Several years ago I established a tradition for our family. Every Christmas Eve, after we’ve had our evening meal and we’re still gathered around the dining table (a rarity for us to all be at the same table!) we pull out a journal and write the word C H R I S T M A S down the left side. As a family we review the previous year and list highlights that fit the letters. That little journal has become a documented history of our kids as they’ve grown up and has marked some memorable occasions for our family.
I thought I would follow the same format to compile our list of ten things for this episode. Today I am sharing ten podcast highlights from 2020.
Listen to the full episode here
C is for Chats
H is for How We Play Piano with Our Brain
Nicole Douglas joined us in episode 174 to discuss some of her research on underlying issues that our piano kids might be dealing with.
Some people say we play the piano with our hands. Some people say we play with our arms. If you go deeper still, you will see that we play the piano with our brain. So it’s in our best interest to create an environment that works with the brain and not against it.
Nicole’s interview can be heard in episode 174.
R is for Ray - student case study
A couple of years ago, in episode 135, I introduced you to Ray (not his real name), a brand new student in my studio. Since then, I’ve given you updates on how Ray is progressing in his lessons and the things I’m learning as I work with him.
In episode 175, we continue the journey as I share some of Ray’s goals for the upcoming semester.
I is for Intention
Cher Kretz joined us on the podcast to help parents touch base with their kids now that we are several weeks into this crazy school year and to be intentional about setting good vibes in our homes.
Cher is a Solution Focused Mindset Coach, school counselor, and host of the Parenting 2.0 The Focused Mindset podcast. You can listen to her episode at PPP209.
S is for Benjamin Steinhardt
PPP listeners first met Benjamin Steinhardt in our teacher chat about Hanon Exercises (PPP177). I invited him back on the show to dive deeper into his preferred method of piano technique.
He places an emphasis on creativity and exploration in his teaching and incorporates concepts from the Taubman Approach among others.
T is for Ten Things You Should Know About Fur Elise
PPP190 was released on April 27, 2020, two hundred and ten years after Fur Elise was written.
For such a well-known, easily recognized piece of music, there is a lot of mystery behind it. For example, who was Elise??
Listen to the full episode at PPP190.
M is for Marvin Blickenstaff
Marvin Blickenstaff rightly says, “Music is a lot more than playing the right notes and playing the right rhythm. Music is basically expressive sound. The reason for music’s existence is to express who we are as human beings and the feelings that we have as we go through life’s journey.”
Listen to Marvin’s full interview on PPP205.
A is for Analog Activity
You know learning to play the piano is a valuable skill, that’s why you signed your child up for piano lessons. However, you may be having second thoughts about continuing lessons during this pandemic.
Is it really worth all the trouble of online lessons with everything else you’ve got going on?
My answer to you is a solid YES! and I tell you why in episode at PPP188.
S is for 8 Great Smarts
I was so thrilled to host my long-time favorite author and speaker, Dr. Kathy Koch, founder of Celebrate Kids.
In episode 204, Dr. Kathy shared her insight into the many different ways children (and adults) learn and process information. She calls them 8 Great Smarts.
If you’ve heard this episode before, it is definitely worth a re-listen.
! means it's Your Turn!
Merry Christmas
As I mentioned at the top of the episode, this list format was inspired by one of our Davis family traditions. In case you are interested to see our journal, here are a few pictures.
Front Cover
This was just a regular notepad laying around the house, not being used. Now, it’s a family heirloom. It didn’t get the pretty paper cover until last Christmas.
Our First Entry – 2002
The year Tracy was born I got the idea to start this family tradition. Duane and the boys weren’t fully on board at first but they came around. I think they look forward to adding a new page each year a much as I do.
2010
Duane took the handwriting detail this year. Some of these entries would have been easily forgotten but I’m glad we recorded them in our Christmas journal.
Thanks for listening!
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