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How To Talk So Kids Will Practice

How To Talk So Kids Will Practice Just about everyone I’ve talked to has a challenge with getting their kids to practice.  I too had this issue.   When my son Alejandro was young, not only was I the parent, but also the teacher. It was very challenging and we would often end our lessons […]

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What is the real reason we send our kids to college?

What if we could be limitless?   What would you do if you knew you could not fail?     What projects would you work on?  Where would you go? Would you still be doing the work you do now?   In the film Limitless, a pill gives one human the power of all knowledge, and […]

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Photos and Videos from Spring 2019 Recital Concerts

We had a fabulous set of recital concerts on June 8, 2019. Just over 60 of our students performed. It was a fantastic celebration of all the hard work, focus and practice of life skills through music. Here’s some photo highlights. Photos by Miles Schiff Stein And you can see videos here.

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Winter Recital Concerts

You can see the joy on their faces and it’s awesome! Excitement is building for the two Winter Recital Concerts coming next week. It’s a massive undertaking to produce these concerts and I appreciate your support. Here’s some reminder details. Date Time and Location Where: St. Francis Xavier church – corner 6th Ave and Carroll […]

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Announcements Blog

Photos from our Holiday Party / Music Salon 2018

Each year, I host a Holiday Party and Music Salon for our music students at one of our student’s homes. It’s a great way for our youngest and shyest to get over their fears of performing in front of others. And every year it gets better. It also gives a chance for new friendships to […]

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Is it too early for my child to learn piano?

Is it too early to start music lessons? The best part of our curriculum, the Musicolor Method®, is that it enables children 4 to 6 year olds to start exploring their natural curiosity and passion for music.  Most music schools and private teachers will not accept children under the age of 7 or 8. We […]

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Blog Teaching Methods

This is why you should not learn to read music first

Should All Music Students Learn to Read Music? As a music teacher, I’m often asked about reading music.  Some parents want to know,”Will my child learn to read music?”  These are usually parents who have had musical training and see the benefits of being able to read music from the last 1000 years of music […]

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Can special needs children learn to play an instrument?

Music lessons for special needs children? If you ask the average music teacher about special needs children as students, you may get a blank stare. There isn’t much literature focused on this. Children with special needs may include those with learning disabilities, developmental issues, as well as those on the Autism spectrum. At Park Slope Music Lessons, […]

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This is the instrument every music student should start with

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Why I want my student’s “desk” as big as possible

Did you ever go to a library or coffee shop just to have a bigger desktop?  There’s something so spacious and freeing about just having more physical workspace right in front of you. Last week, I visited several co-working spaces in New York City just for that reason. Having a bigger desktop is incredibly freeing. […]

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Piano Is Fun! When You Have The Right Teacher.

Do you believe in music? Music is one of the most fun & effective ways to transfer skills necessary to be a successful, contributing, compassionate human being. Jobs of the future depend on your child’s ability to think.  Because, when the robots come, and they are coming, we all need to be able to think, […]

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Music education instills compassionate confidence

I believe music education is vitally important as it teaches one of the most important skills of childhood…confidence.  But it’s not the egotistical, brash arrogance posing as confidence that is plaguing our society. Rather, we parents want our kids to be a clear channel for intuition and spirit developed by learning the laws of the […]

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Ukulele for kids: what size should I get?

There are several sizes of Ukulele.  This instrument, from Hawaii, has had a major resurgence in the last decade or so. (If you’ve never heard of Jake Shimabukuro – just google him now.) And why not?  It’s so fun!  And portable! Plus you can get a really nice one for less than $100. The four most […]

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Recital Awesome-ness January 2017

Wow, what a great set of concerts we had on Saturday! Life Skills It’s truly amazing to see what our kids can accomplish with some directed focus, guidance and perseverance. These skills translate into wonderful life success skills and you may already notice them surfacing in areas like school, sports and homework. But, I think […]

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Winter Music Recital at Park Slope Library January 28, 2017

Tomorrow is our big day. We have two concerts scheduled at the Park Slope Library at 9th street and 6th Avenue. 11:30 am 2:15pm As we have grown, we’ve had to create two separate concerts as the auditorium would not fit us.  Plus, I’m afraid of tiring out our audience with multiple renditions of Hot […]

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Music Lesson Teaching Methods

What will my child learn in their first piano lesson?

When you’re searching for a music teacher for your child, you want to get a feel for the teacher.  What is a lesson like?  What’s their philosophy?  What can I expect? We have taught hundreds of kids in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn over the last decade.  The secret to our success is in […]

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What makes our preschool piano lessons better?

Our preschool piano lessons are virtually unmatched.  Most teachers will not accept a student until 7 or 8 years old. Why is that? There is a gap in most music curriculums that do not cover the pre-literate preschool aged child. The curriculum we use with our young preschool students is what makes us stand out.  […]

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How old should my child be for private music lessons?

As parents, we want the best for our children and we are usually anxious about getting it right.  Here in Park Slope, we all know the competition for preschool, day care and elementary schools begins at birth! You can usually get a sense of your child’s interest in music by around the age of 2 […]

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Video Welcome To Park Slope Music Lessons

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Inside a music lesson – it’s more than just sitting on the piano bench

Our music lessons are fun! We not only want our students to learn how to play songs.  We also want them to understand the concepts of music theory which make it easier to transfer to other instruments.  Many of our students have started at the keyboard and then added other instruments like ukulele, guitar, recorder, […]