to play with the metronome and improve your own sense of rhythm and pulse

1. Listen to the Metronome Like It’s a Chamber Music Partner

Rather than treating the metronome as a rigid timekeeper, think of it as a musician you’re playing with. Train yourself to listen outside of the piano sound—if your note aligns exactly with the metronome click, you’ll barely hear it. If the click sounds slightly out of phase with you, that’s a sign you’re slightly off. Developing this ability to listen to the metronome's beat at the same time you are listening to yourself is a skill of its own that you can get better at with practice.

2. Set the Metronome on Larger Beat Subdivisions

Many people default to setting the metronome to every tiny subdivision of the beat (e.g., a click on every eighth note in a 6/8 piece), reasoning that if they can align every note to a metronome that will make them hear better in the long term.

What is more important than hearing the beat is feeling the beat. Therefore, you need to start relying less and less on the metronome to keep the beat and transfer more and more of that into your own sense of internal time.

This is why setting your metronome to larger beats will help you develop a better sense of pulse.

• In 6/8, set the metronome to dotted quarter notes instead of eighth notes.
• In 4/4, set the metronome to click on half notes instead of quarter notes.

This forces you to internalize the beat between clicks rather than relying on the metronome for every subdivision.

3. Set your Metronome to Click on the Offbeats

Setting the metronome to click on the off-beats will also help you develop your inner pulse. For example:

• In 4/4, have the metronome click on beats 2 and 4 instead of 1 and 3.
• In 3/4, play with the click on beat 3 instead of beat 1.
• In 6/8, set the click to the second half of each measure rather than the downbeats

Bonus Tip: Record Yourself

Some players struggle to hear both their own playing and the metronome at the same time. If you’re not sure whether you’re syncing up, try recording yourself and listening for the click. When you are precisely together with the metronome, the click will disappear into the sound. Are you ahead, behind, or exactly in time?

With creative practice, the metronome can become a tool for freedom rather than restriction, helping you develop an internal pulse that stays rock solid, even when you turn it off.

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💜 Some of My Favorite Things

1. Performance 🎶: Ravel’s 150th birthday was on March 7th! Celebrate with this recording of Le Tombeau de Couperin by Yeol Eum Son—a stunning and tender performance of Ravel’s elegant and expressive tribute to the past.
2. Article 📰: Piano concerto repertoire is so much fun to explore, both as a listener and a performer! I loved this article on The 20 Best Piano Concertos of All Time but, let’s be honest, how can you really rank them? What makes this list great is the fantastic recordings it includes of some of the most beloved works in the repertoire. If you're looking for inspiration (or just an excuse to fall down a piano concerto rabbit hole), this is a great place to start!
3. Metronome 📚: Speaking of metronomes, my favorite metronome is a Seiko Quartz metronome. This is a metronome I use myself and recommend to my students. It has two options for the click sound, it has a sturdy dial, and you can prop it up with its built-in stand. Although I do have a metronome app on my phone, I prefer to put my phone away when I practice and use this metronome. Check out my other gear recommendations here!

🎹 Stay Connected:

• 🎵Come to Butler University's Piano Camp, June 16-20 on Butler's campus in Indianapolis! Open to students ages 12-18 with at least one year of piano study. Learn more and register here!​
• 📆 Book a lesson or a coaching session with me. I have updated my available dates through the end of April!
• 🎓 Contact me to learn about applying to study with me at Butler University at the undergraduate or master's level. You can also see ​Butler University’s audition schedule​ if you are interested in studying with me in Indianapolis. Go Dawgs! 🐾
• 📚 Check out my resource pages, where I share my recommended books, technical exercises, gear and more!
• 🎥 Subscribe to my YouTube channel!
• 📱Follow me on Instagram!