Janna's Favorites 2024
Amazon Prime Days are July 16-17, 2024!
Here is a quick compilation of items that I have particularly enjoyed in my studio in the past year. Let me know in the comments what your 2024 favorites have been!
Favorite office supplies and other stuff:
VANBLUE FIDGET TOY 10PCS MARBLE MESH FIDGET TOYS - I bought these per the recommendation of my piano teacher friend, Christina Whitlock, and they were a big hit with not just the younger, squirrely students in the studio, but even the teenagers! We’ve primarily used them during performance classes as a way to aid focused listening.
BIC WITE-OUT QUICK DRY CORRECTION FLUID - I finally got fed up with an overabundance of finger numbers in several of my elementary-leveled students’ books. I was using some Piano Advenutres material early this past year with a Piano Safari student who knows how to read intervallically, and I couldn’t handle it anymore. So out came the white-out. I’ve since used it with a student who is using Piano Adventures as her main method who also does not need that many finger numbers written in.
*This item ranks as the cheapest on this list! 😂
BOSTITCH OFFICE PREMIUM 3 HOLE PUNCH - I had to buy a new 3-hole punch this year, and this one is so much nicer than my old one. Since I print each student’s assignment sheet at the end of their lesson and put it in their binder, a good hole punch is essential for me.
It’s also on sale for under $7 at time of writing!
POST-IT ARROW FLAGS - these little flags are great for reminding students of things they need to fix in their music!
POST-IT TABS - these little tabs are very sturdy and excellent for marking pages in a large book, such as when a student goes to a festival or exam. They do not cause any damage to nicer urtext editions like paperclips might.
J.R. WATKINS GEL HAND SOAP REFILL - My students are all required to wash their hands when they enter the studio, which means I go through a lot of liquid soap. I’m also terribly sensitive to artificial fragrances and don’t want to use triclosan in my house, which means I need to find a more “natural” alternative to some of the cheap soap refills that are available. This soap is the cheapest thing I’ve been able to find that fits my criteria. I have this 3-pack refill on my Amazon Subscribe & Save which takes the price down an additional 15%.
Student gifts:
CELESTIAL ONE LINE A DAY DIARY - I gave this as a gift to one of my graduating seniors, again per the recommendation of Christina Whitlock. Each page includes an entry for five successive years, allowing you to revisit previous thoughts and memories on a specific day of the year over the span of five years. I entered the date for her senior recital for 2024.
There are several designs for these. I gave my other senior the “NOUVEAU” version. I think the cover on this one is prettier, but the inside cover did not have a blank page in which I could write an inscription like the “CELESTIAL” version did.
Most recommended and favorite books:
HENLE INVENTIONS AND SINFONIAS - This is the first urtext that I ask (most of) my students to purchase. You can find good editing of the easiest inventions in several intermediate repertoire series, but I treat a student’s first Invention as a rite of passage, and having a fancy urtext book makes it even more special!
One of my recent teacher workshops within the Patreon membership featured an overview of JS Bach’s teaching pieces for students. Click here to learn more about what I offer on Patreon.
ENCORE! Books 1, 2, and 3 edited by Jane Magrath - last fall, I discovered I was using these books more (after a period of sadly neglecting them), and I created playlists for each book on Spotify to support student listening. You can get links to my listening lists for free by clicking here. Order the books themselves at the links here ⤵️
PLAYTIME POPULAR - Since I don’t teach as many beginners as some teachers do, I am not as familiar with all of the supplemental repertoire available at the lowest levels. I was so happy to remember that the Star Wars Theme is in this book. I was able to teach it easily by rote with a bit of reading to one of my students who had only had a few months of lessons and was still in Piano Safari level 1.
A more experienced student cranked through most of the pieces the FUNTIME POPULAR book this spring in an effort to finish her 30-Piece Challenge, and one of the pieces she enjoyed was also the Star Wars Theme!
The CHORDTIME CHRISTMAS and FUNTIME CHRISTMAS books get a lot of play time in my studio each December - basic arrangements that are quickly learned and easily playable by students at levels 2 and 3.
You can browse the entire PreTime to BigTime library on the Piano Adventures website here.
They really are great books for basic arrangements of things kids know.
SONATINAS: THE FIRST BOOK FOR PIANISTS - In the past year, I’ve covered 5 sonatina movements in videos on the YouTube channel. (You can view them, plus more, in this playlist.)
There are so many great sonatina collections out there. The one linked here contains some of the easiest and features lesser-known composers. It’s a lovely little book.
Do you have a favorite sonatina collection? Post a comment below!
(Not piano-related, but I recommended a different devotional last year, so I’ll put this one here too.)
THE PROMISES OF GOD by Charles H. Spurgeon - I’ve owned this book for about 3 years now, and it’s the only devotional book that I use every day (for multiple years!) Meditating on God’s promises has been a “positive” way to contemplate and pray, rather than focusing on my requests.
This updated version uses the ESV for Bible quotes and has updated wording.
The above are Amazon affiliate links. If you click on a product link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no charge to you.
