Author Archives: juliemcook

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, I, along with my teaching staff, began teaching our piano students online. By the end of June, my students had four months of online piano lessons under their belts. I knew it was a big change for them, and that some students had adapted well and someContinue reading “Online Piano Lessons—Grateful Connections”

Much has been written about recent research on the beneficial effects of piano lessons and other types of music lessons. The top benefits include: Improved abilities in math, reading comprehension, and puzzle solving; sharpened concentration and attention span. Neural connections made through the act of playing an instrument provide a defense against cognitive decline andContinue reading “Benefits of Piano Lessons, and Unexpected Pluses”

Words are all around us. We speak them, we read them, we write them. Sometimes it seems there are too many words in our lives. Words can flow or be stopped up. They can heal or they can devastate. A well-chosen word at the right time makes us feel good; the wrong word can’t beContinue reading “The Poetry of Music”

I’m going to sing today. With a group of 20 other women, and no accompaniment (mostly). I’m going to be one voice among many, provide my little piece of the whole. Together we will create something larger than any one of us could create by ourselves. I’m going to sing today, and just thinking aboutContinue reading “Part of It All”

The fabric of our lives are richly woven with threads of music.  On a typical day you might switch on the radio to hear your “waking-up tunes” while eating breakfast, then continue listening in the car on the way to work or school. Sitting in a traffic jam you might tap out some drum riffsContinue reading “Musical Days”

Nine-year-old Julian rushes into the studio and goes straight to the piano. His hands drop onto the keys and all kinds of sound combinations emerge from the instrument – I imagine falling snow, sleds racing to the bottom of the hill, a sudden crash… This is the way our lessons begin, with a free periodContinue reading “The Write Idea”

Our voice is a healing instrument. It is something we carry with us at all times. It’s our friend, our ally in times of need and provides comfort and healing. It’s there to help us to communicate and connect with others. Our voices spontaneously express our deepest emotions whether through words, the tone of ourContinue reading “Healing Sounds”

 Dave Brubeck died a few days ago. He was one of my musical idols, a constant presence in my life since I was first introduced to his music by my father when I was a child. The quartet’s breakthrough album Time Out was part of the soundtrack of my youth, along with the standards ofContinue reading “Brubeck’s Way”

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened. Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument. Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground. – Rumi So here you are… You’ve taken down yourContinue reading “To Give and Receive”

Do you ever get into a rut with your practicing? I know at times I have gotten so focused on learning one piece, that it’s all I worked on, day after day. It seemed like I was pushing uphill and would never learn it. Finally, in frustration I would leave it alone for a few days –Continue reading “Mix Up Your Practice”