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The “Merder” Scene: What Happened When I Let Go of My Lesson Plan
Throughout my years as a private piano teacher, I’ve experimented with many forms of lesson planning and preparation. I’ve attended...
Sandy Coursey
Apr 184 min read
41 views
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Invisible Until You Fail: The Unseen Labor of the Accompanist
This is a response to Mrs. George Nussbaum’s “The Art of Accompanying.” Anna May Lowenstein (1883-1973), who wrote under the name Mrs....
Sandy Coursey
Apr 55 min read
400 views
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Piano Mat Graded Activities Guide - Get Your Students Moving!
Designed to be used with a piano mat, these activities help develop key recognition, coordination, and musical understanding through...
Sandy Coursey
Mar 182 min read
3 views
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Top 7 Game Apps for Piano Teachers and Students
Learning piano is an exciting journey, and incorporating music apps can help make it even more engaging for students of all levels and...
Sandy Coursey
Feb 103 min read
32 views
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Is My Child Ready for Piano Lessons? A Guide for Parents
If you have a young, curious child, you might have wondered, Should I sign them up for piano lessons? Maybe you’ve heard about the...
Sandy Coursey
Dec 16, 20244 min read
32 views
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Finding Yourself in the Music: “The Second Ending” Book Review
Michelle Hoffman’s 2023 debut novel, The Second Ending , published by Penguin Random House, introduces the reader (or listener, there’s...
Sandy Coursey
Nov 12, 20243 min read
45 views
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The Price Musicians Pay: When a Healing Art Hurts
Music has the power to lift spirits, heal emotional wounds, and connect us to ourselves and one another. But there’s a paradox…
Sandy Coursey
Oct 10, 20242 min read
9 views
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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…
Sandy Coursey
Feb 23, 20244 min read
47 views
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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...
Sandy Coursey
Jul 15, 20233 min read
196 views
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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...
Sandy Coursey
Sep 12, 20214 min read
67 views
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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
Sandy Coursey
Feb 18, 20212 min read
67 views
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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...
Sandy Coursey
Dec 11, 20204 min read
238 views
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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,...
Sandy Coursey
Oct 23, 20203 min read
133 views
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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
Sandy Coursey
Oct 6, 20203 min read
98 views
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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...
Sandy Coursey
Oct 2, 20203 min read
171 views
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