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

Binder on the music stand, iPad to the right. That is the setup.

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.

30 minutes a day. At least 100 minutes a week.

Five practice days a week.

Something wrong with the guide? Open the video tool, record yourself explaining it, and press Send to Dustin. It emails me a link straight away.

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.

Official tracking started Monday, October 19.

🟩 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. ⬛️ Theory Unit 7: Triads

Not yet. This is where we left off and we will come back to it.

Musicianship

2. ⬛️ RCM Online Ear Training

Not yet.

3. ⬛️ Rhythm: Basic Rhythmic Training (Newzik)

Not yet.

4. ⬛️ Piano Adventures Sightreading Book, Primer Level (Faber)

We are stopping this one for now and doing more in your Lesson and Musicianship book instead. We left off at pages 9 to 13.

5. 🟨 Note Reading Flashcards, Treble and Bass

THIS WEEK: Pass off drill 5 at 0.5 speed.

🎥 Flash Card Video, Treble & Bass https://youtu.be/bPHgfe9bZ6Q

Drill 5 only. Set the video to 0.5 speed.
Drills 3 and 4 are passed off.
Find the closest landmark instead of counting up from the bottom.
If you are counting more than two notes, you picked the wrong landmark.
One or two wrong is a pass off. That is the target.

6. 🟨 Piano Adventures Sightreading Book, Level 1 (Faber), pages 13 to 17

THIS WEEK: Pages 13 to 17. One piece per practice session.

Study the page first: notes, fingering, rhythm, rests, time signature, clefs.
Then pick a slow tempo and do not stop, no matter what happens.
We need to finish this book.

Repertoire

7. 🟩 Fairy Tale, from Celebrate Piano! Solos 1, page 13

THIS WEEK: Record yourself once, playing through. And then listen back. And mark with an X any places in the piece that have pauses. Then put your music back up on the stand, and spot each of those X areas. Your spot should be 4 beats before the X, and stop 4 beats after the X. Use the Section-Work tool to fix the spot 3 times in a row or 5 times total correctly. Then go on to the next spot, the next X. Once you've finished all X's, record the piece again and mark any other pause areas with an X, and then fix them.

m.m. 60.

Notes and fingering are passed off.
Use a pencil for the X marks so you can erase them.
Put a check mark on each X once you have fixed it, so you know where to pick up next time.
Play through with a steady beat before you record. That is the whole point of the recording.

8. 🟨 FGAB Polka, from Celebrate Piano! Lesson and Musicianship 1A, page 59

THIS WEEK: Practice it with no pauses.

While you are still playing F G A B, think about the next position. That is what stops the pause.
The blue boxes in the book are the places to think ahead.

9. 🟩 Fuzzy Caterpillar, from Celebrate Piano! Lesson and Musicianship 1A, page 62

THIS WEEK: Play it with the metronome at 60, with no pauses.

NFPER focus: rhythm, expression.

m.m. 60.

If you cannot hold 60, turn the metronome off and spot the places where you pause.
Notes and fingering are passed off.
Once the rhythm is steady we play it as a duet at the lesson, with my part underneath yours.

10. 🟪 Flying, from Celebrate Piano! Lesson and Musicianship 1A, page 58

THIS WEEK: Start learning the notes and the fingering.

New this week.
Notes and fingering only. Nothing else yet.

11. ⬛️ New Shoes (Niamath)

Still on hold. We come back to this when you can find middle C on the page quickly. Pass off your other assignments and we start it again.

Goals This Year

Look ahead to the next note, the way you look ahead crossing the street. Eyes stay on the music.

Finish your piece before you get off the bench or look at the audience.

Loud and soft — make a difference.

Speak loudly. Hold still while you speak. Eyes on one or two spots.

Review List

RCM Preparatory A

💚 The Haunted Mouse (List A)

💚 The Juggler (Nancy and Randall Faber) (List A)