October 23, 2026 (30 min · in-person)

2026-2027 Events

October 17-18, 2026 — Group Classes

December 5-6, 2026 — Group Classes

January 24, 2027 — Performance Class & Guest Artist Workshop

February 27-28, 2027 — Group Classes

April 10-11, 2027 — Group Classes

May 22, 2027 — Student Final Recital

How to Practice

Use the Practice Guide below. It writes your practice down for you, no comments needed.

Tap the first assignment on your list.

The timer starts by itself. Read it and practice.

When you are finished, press Done. It saves your time and opens the next one.

Need to stop for a minute? Press Pause.

Lost? Press My Assignment List at the top to go back.

Log only what you actually did, on the day you did it. Five minutes is a real entry.

Some assignments finish. Those carry a Done for the Week button. Press it when the job is done and the assignment comes off your list.

Need the metronome, a recorder or the Section-Work colors? They are in Practice Tools. Tap one and it opens inside your assignment. Tap Close to put it away.

Log every practice session from today. Official tracking starts Monday, October 19, the Monday after our first group class. Logging now is how we get the kinks out.

🟩 on track · 🟨 needs extra attention · 🟪 didn't get to it at the lesson · 🟥 priority · ⬛️ on hold, don't practice this one · 🟧 mine, not yours

[PRACTICE TOOLS]

Technique

1. 🟩 E-flat major scale, parallel motion, one octave

THIS WEEK: Speed build from 60 to 80.

Speed building: 60 to 80.

  • Open Speed-building in Practice Tools. The speeds are already filled in for you.

  • Start at 60. When one speed feels good, go to the next. If a speed is troublesome, go back one and try again.

  • Always start slow, every session, however confident you feel.

  • You can also stop for the day and start slow again tomorrow.

  • Keep the wrist supported when the thumb tucks under. You have more room than you think, so bring the hand over and let go.

  • Left hand: fingers 5 and 4 want to flare up. Notice it, let it go, keep going. Fixing it mid-scale makes it worse.

Theory

2. 🟧 Celebrate Theory, Preparatory Level (RCM)

  • Mine to bring. I am printing it for the next lesson.

  • Same material Griffin is working through, starting from the beginning.

Musicianship

3. ⬛️ Basic Rhythmic Training (Starer)

  • Still on hold. Nothing to do on this one yet.

4. 🟩 Piano Adventures Sightreading Book, Level 3B (Faber), pages 10 to 15

THIS WEEK: Pages 10 to 15. One a day, plus one or two extra.

NFPER focus: expression.

  • Study it first. Key, time signature, how the rhythms count, the dynamics.

  • Then play it straight through. Keep the beat through every mistake and do not go back to correct anything.

  • Hands in your lap at the end. Decide what to fix, then play it again.

  • Third time through, expression only: dynamics, slurs, accents, staccato, the diminuendos.

  • One or two things at a time is the method. Reading the notes and the expression at once is what you are building toward, not what you start with.

Repertoire

5. 🟩 Bourrée in D minor (Graupner)

THIS WEEK: Choose two or three different ways to play it, commit to each one, then pick your favorite.

NFPER focus: expression.

RCM Level 1, List A.

  • Left Hand Legato for now. The detached, sticky sound comes later, on a different piece.

  • The printed dynamics are an editor's, not Graupner's, so you can choose your own.

  • Commit to one way, play it as if that is the way. Then do a contrasting way and commit to that. Then choose.

  • No ornamentation this week. Dynamics only.

  • The forward motion you are doing on the long notes is right. Subtle is all it needs.

6. 🟧 Please to Meet Me, piano arrangement

  • Mine. I am texting you the notated arrangement we worked out at the lesson.

  • That is the group version, kept sparse the way you play it.

  • We carry on with the dictation at the next lesson. The solo, more embellished version comes after you are confident on this one.

7. ⬛️ The School of Velocity, Op. 299 No. 3 (Czerny)

  • Not yet. Nothing to do on this one until I say so.

Next Time

8. 🟧 Your first improvisation assignments

  • Still mine to bring.

Royal Conservatory, Level 1

Three pieces, one from each list, plus one etude. The Practice Guide shows the same thing at the bottom of your assignment list.

What you have

List A: Bourrée in D minor (Graupner)

What you still need

List B

List C

One etude

Goals This Year

Know your way around a key, so getting lost is recoverable.

Be able to start from any measure, not just the beginning.

One song at a time: a solo arrangement, plus the technique and theory of that same key.

October 16, 2026 (45 min · in-person)

2026-2027 Events

  • October 17-18, 2026 — Group Classes

  • December 5-6, 2026 — Group Classes

  • January 24, 2027 — Performance Class & Guest Artist Workshop

  • February 27-28, 2027 — Group Classes

  • April 10-11, 2027 — Group Classes

  • May 22, 2027 — Student Final Recital

How to Practice

Use the Practice Guide below. It writes your practice down for you, no comments needed.

  • Tap the first assignment on your list.

  • The timer starts by itself. Read it and practice.

  • When you are finished, press Done. It saves your time and opens the next one.

  • Need to stop for a minute? Press Pause.

Lost? Press My Assignment List at the top to go back.

Log only what you actually did, on the day you did it. Five minutes is a real entry.

Some assignments finish. Those carry a Done for the Week button. Press it when the job is done and the assignment comes off your list.

Need the metronome, a recorder or the Section-Work colors? They are in Practice Tools. Tap one and it opens inside your assignment. Tap Close to put it away.

Log every practice session from today. Official tracking starts Monday, October 19, the Monday after our first group class. Logging now is how we get the kinks out.

🟩 on track · 🟨 needs extra attention · 🟪 didn't get to it at the lesson · 🟥 priority · ⬛️ on hold, don't practice this one · 🟧 mine, not yours

[PRACTICE TOOLS]

Technique

1. 🟩 E-flat major scale, parallel motion, one octave

THIS WEEK: Slowly, watching your wrist when the thumb tucks under.

  • The wrist does not drop and does not twist when you tuck the thumb. Keep it supported.

  • It leans very slightly in the direction you are going, and the opposite way coming down.

  • If it looks still and calm while you play, you are doing it right.

  • The fingering in parentheses is an option. You can end on 1 or on 3.

  • This matters at speed, not slowly, which is why we are fixing it now.

2. 🟩 Drop wrist and pop wrist

THIS WEEK: One minute with the right hand, then one minute with the left, up and down the keyboard.

Max 2 minutes.

  • Drop: think of a string pulling your wrist down. Fingers stay hooked and round.

  • Pop: same drop, then come straight off the key. Don't scrape it and don't pull back.

  • On a two-note slur, drop on the first note and pop on the second.

  • Change the finger pairs: 5 and 4, then 4 and 3, then 3 and 2.

  • When there is a note in between the two slurred notes, play it while the wrist is still down.

🎥 Drop wrist https://youtu.be/TSK7ZNAaEHA

[INSERT VIDEO LINK — the pop wrist / drop pop video]

3. 🟩 Forward wrist

THIS WEEK: Learn the movement from the video, then use it on the long notes.

  • It is for notes longer than a quarter note.

  • Stay on the note, bring the wrist up and forward while you hold it, then let go.

  • Never go still on a note. Stillness is what causes tension.

🎥 Forward wrist https://youtu.be/WNpTiDBksxo

Theory

4. 🟧 Your theory packet

  • I am printing you the same theory packet Griffin is working through.

Musicianship

5. ⬛️ Basic Rhythmic Training (Starer)

  • Still on hold. Nothing to do on this one yet.

6. 🟩 Piano Adventures Sightreading Book, Level 3B (Faber)

THIS WEEK: One a day. Play it straight through without stopping.

  • Slow and steady. Keep the beat through every mistake.

  • Do not go back and correct anything while you play.

  • At the end, hands in your lap. Look at it and decide what to fix.

  • Then play it again the same way.

  • One a day is plenty. Two at most.

  • The point is training yourself to move through a mistake instead of reacting to it.

Repertoire

7. 🟩 Bourrée in D minor (Graupner)

THIS WEEK: Right hand alone and left hand alone, with the wrist movements.

NFPER focus: expression, position.

RCM Level 1, List A.

  • Notes and fingering are passed. This week is the wrist movements and the expression.

  • Hands alone until they feel confident, then four-measure chunks.

  • One measure at a time, as slow as you need, so every movement is actually there.

  • No pedal in this style.

  • Single notes with no slur over them are detached. A sticky staccato, not legato.

  • Two-note slurs are drop then pop. Longer notes get the forward wrist.

  • If you get frustrated, stop and ask two questions: am I going too fast, and is the section too big.

8. 🟧 Please to Meet Me, piano arrangement

  • I am writing you a revised arrangement, closer to how I play it on the recording.

  • We start on it at the next lesson and we can adjust it on the spot.

  • Learn the recording version first, then we make changes.

9. ⬛️ The School of Velocity, Op. 299 No. 3 (Czerny)

  • Not yet. Nothing to do on this one until I say so.

Next Time

10. 🟧 Your first improvisation assignments

  • Still mine to bring.

Royal Conservatory, Level 1

Three pieces, one from each list, plus one etude. The Practice Guide shows the same thing at the bottom of your assignment list.

What you have

  • List A: Bourrée in D minor (Graupner)

What you still need

  • List B

  • List C

  • One etude

Goals This Year

  • Know your way around a key, so getting lost is recoverable.

  • Be able to start from any measure, not just the beginning.

  • One song at a time: a solo arrangement, plus the technique and theory of that same key.

October 1, 2026 (45 min · in-person)

2026-2027 Events

  • October 17-18, 2026 — Group Classes

  • December 5-6, 2026 — Group Classes

  • January 24, 2027 — Performance Class & Guest Artist Workshop

  • February 27-28, 2027 — Group Classes

  • April 10-11, 2027 — Group Classes

  • May 22, 2027 — Student Final Recital

How to Practice

Use the Practice Guide below. It logs your practice for you, no comments needed.

  • Press Start from # whatever number it shows. It picks up where you stopped last time.

  • Press Start, read the assignment, practice.

  • When you are finished, press Done.

  • Press Next practice item and go again.

Capped items count down and chime. Keep going if it's going well.

Some assignments finish. Those carry a Done for the Week button. Press it when the job is done and the assignment comes off your list. Technique and repertoire don't have one; those are every day.

Need the metronome, a recorder or the Section-Work colors? They are in Practice Tools. Tap one and it opens inside your assignment. Tap Close to put it away.

Got something to say about an assignment? Paste the line it gives you into the comments and add your note.

Log only what you actually did, on the day you did it. Five minutes is a real entry.

Log every practice session from today. Official tracking starts Monday, October 19, the Monday after our first group class. Logging now is how we get the kinks out.

🟩 on track · 🟨 needs extra attention · 🟪 didn't get to it at the lesson · 🟥 priority · ⬛️ on hold, don't practice this one · 🟧 mine, not yours

[PRACTICE TOOLS]

Technique

1. 🟩 E-flat major scale, parallel motion, one octave

THIS WEEK: Right hand alone, then left hand alone, then hands together.

NFPER focus: notes, fingering.

Practice type: Learning.

  • Three correct in a row, or five correct in total, for each one.

  • Hands together only once right and left are both comfortable.

  • No speed. Play as slow as you need to play it perfectly.

  • Flats are E, A and B. Those three are always flat.

  • Position: play slightly further up on the black keys (toward the fall board).

Theory

2. ⬛️ Theory packets

THIS WEEK: Keep going from where you stopped in Unit 1.

  • Do all the pages in order. The ones that look easy are the ones the later pages lean on.

  • You said the keyboard in groups of twos and threes was the page that landed. That is the map; the rest of the unit uses it.

Musicianship

3. ⬛️ Basic Rhythmic Training (Starer)

THIS WEEK: We did not get to this one.

Repertoire

5. 🟩 Bourrée in D minor (Graupner), mm. 1-4

THIS WEEK: Right hand, then left hand, then hands together. Notes and fingering only.

RCM Level 1, List A

NFPER focus: notes, fingering.

Practice type: Learning.

Brick practice: combine the chunks after one round each.

  • Level 1 Celebration Series, Piano Repertoire.

  • Three correct in a row, or five correct in total.

  • Always play through to the downbeat of the next measure.

  • Position, expression and rhythm are crossed out. Not yet.

  • Two wrong tries in a row means change the approach, not try harder. Walk the fingering through in your mind first, or go slower.

6. 🟩 Bourrée in D minor (Graupner), mm. 5-8

THIS WEEK: Same as mm. 1-4. Right, left, together, notes and fingering.

NFPER focus: notes, fingering.

Practice type: Learning.

  • Three correct in a row, or five correct in total.

7. 🟩 Bourrée in D minor (Graupner), mm. 9-12

THIS WEEK: Same as mm. 1-4. Right, left, together, notes and fingering.

NFPER focus: notes, fingering.

Practice type: Learning.

  • Three correct in a row, or five correct in total.

8. 🟩 Bourrée in D minor (Graupner), mm. 13-16

THIS WEEK: Same as mm. 1-4. Right, left, together, notes and fingering.

NFPER focus: notes, fingering.

Practice type: Learning.

  • Three correct in a row, or five correct in total.

9. 🟩 Please to Meet Me, piano arrangement

THIS WEEK: Play what is written, then pencil in what you would change.

  • From The Phone Booth Sessions, Vol. 1

  • Learn the arrangement as written first, then mark anything you want added or taken away.

  • Left hand crosses over

  • Anything you want to change, you can also record it. Open the recorder inside this assignment, play or say what you want, press Done, then Send to Dustin. A text or a voice memo is fine too.

10. ⬛️ Czerny, School of Velocity, Op. 299 No. 3

  • Not yet. We look at this next lesson.

  • These are short technical studies rather than pieces. They build fluency around the keyboard, which is what you asked for.

Next Time

11. 🟧 Your sight-reading book

  • I'm bringing it.

12. 🟧 Your first improvisation assignments

  • I'll assign which technical patterns to improvise with, inside the arrangement, so it is clear what to do.

Royal Conservatory, Level 1

Three pieces, one from each list, plus one etude. The Practice Guide shows the same thing at the bottom of your assignment list.

What you have

  • List A: Bourrée in D minor (Graupner)

What you still need

  • List B

  • List C

  • One etude

Goals This Year

Know your way around a key, so getting lost is recoverable.

Be able to start from any measure, not just the beginning.

One song at a time: a solo arrangement, plus the technique and theory of that same key.

September 25, 2026 (30 min · in-person)

2026-2027 Events

  • October 17-18, 2026 — Group Classes

  • December 5-6, 2026 — Group Classes

  • January 24, 2027 — Performance Class & Guest Artist Workshop

  • February 27-28, 2027 — Group Classes

  • April 10-11, 2027 — Group Classes

  • May 22, 2027 — Student Final Recital

How to Practice

Use the Practice Guide below. It logs your practice for you — no comments needed.

  1. Press Start from # whatever number it shows. It picks up where you stopped last time.

  2. Press Start, read the assignment, practice.

  3. Tap the kind of practice, then press Done.

  4. Press Next practice item and go again.

Capped items count down and chime. Keep going if it's going well.

Some assignments finish. Those carry a Done for the Week button. Press it when the job is done and the assignment comes off your list. Technique and repertoire don't have one; those are every day.

Need the metronome, a recorder or the NFPER colors? They are in Practice Tools, right under the practice types. Tap one and it opens inside your assignment. Tap Close to put it away.

Got something to say about an assignment? Paste the line it gives you into the comments and add your note.

Log only what you actually did, on the day you did it. Five minutes is a real entry.

Log every practice session from today. The competition starts October 1 — practicing and logging now is how we get the kinks out.

🟩 on track · 🟨 needs extra attention · 🟪 didn't get to it at the lesson · 🟥 priority · ⬛️ on hold, don't practice this one · 🟧 mine, not yours

[PRACTICE TOOLS]

Theory

1. 🟩 Griffin's theory packets

THIS WEEK: Look through all of them and note anything you have to stop and process.

  • Three packets plus the two new ones.

  • Most of it will be easy. What matters is anything that is not immediately accessible.

  • Write down what it was and tell me next lesson.

  • Press Done for the Week when you have been through them.

Musicianship

2. 🟩 Basic Rhythmic Training (Starer)

THIS WEEK: Go through the book until you reach an exercise you are not sure you understand. Tell me the number.

  • The small down-stem notes are the beat. Clap those.

  • The top line is the rhythm. That is your ta.

  • Clap one measure of silence first, then start.

  • Press Done for the Week once you have found your stopping point.

3. 🟩 Practice sessions with Griffin

THIS WEEK: One or two sessions with him this week.

  • Work straight through his Practice Guide. The instructions and videos are in it.

  • When a spot goes wrong three times in a row, stop. Zoom in on that spot, clean it up, then zoom back out and put it in context.

  • With the flashcards: say it on the tick, wrong cards to one pile, right cards to the other, then run the wrong pile again.

  • Tell me next lesson how the material felt to you.

4. 🟩 Classical ideas for your own songs

THIS WEEK: Is this something you may want to explore?

  • Nothing to practice. This is a thinking assignment.

  • You raised Bolero and writing lyrics to the melody line.

  • Press Done for the Week when you have one to tell me.

Next Time

5. 🟧 Your sight-reading book

I am choosing and bringing sight-reading material for you, probably Piano Adventures or the preparatory Celebrate Piano books.

6. 🟧 Your first technique assignment

I am putting this together for you.

7. 🟧 Your first improvisation assignments

I am finding beginning improvisation material for you.