lessons
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Are we finished now?
I finished teaching and put the piano lid down. Wookie’s head popped out. “Are we finished now?” ☺️ Continue reading
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First theory exam! Woo hoo!
Congratulations to my student D who sat her first online music theory exam with AMEB recently and passed with Honours! The certificate came in the post and she was keen to show me. Yay! 🎉 Well done practising transposition, learning the pattern of a major scale (tone tone semitone…) key signatures, and being grilled over… Continue reading
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Is that a cheat sheet stuck on the piano?
A mum of three students got a new iPad stand so I had a great view of the kids when I called in. It’s a perfect view. I have a big iPad and it feels like I’m looking in from a window perched right on the edge of their piano. What’s that I see? A… Continue reading
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Theory Lessons in the car
I FaceTimed a student tonight for her theory lesson, and she took the call in the back of the car, wrapped in a blanket with her theory book on her knees. “We had to go out but I didn’t want to miss my lesson”, she said. How good is that? Continue reading
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Go The Mighty Little Beale!
I got a text message this morning from Hanna, mother of my students Eloise, Wyatt and Jakob. The piano tuner was in and said the piano is well looked after, in tune and is fantastic quality to keep its condition so well! He said he doesn’t get to say that too often and that it’s… Continue reading
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The Grande Dame arrives
Last week I wrote about my Beale going to a new home. Well that sure did happen and I was texting photos like this to Hanna saying, “They’re taking it now!” Later, she sent back… I’ve said before that buying the Beale felt like putting down roots in Australia – I wouldn’t buy an acoustic… Continue reading
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My Beale is going to a new home ❤️
Buying my little Bijou Beale piano in 2017 symbolised a commitment to making roots in Australia. She was made in 1951, had a lot of TLC and I loved playing her. She’s going to a new home in Logan Village with some lovely people I know. Next time I see her will be via Zoom… Continue reading
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Brahms’ Lullaby for Molly
[A note to add that this is not my original idea. Most beginner piano books start this way, although they soon move to the stave (notes on lines) and introduce chords. This does not suit Molly. I hope, by staying with this pictorial form, she will be able to play simplified versions of songs she… Continue reading
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Adding the bridge to Ode To Joy
Last week M’s lesson was the first part of Ode To Joy – described in Ode To Joy For My Special Girl which she played with her preferred left hand. She was really pleased about it! Today’s she is getting the middle bit. I drew lavender to show it’s different, before returning to the main… Continue reading
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Ode To Joy for my special girl
I drew something for my special girl M. She needs really big notation without manuscript lines and we’ve already gone through a few Primer level books, so I’ve been drawing notation for her with watercolour pencils. I ask her about her life and then use her words to make a song about her breakfast or… Continue reading
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“My other arm’s alright, can I still do my lesson?”
I heard that my student Tom broke his wrist last week and wouldn’t be able to do lessons for the rest of the term. So imagine my surprise when he rocked up to his lesson saying: I broke my wrist but my other arm is still alright. Can I still have my lesson? I’m soooo… Continue reading
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The Für Elise arrangement is now on MuseScore’s website
MuseScore suggested I upload my original MuseScore file onto their website so that other members can use it! Yay! Here it is. Für Elise arranged for pre-grade learners by joanna.funk Continue reading
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Für Elise arranged for pre-grade learners
I just did something and am quite pleased about it so I thought I would share it. My student Sasha wants to play the first part of Für Elise at the Excellence Expo which will happen at her school in September. Sasha is a pre-Grade learner so I arranged it for her using Musescore software.… Continue reading
About Joanna
Joanna is British Australian. She worked mainly in financial news in London. In her forties she moved to her parents’ birthplace, Sabah, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. She became a pianist at the Jesselton Hotel in Kota Kinabalu and wrote a blog about musicians, which was popular among Sabahans at home and abroad. The blog was turned into a coffee table book when the Ministry of Tourism and Culture expressed interest. Joanna came to Australia in 2012. This is her second blog.
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