11: Learning to Play the Piano
In Episode 11, I talk I talk with friend, musician, and educator, Heather Caporaso about how to get better at playing the piano, the basic structure of a lesson, and teaching in the time of COVID-19 for both beginners and seasoned musicians. She also teaches flute and voice lessons and we touch on all three during the episode.
I'm currently at my parents' house and have access to a piano again. I used to play when I was a kid, but haven't had access to a piano consistently in the past 15 years, so now that I'm here I figured I should take advantage of it. This conversation with Heather inspired me to try structuring my piano playing time as opposed to just diving in and playing whatever I want for an hour. While both are fun, I'm going to try to be more strategic about this than I have been about learning Spanish.
Podcast News:
Episode 11 came together! I liked putting it together in real time with what I'm actually working on right now. Very fun and useful.
Other topics I'm considering are still: how to manage a great team, something to do with career conversations, and raising children in the city. Recommendations for additional topics are welcome!
Self-Improvement of the Week:
I had the opportunity his week to be a part of a formal presentation to a potential client to explain to them why they should hire us to do the work. Such a cool process. I was by far the least experienced person in the room (even though I have 10 years of experienced and am definitely qualified to do this work), so it was cool to hear the folks with more experience than me talk about what works, the best way to word things, and how to navigate tricky situations. One of my major roles during the prep process was to help people setup their cameras with the best lighting and angles. Honestly, some would say it was an equally important role. Looking forward to continue to learn from this amazing group of people that I work with moving forward.
As you can tell from this episode, I've been working on my piano playing. It's never really been a priority of mine, but I do know enough that if a church choir is in a pinch without a musician I can MacGyver my way through a tonal psalm. I hope to one day work up to knowing a few hymns. And Broadway and Disney songs. Mostly Broadway and Disney songs.
Thanks so much for joining me again this week, your support means everything to me.
Useful links:
Erlkönig, The Fairy King, YouTube Video
Bastien Books (Piano Self-Study Suggestion)
Follow Chrystina on Twitter and Instagram @ChrystinaNoel.
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