Blog | Sandra Jean Coursey

Student Apathy isn’t Arbitrary, Your Expectations Are

"Why don’t these kids care like they used to?" It’s a grievance often commiserated by teachers, justified in their frustrations…

Dear Classical Musicians, What's the Hurry?

You’ve just been assigned a brand-new piece of repertoire, and you’re excited to get started on it, so you open up Youtube. You search...

The Grandmother of Electronic Music (You Didn’t Know You Had)

Else Marie Pade (1924-2016) was a Danish composer, pianist, and the first Danish composer to write electronic music in 1954. During her...

Portraits in Jazz: A Pedagogical Approach to Jazz Piano

A pioneer for women in jazz, Dr. Valerie Capers is a pianist and composer that has the ability to inspired advanced and beginner pianists al

I Don’t Care How Much You Practice

The classical music world is often littered with the idea that the more time spent practicing equals a more dedicated, and therefore...

Including Female Representation in Beginner Piano Pedagogy: A Guide for Teachers

In my last post, I discussed the issue of white male supremacy in beginner classical music education. It is easy to acknowledge an issue,...

The “Great” Composers: How Their Legacy Hinders A New Generation of Musicians

Only white men can become successful composers and musicians. This is the message that is sent to my students, through classical method book

How Making Mistakes Set Me Free: Experiences on the Other Side of Perfection

I found myself stuck inside a shell. As a pianist, this shell was made of a fear of failure, of a mistake, and the constant pressure that...

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