Me Time: A lesson in listening
I recently went on a retreat for contemplative prayer and I was greeted with anxiety, nervousness, awe and finally a window of what peace could really feel like. The challenge with contemplative prayer...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Anything but Katy Perry
When I ask my students to choose a song to sing, I preface it with "You can sing anything ... but Katy Perry " and here's why.... I'll be the first one to admit that I cannot resist a good and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Me Time: The Importance of Stretching
My yoga poses are never this elegant, but it's the thought that counts right? Not only did I go to yoga class today but I've reflected on ways in which I'm stretching myself and how that's...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I Repeat "Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal"
I was listening to a podcast the other day about innovation. How originality is scarce, if even at all relative to invetion. The concept is both simple and complex, as many things are. The jist being...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review : B/J On The Run Tour
I left the concert early with sore feet and very mixed feelings. I've seen Beyonce before and let me just say that yes I too bow down to The Queen and I attest to the slogan Don't worry Be-Yoncé. But...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Me Time: Is Planning a Path Possible?
I was kind of thrown off when I heard someone talk about an experience that unveiled their path infront of them. It wasn't just a path, but their path. This spiked my curiosity, because I often...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Enneagram
I've heard a few people talk about The Enneagram, especially on the Relevant Magazine Podcast. I've always been very interested in qualified personality tests. I just think they are fascinating and can...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review : 12 Angry Men | 1 Amazed Olivia
Last night I went on a double date to see the play Tweleve Angry Men at the SoulPepper Theater in Toronto's Distillery District. Was I ever pleasently surprised!!! I'll admit that it's been a while...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Improvisation | The Rain Game
One of the games I love to play with my students a few months and sometimes weeks into their lesson is the 'The Rain Game', which I may have explained earlier . This uses the F# pentatonic scale (all...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Teaching Time | From Fractions to Odd Meter Rhythms.
Yesterday's piano lesson was a lot of fun! I taught 7 year old S about fractions while we were playing music. I had noticed that this spunky little girl was really good at patterns. I was teaching her...
View ArticleStudio and Life Update | A Major Blog-post
A lot has happened since I last wrote and there has been some amazing highs and some scary low moments but I'm here, I'm home, I'm safe. I have a full belly and just laughed the night away with my best...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How I Got Here | Millie
I recieved an email from my first music teacher today and it brought tears to my eyes. There isn't really an occasion when her name in my inbox doesn't warm my heart and send me spiraling down the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Me Time | Surviving the Semester
I remember this time last year really well. At one point as I sat poised with my study notes, I also ate half a cup of chocolate covered espresso beans. I then spent the latter half of the night in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Me a Student | I am Here and I have Opinions!
This is the more daunting semester. Everyone is sick, it's dark out around 4:30 and I'm commuting with the fear of hit and miss storms. I'm constantly checking the weather, taking vitaC before bed and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review | Into The Woods
Rating : ✰ ✰ I was really excited to see this movie... it had a lot of things I'm generally interested it. Meryl Streep with blue hair, fairytales and it's a musical!!. I went in cold not knowing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Teaching Time | Music is a Gift
At the end of this teaching week I've never been greeted by something so firmly. Something that made me leave my studio lamenting. Wrapped in itself, what greeted me at the end of my teaching...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Getting Sick and Shutting it Down
When you're working with children, or taking transit or going to school (all things I do) you are bound to get sick. Personally I've been recovering from an immune system that was MIA for 2.5...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Pros of Being Curvy Part 1 : WORK
If we've met, than you know that I am anything but slender. My body is soft, malleable, warm and curvy. At long distances, I am an easily identifyable woman and this is something...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What did you learn today ?
This is usually how I start my after-school lessons. I try to prompt kids into being my secret field researchers of the private and Catholic school systems. Luckily, I was pretty present during my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
More Money, More Problems ? Why paying me is not a form of charity...
Prepare for the shocking announcement : I teach becuase I love music, I teach because I love children, I teach because I think that I can make a difference, I also teach to make money. Having a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Shut Up & Sing
Yes, I love the Dixie Chicks. I have very fond memories listening to their CDs in my mom's bright blue truck on a warm summer afternoon. Or on rainy days driving to my voice lesson and chatting with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ketching-Up
Woah. It's been a while. Between finishing the semester, performing my recital, teaching, beginning a new job and my website being hijacked a lot has happened. I feel more driven than ever to...
View ArticleStay Humble, Work Hard, Be Kind
So I registered for a course called "Independant Study" for the fall at the universityl. I would officially start this course 2nd semester but I'm researching topics and ideas now. Here's a list of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
To-Do List : Studio Edition
Have you ever felt like you have that laundry list of things that needs to get done, but it's never at the forefront of your mind? For some reason, even the thought of writing down all the things that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The difference between 'Network' & 'Community'.
I'm having a hard time right now realizing the differences that I've failed to notice between a network and a community. network : a group or system of interconnected people or things. community: a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Method Books: A Young Singer's Journey
As a private music teacher I think it is so important to find the right book for each student. I really don't think there is one ultimate route of material that each student should do and it's...
View ArticleClik here to view.
August RCM Exams
My studio is feeling very empty. It's August and I consider myself lucky to have the students that I do have still with me- it feels like it's been a very drawn out summer, at least for me. I have a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
"Hate is a strong word" : A Note on Siblings and Sharing.
I have mentioned before that I have an older sister, and while people might say we look a like (even sound alike *insert eyeroll here*) we are very, very different. When I think back to our experiences...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Woes of Admin : Being 'On Call'
When I was in college, before I started University, I was told that the way the music scene worked "back in the day" was that if you worked hard enough to make the right impressions with the right...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Method Books: Alfred's Music for Little Mozarts
This publication has been changing the pace of my lessons and has been blowing me out of the water! I have been searching all year for a method book that began for pre-readers and kindergarten aged...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Me Time: Little Miss Stressball
There's a lot to be said for owning your own business and declaring yourself captain. The marker of a seasoned captain is that even in times of trouble, they steady their emotions and make the best,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I'm.... BOOKED!?
I just scheduled 3 new students today, which is rounding out my total to 18 students. September is just flying by and I'm exhausted, excited and can't wait to dig in a bit more. I'm teaching Mondays...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Teaching Tools : Positive Competition
I have a few students who would be very successful economists; they're all about incentive. It's amazing what the promise of stickers will do for a 5 year old, but when they're 7 or 8 that's old...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Me Time: Packing Patience
A parent commented after a lesson yesterday that I must know how to pack my patience. I was working with her three-year old who is wide eyed and bushy-tailed about piano. His ability to focus, to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Magic of October
There is nothing quite like the season of fall; that rapid sense of change that carries us through this month seems to keep me calm. The burst of cool air seems to quiet down my thoughts, the colours...
View ArticleClik here to view.
"Where's your mom?"
It was the last lesson of the day on Saturday and I had found my second teaching wind, which I was super grateful with little ones coming. Since lessons take place in my home studio, I think it's...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Pros of Being Curvy Part 2: Play!
I first started talking about my curves in early 2015, as a topic of pride and identity. If you're curious to know how I feel about being a curvy working lady, click here! Over there I write about how...
View ArticleClik here to view.
T is for Teaching... and Tunics!!!
There is something so comforting about wearing a tunic! I feel professional and feminine, I can dress up or down, I can wear tights or jeans.... it's just the perfect thing to wear. I started...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Piano By Numbers? Nay Nay
Piano by numbers is a cheap and easy way of teaching piano, which ultimately ends in confusion and frustration. That's right people, just say "no" to piano by numbers ('nay nay' will also do). Piano...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My First Studio Recital!
Yes! We did it! I hosted my very first studio recital this past Sunday November 14th at a local church. It wasn't fancy, it wasn't glamorous but it was beautiful! 10 of my 21 students were invited...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Oprah Hug : Boundaries
I feel like there hasn't been a more opportune time to discuss boundaries on my site. It is becoming more and more prevalent that not only are boundaries confusing, but they are also a factor that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It's not me, it's YouTube
When I was in high school I posted videos frequently to YouTube. It was a weird thing at the time to record yourself and in my case I was using the webcam from my little white macbook. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
December 2015
It's December already! I've just finished my final exams and I'm finally able to decompress, destress and enjoy the season. There's something that feels a little less magical for me this December -...
View ArticleClik here to view.
So you're going to be an Artist?
Being an artist may not be everyone's go-to identity. For me, I recognized myself as a broad brush artist before I recognized myself as a musician. Being an artist meant living a life of creativity,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Teaching "Resolutions" for 2016
There is no doubt that people in general struggle with keeping their resolutions. It's a popular fact that as humans, we long to better ourselves, but rarely muster whatever we need to keep our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Curriculum Corner : All About Accidentals!
The last two weeks have been really interesting for me as so many of my students are progressing towards the same material. This is giving me a chance to discover how one concept can be explained...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Teacher's Plight : Why Teaching is Not A Back-up Career
Illustration by Kathrin Honesta It is true that I came upon teaching in an unorthodox way. I didn't have dreams of my own classroom as a child or even a teen, and the idea of being around children...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How To Encourage Practicing!
William Merritt Chase - The Keynote, 1915 I'm often asked how parents can facilitate practicing at home, when I am not there. This seems especially troubling if the child in question isn't...
View ArticleClik here to view.
F is for February... and so much more!
I don't think I'm the only one who felt it; January was the month that just wouldn't end. As I've previously written, I love the beginning of the year. I love making resolutions, fresh...
View ArticleClik here to view.
February Favourites
February was a great transition month, and like I previously posted it was a great month for settling in and refocusing. Here are some of the highlights I'd like to share : 1) Recorder! This funky...
View Article