Tag Archives: the nester

Piano and Cowboy Boots

I’m very picky about what shoes I wear to play the piano.

Flats don’t work. Wedges don’t work.

Heels do work, but not too thin of a heel. Not too chunky either. (I’d take chunky over thin, though.)

So, this week I’m faced with a dilemma.

Our church has a special Sunday this Sunday called Fall Festival Day. It’s a day where the service is more casual and somewhat of a western theme.

It’s a day where cowboy(girl) boots are the “in” footwear. And, yes, I do own cowboy boots. And I love them.

My boots

My boots

But I’ve never played the piano in them.

I have played wearing winter boots before, and I didn’t like it. The boots were just below the knee, and when I lifted my foot for the pedal, the boot rubbed against my leg in a very weird way.

I really want to wear my boots. If I don’t wear them, I’m not sure what shoes I would wear.

Decisions, decisions.

What do you think? Would you wear cowboy boots to play the piano? Have you done it before?

This post is part of a series I’m doing this month called “On-the-Go Pianist.” Click here to see all the posts!

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Let the Fun Begin (again)

piano studioI’ve been teaching piano lessons for over 15 years. Now I haven’t taught for 15 years straight, but my teaching still covers a span of 15 years. And I love giving lessons. It’s fun.

For the last year or so, I took a break from teaching lessons; mainly because I got married.

Today, the fun begins (again). Tonight, I’ll start teaching piano again, and I’m very excited and nervous.

Why excited?

Because I love playing the piano. And I love to see young people want to learn to play the piano. I’m excited because teaching piano is a way that I can plant seeds in future church pianists. I won’t be around forever.

Why nervous?

Because I want to do a good job. I want to explain the concepts clearly in a way that the students can learn and want to continue learning. I want to make learning piano and music a fun experience. I want my students to love playing the piano as much as I do.

I want to be successful and help them succeed as well.

So, here we go. All the prep work has been done. Books are ready to be opened and marked in. The house has even been cleaned (thanks to my awesome husband)!

All we have to do now is let the fun begin (again)!

This post is part of a series I’m doing this month called “On-the-Go Pianist.” Click here to see all the posts!

31 Days: On-the-Go Pianist

On-the-Go Pianist

Welcome to On-the-Go Pianist! This will be my page where I list/link my posts for the next 31 days.

I’ll be updating this page each day with the titles and links once they are posted.

Day 1: Intro to On-the-Go Pianist

Day 2: Let the Fun Begin (again)

Day 3: Musical Pop-ups

Day 4: On This Day…25 Years Ago…

Day 5: Friday Fun Fact: Piano Parts

Day 6: Saturdays: Catch Up and Prep Up

Day 7: Sunday Lyrics: Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Day 8: Monday Music Quote: Tolstoy

Day 9: Chinese Food and Piano

Day 10: Piano and Cowboy Boots

Day 11: Musical Pop-ups: Practice Schedules

Day 12: Keeping Piano Lessons Fun

Day 13: Saturday Cartoons

Day 14: Piano and Cowboy Boots: Follow Up

Day 15: Reflections of an Aunt

Day 16: Lesson Preparation: Assignment Sheets

Day 17: Patience and Persistence

Day 18: Sightreading Tips for Rehearsals

Day 19: Friday Fun Fact: Piano Keys

Day 20: Pic of the Day

Day 21: Falling Asleep at the Piano

Day 22: Monday Madness

Day 23: Video: Piano Duet – I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord

Day 24: Payoff of Prepwork

Day 25: Thanksgiving Music – We Gather Together

Day 26: Two Months from Today is Christmas

Day 27: Saturday…Best Laid Plans…

Day 28: Pedaling for Hymns

Day 29: Pic of the Day

Day 30: Piano Teacher Resources: Susan Paradis

Day 31: Missions Conference Music

Day 32: Final Thoughts

Huge thanks to The Nester for hosting this exciting link up party! I’ve never done one before, so I’m even more excited!

Be sure to check out the other 31 Days Bloggers, too!

On-the-Go Pianist: 31 Day Challenge

As the title suggests, I’m trying something for the next 31 days (October). I’m participating in a link-up party with bloggers from all over. The Nester is hosting this little blog-get-together on her site. Anyone who blogs can post their articles about any topic.

Sounds fun, right? Right. And scary.

My sister has her own blog over at Small Steps, Big Picture. She follows lots of blogs where people post about DIY projects, house stuff, marriage, mothering, etc. Then she shares them with me!

She told me about this 31 Days of Blogging and suggested we should both do it. At first I was very hesitant, but I’m not one to back down from a challenge. Plus, when I shared the idea with my husband, he was like “I think you should do it.”

So here we go.

Now, obviously, this blog is about music. So in thinking about what topic I would blog about, the obvious answer was “music.” But…music is a very broad topic. If I was going to blog about something for 31 days in a row, I wanted it to be a little more specific.

Then, it hit me. I could blog about how music/piano affects my everyday life. Let me explain.

I’m a very busy person. (Not saying that other people aren’t busy.) I work a full-time job 40 hours a week. And I love my job. But it has nothing to do with music.

Starting in October, I am going to start giving piano lessons again, after taking a year off after I got married. I will be teaching 3 days a week.

Also, in October, our main pianist at church will be out of town on vacation. Therefore, I get the fun job to fill in – choir, offertory specials, hymns, etc.

Then, to top it all off, I am a wife to my husband and “mother” to 3 fun-loving, attention-hogging dogs. (Even as I’m writing this, my dog is begging for me to pet him.)

Please understand, I’m not complaining. I love what I get to do and be. But, you can see how I figured with all that I have going on, I might as well do a 31 day blog challenge! It’s hard for me to back down from a challenge!

Badge/Button I made for the Link-up Party

Badge/Button I made for the Link-up Party

For the next 31 days, I will be writing about how I experience music, prepare for church music services, teach piano – all from the perspective of “on-the-go”!

If you don’t think my little series will interest you, then that’s fine. But if you do, I think it would be fun to hear your comments and what you experience with music everyday.

If you are joining us from The Nester link-up party, thanks for stopping by! I’m looking forward to this challenge, if nothing more than for the fact of telling my sister everyday, “I did it!”

Here’s to the next 31 days!