Blog posts : "General"
50th Anniversary of Apollo 13!
It's a new school year ALREADY!!
I think summer goes by way too fast - it's still summer weather, although I think I feel a bit of fall in the air. And I can hear the Creekview HS Band practicing in the evenings, so that's always a sign that fall football is gearing up.
For school age students: I do think it's a good idea to ease into the fall school schedule, so I am absolutely agreeable to starting students a little after the beginning of school. You see, I am about the most flexible piano teacher you will find. I understand what you parents are working with - sliding schedules, seasonal activities, work schedules...and of course, tight budgets. I think I give you and your child a very good value for your money. I am generous with my time, I accommodate with makeup lessons, and I spend a lot of time preparing for lessons that are basically designed for your child and your child alone, truly a boutique situation. Your child gets my full attention when they are here, and I am not shuffling them in and out on a strict schedule because some store manager says I have to. And I am not assigning them standardized pieces that fit some pre-established curriculum - I assign what I think fits their needs and what I think will inspire them.
For older students: The same goes with your schedules - I know you have a life, and probably each week tends to be different, holidays come along - for me, too! So I just arrange lessons for you week by week, month by month, whatever you need. And yes, I assign you music selected just for you.
I don't post here often, but if you check out my Facebook page, I try to regularly post articles there about the benefits of learning music - there are many: discipline, achievement, actual brain development that applies to other skills, interpersonal skills, etc. And, well, pretty clearly......music is just plain cool.
https://www.facebook.com/WazziStudio/
So please take a look at my website pages, and then go over to Facebook. Give me a call at 404-784-8744 and I promise to get back to you fairly soon - hopefully we can set you up with a lesson time and have some fun exploring music together!
Carol/Ms. Wazzi
Enrolling now for 2017-18 Piano Lessons with Ms. Wazzi
I hope you enjoyed your summer, because, even though it's still summer weather and the calendar says it still is summer, the school year is beginning! It's time to get back to the books - hopefully that means piano books as well, because we all know that taking piano lessons has benefits just like studying the 3 R's (wow, that seriously dates me) does.
There's been a discussion on my piano teacher Facebook groups as to what is the magic number of years for a student to take piano lessons? Meaning, at which point do students have the ability to read music proficiently, and have good accessibility on the keyboard? On an average, I would say it's more like when has a student reached a certain level of expertise. For a student who takes lessons throughout the school year AND practices, I would expect them to reach that level after 4-5 years of study. That would place them at an intermediate level. At that point, they are able to play some of the standard classical composers, and perform them with dynamics and direction. If they walk away from piano at this level, I would expect them to be able to return to their studies in the future without too much loss, or to be able to read through a book of light classicals. But prior to that - I'm afraid it just hasn't sunk in yet, and if they walk away, they won't retain very much. That's a big commitment, I know. But the benefit of having endeavored to learn something that took long-term effort and perseverance is a reward unto itself.
Welcome to WazziStudio!
The calendar year 2017-2018 is quickly approaching, and new students are currently making inquiries about signing up for lessons. So, if you are interested, please call soon or there may not be any openings left!
At this point, my husband and I are working on a design for a new addition with the music studio of my dreams (fingers crossed), and a front entrance and a REAL KITCHEN!!! So my schedule is still restricted to Wednesdays and Thursdays, with makeup lessons on other days as needed. Don't worry, your lessons will still be indoors and not in a storage container in the back yard!! And studio/therapy/cat Charlie will still be here to greet you (and Lilah will maybe peek at you from the stairwell as usual).
So call, text, email soon, even if you can't be sure of your child's after school activities. And I hope they have them, because I do believe in a well-rounded child. I know how challenging that gets during basketball season, during dance recital season, etc. I always try to accommodate because I personally know what you're going through!
I look forward to hearing from you!
Ms. Wazzi
Christmas 2014
As usual, Christmas arrived really fast this year, or at least it seemed so. Maybe it was because our annual recital in the middle of Northpointe Mall took place on the very first weekend in December. (And there was only 1 lesson in between Thanksgiving holidays and the recital!!) But that's OK, it gave us extra lessons in December to enjoy sight-reading Christmas duets, without having to worry about getting them ready for a recital.
I hope everyone enjoys their winter break, and finds lots of fun things to do. AND YOU KNOW I'M ALL ABOUT FUN!! Just try to include a little bit of practice here and there, just to keep your finger skills up, and to keep your brain working. It seems like a number of my students have simultaneously reached that point in their studies where their hands are working independently, say where the R.H is playing a melody with the L.H. playing another melodic line...and this is extremely challenging to the brain. The only way to "jump this hurdle" is to keep working at it, so that at least one hand is on "auto-pilot" so you can concentrate on the other hand - and from measure to measure, that might mean focusing on the R.H., and then on the LH. in another measure. Complicated, I know. Can you feel your brain growing? And a brain with more musical abilities is a brain with more math abilities - with more logic abilities - with more language abilities - and with more creativity.
Thanks for a great 2014, now let's have an even better 2015!!!
Ms. Wazzi
blog post
Well, we are entering week 2 of our "Comedy Tonight" production with Cherokee Theater Company with some hope for a better sound system. The Canton Theater building has a newish surround system that SHOULD provide for some beautiful sound - however it has proven to be so flaky, that we've had to resort to bringing in our own gear. This past weekend the gear was not optimized, we are trying to improve it now. The cast and crew have worked SO hard to make a great show, I want them to have the best sound possible.