Hard Work Pays Off!

Check this out guys...just another example of how hard work pays off!  It doesn't matter how old you are - the important thing is how much work you put into it!

Just wow.

Pug Puppy Birthday Party!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WALTER! 

As many of you know, I am the very proud and happy owner of a pug puppy named Walter!  He just turned 1 year old, so in his baby pug honor, a birthday party was thrown.  I have a whole blog post about it containing amazing things like pug puppy photos, a recipe for a puppy birthday cake, my mom's DELICIOUS chili recipe, and lots lots more! Did I mention pictures of a baby pug? You know you wanna see puppies ;).  Go check it out! AshleyErinWalker-PugParty

Its all about Inspiration!!

Some of my students over in Mt. Pleasant have recently refreshed my creative vibe! They are still in the early stages of learning to play and read on their own, so they are experiencing all the ups and downs, challenges and rewards of learning a new language.  Although learning to read music is challenging and sometimes frustrating, these students have found pieces of music that are inspiring them to work harder and faster than ever before!  One of them heard a complicated version of the Swan Lake theme,  and is absolutely determined to be able to master it on his own, while another student is fascinated with the original version of Fur Elise! Their newfound dedication to their lessons and their motivation to be able to read complicated pieces on their own has inspired me to no end!  It reminds me that, any time you reach a slump in your work, or you lose your motivation, you simply need to find what inspired you in the first place! Stay inspired! Stay creative! Stay determined! You can learn anything you want to, if your head and heart are in the right place.  <3 :)

Home again Home again!!!

Hey guys! I've missed you! As most of you know, I had the opportunity to spend two weeks with my family in Europe and have been traveling around like crazy! I saw amazing things I never thought I'd be able to see, and I was able to spend quality time with my family.  Here is a sneak peak (through my iPhone) into what I got to do and see while I was away!

The BigBen skyline! This was the only blue sky we saw during our week in London haha

Close up of Big Ben on a dreary, yet gorgeous London day

These bright yellow fields are all over England! This is what they use to make Canola Oil.  Who know it was so pretty!!!

Cardiff Castle in Wales

Florence, Italy was breathtaking

Me and the little brother at the Mediterranean!

The Queen's Garden in London

Me and Sam pigged out on Gelato the whole time we were in Italy!

Oh yeah....I ran through Platform 9 3/4....no big deal ;)

Italian window boxes made me want to plant flowers everywhere!

Mom and Sam in London

Italian street musicians were insanely amazing!

The Palace

Pizza in Italy makes me want to move there.

Poppies were growing all over Italy!

Stonehenge

Westminster

Amazing street artists in Florence!

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to spend this time with my family and see incredible things I never thought I'd be able to see! I'm ALSO tremendously glad to be home to my students, my fuzzy little kittens and puppy, and the Charleston summer sun :)

Summertime = Playtime!

Hi guys! Happy Monday! 

I just wanted to pop on and share a few thoughts on practicing in the summertime.

1. Take a mini break! You've worked HARD this year and you deserve some fun in the sun! Give yourself a whole week of no piano - all play :).

2. Don't forget to start back practicing at the end of your mini break ;)

3.  Don't make it hard or stressful! Summertime is supposed to be relaxing.  So don't force yourself to sit at the piano for 30 minutes if all your friends are outside playing! Practice for 15 minutes in the morning after you eat breakfast (you know when the neighbor kids are still sleeping), and then practice for 15 minutes at night after dinner or before bed! Even break your practicing up into 10 minute segments if thats easier!

4.  Set a timer.  This will make your life SO much easier because you won't be constantly hopping up to check the time.  The more you think about it...the slower it goes.  Just focus on your song and before you know it you'll be done for the day! 

5.  Work with your teacher to find music you love.  If you can't stand the songs your trying to learn, your practicing sessions will be SO much worse.  Pick songs you WANT to know how to play and songs that intrigue you! This doesn't mean pick easy songs by the way...pick something that challenges you and you'll be proud of yourself when you've mastered it in a few weeks :). 

Here be Pirates

HAPPY MONDAYYYYYY

(or whatever we're supposed to say to get through waking up early again ;) )

I'm going to have two of my students working on this piece this week so I wanted to show it to the rest of you too!

Anybody a Pirates of the Caribbean fan? I LOVE the Davy Jones organ piece in the 2nd movie!!! Definitely my favorite song out of all 4 movies.  Go check it out here!

Happy Spring Time!

I can't get enough of the warmer temperatures right now! I'm planning on spending all of next weekend on the beach!! Are you guys getting out in the sun yet?

I want to post a link to a new song for you guys today.  Its a little  challenging but SO worth it.  One of my students is working on it right now and he ALMOST has it mastered! I'll ask his permission when he's done and see if we can post a video of his final product once he is satisfied with it.  

This is basically Twinkle Twinkle taken to a whole new level.  Its "Ah, Vous Diral-je, Maman" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart! Check it out and let me know what you think! 

Ah, Vous Diral-je, Maman

As usual guys remember to tell your friends to give me a shout if they'd like to try out lessons! I've got some available time slots and I'd love to chat about getting started! I'll be passing out some of my beachy business cards to all my current students this week too so you can share the love with your friends! <3

Love Is In The Air!

Happy Valentines Day guys!!

My Valentine gift to you:  If you sign up for lessons in the month of February your first lesson is free!!

I love this candy/flower/pinkandred filled holiday!  I thought I'd pop on here and give you guys something romantic to listen to.  One of my girls is actually playing this song for her upcoming talent show and she's doing SO well with it! Its a gorgeous fun piece and perfect for this love-filled week.  Shoot me a message if this is something you'd like to add to your repertoire!

PS:  I've opened up my schedule to include some new timeslots!!! I love my kids so much I just couldn't help but take on some more this year :).  Give me a call 803.370..1275 or shoot me an email ashleyerinw@gmail.com for details on availability and any questions you may have!