Acoustic Panels DIY

Do any of you worry about your hearing? Piano teachers need to be very careful, the piano is an especially loud instrument and we subject our ears to non-stop sound every day.

My studio has a lot of hard hard surfaces, so the grand can sound bright and harsh at times. In fact, there are certain spots in the room where the sound actually hurts my ears. Time for acoustic sound treatment!

My husband and I decided it was time to treat both my studio and his basement audio suite with acoustic sound panels. To do our rooms properly it could have cost many hundreds of dollars. But we decided to turn it into a DIY project and we did it for a fraction of the cost.

I've seen people try, but egg cartons don't work! The secret is using the correct insulation inside your panels. Read on...

First, figure out how big you want your panels to be. I made four panels, which were 2 feet wide x 4 feet high. We were able to purchase the wood pre-cut at our local home center. We added metal brackets in the corners and screws to make a simple, strong frame.

We purchased black upholstery lining at the fabric store. This is the kind of fabric that you see lining the underside of your furniture, it is very inexpensive ($1.50 per yard) and is perfect for lining the frame. As you can see, we started off with a hand stapler, and later moved to a heavy duty staple gun...we made a lot of panels.

Once you have added the lining, you can insert your insulation into the frame, it's like a little nest. You can cut the insulation quite easily with a knife, but do wear gloves. Roxul Safe'n'Sound is the insulation to look for at your home center. One big bag contains eight 2 x 4 slabs of insulation... that's a lot of panels!

Next, measure and cut your upholstery fabric, adding plenty of extra material to wrap around the sides. Cats are not helpful with this step. I used a heavy, textured fabric, something you would expect to see on a chair. Watch for sales and choose wisely, the upholstery fabric can be pricey.

Staple your upholstery fabric to the front and sides of your frame, right over the upholstery lining. Work carefully, making sure the fabric is pulled smooth.

Now add upholstery lining to the back of your panel. Fold the edges under before you staple for a clean finish. Voila, very nice! We simply hung our panels with picture frame wire.

I placed two panels directly behind my piano and another two in strategic spots in the room. I was amazed at the difference right away. I don't feel like I need to play with the soft pedal down (yes, seriously) and even the tone of my voice is nicely absorbed in the acoustic treatment.

Hope this gives you some ideas for a useful weekend project. Here's to happy ears.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like September

Here's a shout out to all the piano teachers who are busy doing all the necessary prep work for another successful year. People think we are on vacation, when in fact the to-do list is long and the piles of music are high. It takes a lot of work to get ready for September!

My students will be returning in 14 days. Here are a few of my "getting ready tasks" that I have ticked off the to-do list.

Binders (tick). I am a stickler for taking pride in what you do, so I prepare binders for all of my students where they keep weekly assignment sheets and other activities. I like the ones with a front pocket so I can add a pretty cover.

Assignment Sheets (tick). Ah the on-going quest for the perfect assignment sheet. Somehow I believe the perfect layout will result in beautiful, consistent practice habits all year long. I ordered enough copies for the whole year so I don't have to worry about running out.

If any of you would like to use my assignment sheet design, go ahead and give it a try. You can download the pdf from my Dropbox. I thought it might be fun to have communication bubbles at the bottom of the page. Here's a quick peek.

Books (tick...sort of). Oh my goodness...and more books. I would guess I spent 50 hours researching, playing and selecting music books for my students this summer. It is a huge job, but I did have a lot of fun exploring some less traditional material. I placed my book order on August 10 (tick), but I still have a massive stack waiting to be filed (to-do) and I have to sort out my book order when it arrives (to-do). I will definitely want to blog about some of my new favorite books, and there were many (to-do).

My pedagogy teacher often said, "set your students up for success". This time of year, when I am feeling a bit growly about the hours of prep work, I try to remember the importance of "setting my studio up for success". So here's to a successful year everyone. Happy teaching!

Garden Capriccio

Garden Capriccio is a musical bouquet of piano solos for early intermediate students. Each piece cleverly depicts the essence of favorite garden flowers, while providing students with seven imaginative solos to challenge the fingers and tickle the ivories.

Anne Crosby's music continues to be very popular in piano studios across North America. Her pieces have instant appeal with students and teachers alike. Children enjoy the playful imagery and are encouraged by the feeling of success in learning music that sounds and looks advanced. Teachers appreciate the sprinkles of technique and theory within each piece, providing a multitude of teachable moments.

Garden Capriccio is an easy digital download, you may purchase quickly and securely using the Buy button below, which will direct you to Pianoanne's Store (powered by Nimbit). When you buy the album for $8.99 you also receive a PDF of the Garden Capriccio score as a digital booklet, which you may save and print at your convenience.



1. Marigold Fanfare is a marching tune that provides an opportunity to work on sixteenth note rhythmic patterns. Challenge your students to develop fine finger independence by observing a variety of articulation markings.

About the video: Oh Buzzy, you are so cute. This was my second stop motion animation project because I had so much fun making Periwinkle Twinkle. I thought it would be fun to make a little trumpet for Buzzy.

2. Dancing Mayflowers has a light-hearted lilt, requiring a gentle left hand waltzing pattern. The syncopated rhythm in the melody is fun to play and is a wonderful coordination challenge. Right hand arpeggio patterns on page two provide a good technical workout for students.

3. Periwinkle Twinkle is a fun favorite. A bit of a finger twister, students will need to plan excellent fingering. This groovy little solo is played with straight eighth notes and a playful bounce.

About the video: I made Buzzy out of clay and found some purple periwinkle in my garden to set the scene. This video was built with stop motion animation, so it involved a lot of still photos to make Buzzy dance. I was very excited to figure out how to make Buzzy talk and blink.

4. Russian Sage is full of teachable content including dotted eighth/sixteenth rhythms, grace notes, articulation and fancy arpeggios.

5. White Daisy moves beautifully across the full span of the keyboard. Peppered with patterns this piece is easy to learn, but requires a lovely touch and a good ear for balance.

About the video: The singing butterfly cracks me up every time! In this project I figured out how to make and use a green screen so it would (sort of) look like the butterfly was soaring through a field of daisies.

6. Johnny Jump Up is a bit crazy! Fast, rhythmic and intense this piece will get fingers flying across the keys. The left hand fifths/octaves pattern is very useful, it will challenge coordination and independence, so practice slowly.

7. Coral Bells is a wonderful black key solo. The opening sound is bold and rich, followed by sparkling bell-like passages.

I hope your students enjoy playing the pieces from Garden Capriccio.

Rhythm Muffins

I have found that one of the most successful (and fun) ways to work with intermediate rhythms is to use words to represent various rhythm patterns. This little activity uses a muffin theme. I have created some free printables for you, so all you really need is a mini-muffin tin and a bit of patience to cut out the muffins. It's worth it, look how cute they are!

I included the label on each muffin to help you remember the "code" as you are clapping and saying the muffin words. You don't have to use a muffin tin, but it definitely makes the activity more fun and creates tidy groups of three or four beats per line.

Turn your muffin tin with four muffins across for a 4/4 time signature.

Or turn your muffin tin with three muffins across for a 3/4 time signature.

Here is the muffin rhythm printable. I had two color copies printed at Staples on a heavy gloss paper. Click here to open and save the Muffin Rhythm pdf from Dropbox.

You'll want to send your students home with a follow-up assignment. Students will practice drawing their rhythm patterns on the first page. This is also a good opportunity to use a metronome pulse and say the muffin words or full measure counting as they feel the steady beat.

The second page includes quick theory exercises such as adding bar lines, time signatures and full measure counting. Plus students will have a full page of homework rhythms to practicing clapping. Click here to open and download the two worksheet pages from Dropbox.

I'm thinking another fun follow-up activity would encourage students to go home and compose a Muffin Song with muffin words (okay that was my husband's idea, but I like it).