NEW SCHOOL YEAR, ALREADY!!

 Time flies on wings of lightning...or so it seems.  Didn't we just start our summer break?

Today was our first UMTA - St. George Meeting for 2026-27 and it was really nice to be back together!

We started off by discussing several items of business that were important.  E.g. Who all of our past presidents have been since becoming a MTNA chapter in 1994 with Dr. Nancy Allred at the helm!  That was a fun "memory lane" trip!  

We also discussed the deadline (tonight!) for Performance Evaluation registrations.

We need an AIM assistant for Caroline

We need a VP to assist Amanda

We need to see about holding an October chapter meeting, or just attending the UMTA State Conference towards the end of the month.

THEN we shared several of our favorite pieces we enjoy teaching our students, as well as favorite Method books.  There were some great recommendations!

Judy Sepp wasn't able to attend today, but she shared her thoughts via email:

What method do I use ?  Actually, I use many.  It depends on the student, their learning styles and many other factors.  When I lived in Georgia we were in an area with a large military presence.  The predominant population was related to the Base and its support, so the vast majority of my students emanated from that source.  Due to constant relocation of personnel, transfer students were the norm.  They came with many different method books already in progress, therefore it was necessary to adapt to a wide variety, finish out the books and then move on. 

I have come to the conclusion that there is no perfect method.  There are ones that I prefer, ones that fit comfortably with my teaching style.  There are ones that seem to create a positive student response.  This varies as different students have different needs.  Often a student will develop an interest in a specific area, like composition or improvisation.  Some methods will lend themselves better to encouraging those specific  interests.  It is not unusual for me to combine methods to customize teaching for individual needs.

Amanda's Favorite Student songs

End Game - Jennifer Eklund    https://pianopronto.com/sheet-music/piano-solos/end-game-multi-pack/

Can Can - arr by Jennifer Eklund

https://pianopronto.com/sheet-music/piano-solos/can-can-easy-piano/

Fur Elise

Rondo Alla Turca

https://gmajormusictheory.org/Freebies/freebies.html

Test Drive - Easy

https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/chrissy-ricker/test-drive-beginner-abridged/MN0273176

Test drive - Intermediate 

https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/chrissy-ricker/test-drive-intermediate/MN0273223

Linus and Lucy - Easy

https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/jennifer-eklund/linus-and-lucy-peanuts-theme-beginner/MN0213433

Books

Guardians of Arronmore

Playtime piano popular - level 1 (Faber) - Star wars

Playtime piano popular - level 1 (Faber) Hedwig’s Theme

Playtime piano Disney (Faber) He’s a Pirate

Movie themes

Jurassic Park 

Spiderman

Intersteller

Caroline highly recommended The Piano Safari Method by Fisher

Ken shared his love for The Essential Keyboard Repertoire book.

Sandra shared The Rhythm Machine by Lynn Freeman Olson,

The Easiest Gillock Pieces for Beginning Pianist, and

Piano Partners, Bk 1 by Bernard Shaw

Patrice had a few favorites: The Jazz Menagerie Bk 1 by Catherine Rollin,

Celebrated Piano Solos, bk 3 by Vandall, Tricky Traffic by Garrow,

The Flaming Tambourine by Glover, and Toccata by Cuellar.