Hobbies

I married a bona fide farm boy/nature lover. When I met Dave, he was a grad student in the biology department, and he was teaching Botany. He has always planted things. I love that he has planted trees anywhere we have lived and especially that he is…

I take French lessons remotely with a French teacher. Sometimes when I am practicing my French, I start to hear voices in my mind saying, “I’m never going to get this, why am I even trying?” Perhaps you have had a similar experience while learning your music…

When you have a song or piece that requires some jumping around, for example moving from the D chord to the A chord, or the B chord to E chord in Careless Love on p.91, you can practice by closing your eyes before jumping to the 2nd chord…

Scales. You’re supposed to play them, right? Maybe you feel guilty because you don’t practice them enough – or at all. Or maybe you practice them excessively as an unconscious way to avoid tougher creative challenges. But what’s an appropriate…

Many of us read; some have eclectic tastes. If you’re always open to exploring less-known titles, here’s a list to peruse. Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart My husband and I listened to Shteyngart’s best seller Super Sad True Love Story. He loved it. Me, not so much. That’s how I felt about Our Country […]

Today we revisit the Minuet you played in Lesson 28, but this time we are adding some bass notes to the melody. One of the most difficult things for beginning piano students to learn is that the bar lines between the measures including the repeat bars…

Sustainable gardening is an approach that allows you to cultivate your garden by working in harmony with nature. It involves practices that reduce your environmental impact and make your little piece of the earth a healthier place for plants, wildlife, and yourself…

I am a sucker for a before and after transformation. My dream job would be to flip houses! What is something that you would do if time, money and resources wasn’t an issue? I would be looking for that one diamond in the rough piece…

I lost 55-pounds in my early 40s and figured out how to maintain the loss for 18 years now. I call it a “forever-loss.” That said, one of my most favorite hacks is to make a deal with myself earlier in the morning that I’ll eat a tiny dinner at 6 p.m…

Welcome to lesson 35! Today I discuss simplifying your left-hand chords, and playing with increased expression, in the Barcarole on p.88 of our Upper Hands Piano, BOOK 1. I love the Barcarole on p.88, which is called Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour…