Wednesday, August 28, 2019 by Mary O'Connor | piano maestro

It will be fun watching your child improve their piano skills all while having fun using Piano Maestro in lessons each week!

As your child’s teacher (or YOUR teacher!), I’m looking forward to seeing the progress they will make when they start using it at home each day. This guide will help you understand how this app will benefit your child and how to get it set up on your own iPad.

Overview
What is Piano Maestro?

Piano Maestro is the ultimate piano practice tool that will have students quickly playing their favorite classical, pop, rock, TV and video game songs and themes. It is available in the App Store and works on the iPad.

What skills does it improve?
• Note reading
• Sight reading
• Rhythm
• Inner pulse
• Confidence

What makes it so fun?
• Upbeat background tracks
• Stunning graphics
• Instant rewards and feedback
• Satisfaction of playing REAL music

It works with an acoustic piano?

Yes! Your child practices on your real acoustic or digital piano. Piano Maestro listens from the iPad’s built-in microphone. No wires needed.

I’m already paying for lessons. What value does this add?

Sometimes I wish I could be there with your child to encourage them to keep practicing daily. I’m sure it’s not always easy, as unforeseen challenges will arise.

Since our time each week is just too short, this app will give me eyes on the ground and it will keep them practicing longer and improving more quickly.

How will it be used in lessons?

I will spend a few minutes of each lesson helping your child master a couple of new songs all while having fun! I will also teach them how to use the practice options at home.

At the end of the lesson, we will choose Home Challenge assignments within the app that will show up in your account at home. I’ll get updates when progress is made.

Getting Started
Wow, this sounds awesome. Now, how do I get started?

1) Download Piano Maestro on your iPad from the AppStore
2) Create a JoyTunes account with a parent’s email, under which, you can have multiple profiles for each member of the family.
3) Create a profile for each family member (that means you too Mom and Dad!) inside the Parent/Teacher zone (top right-hand corner of the main screen)
4) Connect to your teacher, me! After creating a profile in the “profiles” tab of the parent/teacher zone, select the student’s profile and click “connect to teacher .” Once I approve the connection to your child, they will receive full access to all content for FREE! I will then also begin receiving weekly progress reports.
5) Start Playing – I will now start assigning you homework, meanwhile, get started on Journey Mode.

When you connect to the O'Connor Music Studio, Piano Maestro is free for as long as you study here.

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  Wednesday, August 22, 2018 by Mary O'Connor | parents

The O'Connor Music Studio features fully functional parent/student portals. These are a great way to share information with you, save time, and add value to your lessons.

The student portal provides you with:

• Student’s calendar with upcoming lessons and events
• Student’s repertoire
• Student’s practice log
• Family’s account and invoice information (only visible to parents/adult students)
• Access to your download library and a list of borrowed items
• View student's attendance
• Track student's practice time and leave notes or questions from the practice session
• Add and track their repertoires
• View their email history
• View Mrs. O'Connor's contact information
• Keep up-to-date with studio news

Students can also join and cancel lessons based on the OCMS studio cancellation policy.

Using the student portal is completely optional, but highly recommended.

How do I join the Student Portal?
 To join the student portal your teacher will send you your login information. Once received you will be able to access the student portal and all of its features.

How do I cancel a Lesson?
 To cancel a scheduled lesson simply click on the lesson or event in your calendar and click “Cancel Attendance”. You can optionally leave your teacher a note about why you are canceling in the provided “Note to Teacher” dialogue box.

How do I register for an Open Lesson Slot?
 To register for an Open Lesson Slot click on the event or lesson on the calendar as select “Register”. A dialogue box will appear asking you if you “are you sure you want to register for this Open Slot?” Click “Yes”. If the lesson or event you are trying to register for is a recurring event, choose the dates you would like to attend.

Check your email for information about logging in!

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Saturday, November 2, 2019 by Mary O'Connor | iPad

There's a new app in the studio! It's called NoteWorks and it looks like it will be fun for the students.  NoteWorks is an engaging, fun game, designed to teach note reading. Beginners use NoteWorks as a terrific alternative to flash cards. More advanced students use the full version to practice key signatures with up to seven sharps and flats in multiple clefs. Kids love the app because it's fun and addictive. Teachers and parents love how the game improves students' note recognition and sight reading skills. If you want this for home use, it's available for iPhone, iPad and Android.  The cost for the full version for home use is a one time fee $4.99, directly in the app.  More info at https://doremiworld.com/Games/NoteWorks I already have my students set up so we can use this during lessons, but let me know if you plan to use this at home and I'll give you the code to connect to the studio account. The objective of this game is to teach note recognition and improve sight reading skills. Game options include treble and bass clefs (with the grand staff option) as well as tenor and alto clefs.

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Thursday, October 31, 2019 by Mary O'Connor | holiday

Johann Sebastian Bach's towering monument of organ music, with its deep sense of foreboding, will forever be associated with Halloween.

Get a free copy of the sheet music at IMSLP or borrow a copy from the O'Connor Music Studio.  I have this arranged for organ, piano, duet, 2-piano, simplified...

If you want this in a book with other Bach transcriptions, amazon has this: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and the Other Bach Transcriptions for Solo Piano, arranged by Ferruccio Busoni.

Here, Virgil Fox performs it on his Allen Digital Touring Organ.

Diane Bish plays the Massey Memorial Organ at the Chautauqua Institution and talks about this instrument.

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Thursday, October 31, 2019 by Mary O'Connor | holiday

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