Neihouse Piano Studio

06/14/2023

This past Saturday, my student, Piper, played at the Manhattan Area Music Teachers Honor Recital. She performed The Wild Rider by Robert Schumann and played it so beautifully! One of my colleagues seated next to me commented on how good her staccato technique is and I agree! It was a wonderful performance, and I was a very proud piano teacher! Brava, Piper!

04/25/2023

I had four students participate in the Kansas Music Teachers Association Music Progressions program this past weekend. The program consists of Levels 1-10 in which students perform two pieces, learn other skills such as scales, chord progressions, and intervals. In addition, they take both listening and theory tests. It's a really intense program with a lot of preparation for both student and teacher! They all worked very hard to prepare and I'm very pleased with how hard they worked and how well they did on Saturday!

11/02/2022

I recently viewed this TED Talk presented by Benjamin Zander, conductor, pianist, and author of The Art of Possibility . I found it very interesting and funny! One of my students I shared it with really enjoyed it and learned a lot from it too. Even if you think you don't like classical music, you might be surprised how you feel after learning more about it. It's definitely worth the 20 minute watch!

Visit http://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.Benjamin Zander has two in...

10/29/2022

This is a great visual for how playing piano requires use from many sections of the brain! Would you like a cognitive boost? Why not sign up for piano lessons? It's never too late to start, even for older adults! https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/instruments/piano/helps-brain-body-graphic/?fbclid=IwAR3LsRErr7ui0KsIeWvvpGpTKgYKavSJkCfrIk6NkJJNxWQPrQTiKkv0m_E

The emotional, cognitive and physical benefits of music-making – in one helpful infographic.

10/27/2022

Every piano student and teacher has either said or heard (or both), "I played it much better just a little while ago!" So why is it that we buckle under pressure? This is a great article showing proof of why the memorization process should start considerably earlier in the learning process than we think. I know I will be changing my timeline for memorizing, both for myself and my students!

I took piano lessons for several years as a child. But I didn’t get very far because I had a rather peculiar approach to learning. Due to my principled objection to the existence of other clefs, I never actually learned bass clef. Anytime I got a new piece, I just memorized the left hand, and play...

10/27/2022

Are you interested in studying piano or have a child interested in piano lessons? I currently have openings for my online studio! I accept students ages 5 and up (including adults). If you would like more information or have questions, please message me or email at [email protected].

07/12/2021

I found this week's blog from The Bulletproof Musician very interesting. I will definitely start incorporating mini-breaks into my practice now and encourage my students to do the same.

Subscribe to the weekly 'audio edition' via iTunes I took piano lessons for many of my childhood years. And though there was never any question that violin was my main instrument, there were quite a few things about the piano that I really liked. I mean, not having to worry about intonation was frea...

05/07/2021

Adam was also excited to perform and chose a traditional song he worked on a few weeks ago during his lessons to play for the talent show. This is his second time performing in public since starting lessons, but he didn't seem to mind there was an even bigger crowd this time!

05/07/2021

Eli was super excited to perform! So much so, I didn't get started recording soon enough. 😃 Eli jumped ahead in his lesson book to learn this song and he loves it!

05/07/2021

Carlee played and sang a summertime favorite. It is hard for a young piano student to learn how to play a song, but playing and singing it at the same time is much more difficult! Carlee played and sang beautifully!

05/07/2021

Yesterday, my children's elementary school held an outdoor music concert and talent show. Three of my students played as part of the talent show. Way to go Eli, Adam, and Carlee! You did an amazing job playing in front of that many people! Also at the concert yesterday, my student, Piper, was awarded the Outstanding Leader of the Year award for Honor Choir. Congratulations, Piper on this tremendous honor! I'm so thankful to Mrs. Valerie Fanning for her work with these kids in the classroom. She is a fantastic teacher and mentor for their multi-faceted musical pursuits. Bravo to all! (See later posts for student videos.)