YouTube Competition Finalists Selected
A new record was set with nearly 500 entries in the Piano Marvel YouTube Competition this year! The divisions ranged from early elementary to adult, ensemble, and composition. There were many impressive entries, and the judges had a difficult time choosing 3 finalists in each division. We are excited to ask you, our Piano Marvel family, to vote on each division's winner(s). Please visit the YouTube Competition Finalists page to watch the videos and cast your votes.
Finally, the videos chosen as finalists will be featured in a live YouTube stream on March 11th at 8:00 PM EST, where viewers worldwide will add their votes to the votes collected throughout the previous week. The final vote will be tallied live, and prizes awarded to the videos with the most votes. We appreciate your participation and for making this year's YouTube Competition a success.
Streak Challenge Has Begun!
It's begun ya’ll!!! The 30-day Streak Challenge starts today!!! Get your practicing on. There is no need to register or sign up. Just start practicing. Notice the new Streak Counter on the Piano Marvel dashboard now turns from grey to blue after practicing each day! To create an account, go to pianomarvel.com
Streak Challenge
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
We want to challenge all the members of the Piano Marvel Family to keep a 30-day Streak! Everyone will start with a clean slate for this challenge, meaning only your streak between March 1 – April 1, 2021 will count. We are giving away some great prizes, so you definitely want to join in the fun! Everyone who gets a 30-day streak will be in the running to win prizes. We will draw names randomly to determined the winners.
PRIZES
The Grand Prize will be an Annual Piano Marvel Account and a Streak Challenge t-shirt. We will also be giving out 5 other Streak Challenge t-shirts!
WHY A STREAK CHALLENGE?
Get ready to play your heart out and improve your piano playing abilities as you practice consistently over the month of March. We think you’ll be inspired to keep going with your streak! All you have to do to join the challenge is start practicing every day on your own Piano Marvel account. If you are new to Piano Marvel, you can create a free account to get started at https://pianomarvel.com.
Piano Marvel YouTube Competition Tips
You're almost there! You chose and learned a piece to play for the Piano Marvel YouTube Competition. Then you perfected it, made it your own, and recorded it. Finally, you got through editing your video. In the last video of the series, Michelle walks you through uploading your finished video to YouTube and submitting it into the competition. Congratulations! Once you've completed these steps, you can relax for a minute and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that you should be feeling! If you want to take some time to watch the other entries click here.
Piano Marvel YouTube Competition Tips
Watch as Michelle Robison walks you through the process of editing your video for the Piano Marvel YouTube Competition. Time is short and the deadline to submit your video to the contest is Sunday, February 28th! Michelle's next video will be about uploading your video to YouTube and submitting it to the contest. You can also watch the videos that have already been submitted here.
Piano Marvel YouTube Competition Tips
Michelle Robison is back and now she's here to give you some tips about recording your video! We know you want to make it fun for your friends and family to watch, so listen close! For more information about the YouTube, Competition visit us here https://pianomarvel.com/youtube-competition/entries/0 The deadline to submit your video to the Piano Marvel YouTube Competition is coming up on February 28th, 2021.
Piano Marvel YouTube Competition Tips
The deadline to submit your video to the Piano Marvel YouTube Competition is coming up on February 28th, 2021. Watch the video below to learn the best tips for perfecting your piece for the YouTube Competition. Michelle Robison, Director of Teacher Education and Certification, walks you through how to use phrasing, pedaling, and more. You can also watch the videos that have already been submitted or choose a piece from this list if you need help picking a piece to play.
Winners Announced
The top five most creative videos from the 2020 Piano Video Contest were chosen as the cash prize winners! They each won $100.00 and a mention on Piano Marvel's Social Media pages. Congratulations to our winners and a huge thank you to all who participated! This was the first video contest that we have done without separate age categories. The criteria for choosing the winners was based on creativity in cinematography, special effects, and personality! This was completely different from anything we've done and it was a big success! We would love to hear what you thought about it. Please email us at contactus@pianomarvel.com to provide your feedback. Please enjoy watching the videos of the top 5 winners below. (Tip: after you watch one video, click on the back arrow in your browser to return to this news release to watch the next video.)
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Piano Marvel YouTube Competition Tips
Get advice from Michelle Robison on learning your piece for the Piano Marvel YouTube Competition. Click the image below.
Piano Marvel YouTube Competion Tips
Watch as Michelle shows you how to choose the perfect piece for you! The Piano Marvel YouTube Competition has begun, and you are invited to participate. Click the image below.
2021 Piano Marvel YouTube Competition Kick-Off
Announcing the new changes to the annual Piano Marvel YouTube Competition... We think you’re going to love them! Get ready to be a STAR!!!
Watch Aaron Garner's performance of Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu dedicated to his father, Leroy Garner, who passed away on December 20, 2020. Leroy was proud of Aaron's accomplishments as a pianist, composer, entrepreneur, and businessman. He enjoyed sitting and listening to Aaron play the piano any chance he had, and he especially loved this piece.
Congratulations to all of the winners of the Christmas Challenge and thank you to all who participated! You make these challenges fun and we love to hear your feedback. Please feel free to email Heidi at heidigarner@pianomarvel to let us know what you think! You can watch the recorded Facebook Live announcement below:
| First Place Individual - iPad | 100 Club | Kimberly R. | 1,617 |
| $50 Amazon Gift Card | 30 Club | Natalie C. | 39 |
| Restaurant Gift Card | 100 Club | Omar N. | 595 |
| Piano Marvel T-Shirt | 100 Club | Asia O. | 267 |
| First Place Studio - iPad | 1000 Club | Lorri D. | 6,301 |
| $100 Amazon gift card | 1000 Club | Anna L. | 1,871 |
Piano Marvel iPhone App Released
Instead of waiting until it was perfected, we decided to release the iPhone app to the app store on December 10th. Thank you so much for your support and patience. We are excited about this release and are even more excited to share it with you!
Would you like to know more and help us get the word out?
#1 Watch the video below, like it, and comment if you would.
#2 Share the video with at least one person.
#3 If you have an iPhone...
Download the app to your iPhone and pass off several Christmas songs. No piano needed, just your phone.
Then if you would, please give us some feedback at aarongarner@pianomarvel.com.
You can search for Piano Marvel in the app store or click on the button below to download the app on your iPhone.
Piano Marvel Christmas Challenge Going Strong
Here at Piano Marvel, we are amazed at the number of Golden Tickets you are earning! With 98,764 entries so far, you have definitely broken any previous records, and we couldn't be more excited about how many people are developing their musical abilities. You are sight reading more, and the Spirit of Christmas is abundant in homes around the world. We love Christmas music and are grateful for the positive, uplifting, and peaceful feelings it creates. We can all use a lot more positivity! We are excited to award some fun prizes to our winners at the beginning of January. Prizes are listed below. Good luck to all of you!
Individual Prizes Group Prizes
3 random drawings 1 Random drawing
1. $50 Amazon Gift Card 1. $100 Amazon gift card
2. Restaurant Gift Card 1 Top Studio
3. Piano Marvel T-Shirt 1. iPad
1 First place individual
1. iPad
Congratulations to everyone who participated and to those who won some fun prizes! We gave 2 studio prizes, one for the studio with the most entries and one random drawing for all of the studios that made it into the 100 club. Each studio who made it into the 100 club had one entry into the drawing. For any studio that made the 200 club, they received 2 entries into the drawing as so forth.
We also gave a prize to the top individual and 3 prizes in the random individual drawings. Anyone who gets at least one entry into the challenge gets one entry into the drawing. Those who make the 10 club get another entry, while those who make the 20 club have 3 total entries. This process continues for the 30, 40,50, 100,200, and 300 club. Each entry is placed in a spreadsheet and has its own entry number. Then the winners are selected from all of the entries by a random number picker. Watch the recording of the live announcement of the winners below.
The most valuable prize is the improved sight-reading abilities of each of the participants. We hope you enjoy the Piano Marvel Challenges and that they are highly motivating. Thank you for participating! The Christmas Challenge has begun, so jump in and have fun!
| Prize | Entry # | Club | Name | Songs Perfected |
| $100 Amazon Gift Card - Top Studio | 1 | 1000 Club | Lynda B. | 1,044 |
| $100 Amazon Gift Card - Random Studio Drawing (100 Club+) | 8 | 300 Club | Evelyn B. | 352 |
| $50 Amazon Gift Card - Top Individual | 1 | 100 Club | Jeffrey G. | 313 |
| $50 Amazon Gift Card - Random Drawing Individual | 103 | 40 Club | Luke W. | 45 |
| $25 Amazon Gift Card - Random Drawing Individual | 1178 | Brandon H. | 2 | |
| Customized Piano Marvel T-Shirt - Random Drawing Individual | 262 | 10 Club | Sergey S. | 19 |
Christmas Challenge
Our favorite Challenge of the year is the Christmas Challenge, and we are even more excited this year than we usually are! Why? It's because we have more Christmas music than ever before. We are also inviting our Piano Marvel users, or Piano Marvel Family, as we like to call you, to upload your own compositions to be included in the Christmas Challenge. You can learn how to do that here https://docs.google.com/document/d/18hBfo3pcXOQoSEf3gr5KRn1GAFxzT13BdpHuEwvQXzM/edit?usp=sharing. To learn more information about the Christmas Challenge, watch this video.
You earn entries into our prize drawings as you play Christmas songs and get a 96% score or above and earn Golden Tickets. Watch this video to see how it works.
Here's the list of prizes we are giving out this year:
Individual
3 random drawings
$50 Amazon Gift Card
Restaurant Gift Card
Piano Marvel T-Shirt
1 First place individual
iPad
Group
1 Random drawing (Includes all of the studios, families, or groups linked via a teacher or leader who make the 100 club!)
$100 Amazon gift card
1 Top Studio
iPad
Songwriting Webinar
Songwriting Webinar - Saturday, October 24th at 10:00 AM Mountain Time - Register Today
10-year-old Eliana "Ellie" Arieli composed her first song and shared it with us. She calls it "Halloween Song." We were so impressed we put Eliana’s song into the Piano Marvel Halloween challenge, and now thousands of people will be able to play her song. Kudos to her piano teacher, Julie Liu, as this started out as an assignment she was given to write a song and upload it to Piano Marvel. Click on Ellie's picture below to watch her play "Halloween Song."
For teachers and all music lovers: You are invited to attend this free webinar where we will walk through the process of writing a song and invite you to participate in a songwriting contest designed to give you the skills needed to be a successful songwriter. Teachers will learn ways to incorporate composition in their studios.
Learn to Write Music - Register Today
Winners Announced 2020 Hymns Challenge
Winners have been announced for the 2020 Hymns Challenge! You can view the official announcement on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you to all who participated! The Halloween Challenge has already begun, so start learning some spooky tunes for more chances to win cool prizes!
Halloween Challege
Join us here at Piano Marvel for our annual Halloween Challange! Earn entries to win prizes like Amazon gift cards, customized Piano Marvel t-shirts, and Skull Candy bluetooth headphones for learning Halloween songs. There will also be prizes for the top Studio and a random drawing for all the studios who earn at least 100 entries as a group. Watch the video below for more details!
2020 Hymns Challenge and New Golden Tickets
Join us for the Piano Marvel Hymns Challenge from September 1st to September 30th! Improve your sight-reading and win prizes!
To earn entries into the drawing, just search "hymns" in the Piano Marvel library and score at least 96% on as many hymns as you can!
Golden Tickets are the newest feature released in Piano Marvel! They will help you know which pieces in the Piano Marvel library will count toward the current challenge, and help you keep track of which pieces you've already perfected. Watch the video below to learn how Golden Tickets work.
Winners of the FJH Staycation Challenge
Congratulations to the winners of the FJH Staycation Challenge! Also thank you to everyone who participated and worked hard to learn songs and earn entries into the prize drawing. You all worked hard and improved in your sight-reading along the way!
The winners are as follows:
1st Drawing- Amazon Dot from FJH: Leanard P.
2nd Drawing- ANKER Soundcore Bluetooth Speaker from FJH: JP L.
3rd Drawing- Customized Piano Marvel t-shirt: Mary C.
4th Drawing- Random Studio Gift Card: Robyn M. and her studio
Top Studio- Ring Light and Phone Stand: Cindy W. and her studio
Watch the live announcement of the winners for the FJH Staycation Challenge below.
Winners of the Patriotic Challenge
Congratulations to the winners of the Patriotic Challenge! Also thank you to everyone who participated and worked hard to learn songs and earn entries into the prize drawing. You all worked hard and improved in your sight-reading along the way!
The winners are as follows:
1st Drawing- VANKYO Bluetooth earbuds: Amanda D.
2nd Drawing- JBL Go2 Bluetooth Speaker: Landon C.
3rd Drawing- Customized Piano Marvel t-shirt: Marylan H.
4th Drawing- Customized Piano Marvel t-shirt: James S.
Top Individual- Daniel E.
Top Studio- Alissa C. and her studio
Watch the YouTube and Instagram TV announcements of the winners for the Patriotic Challenge below.
Piano Teacher Workshop
2020 Private Piano Lesson Online Solutions
Sign up Here https://forms.gle/
July 28-29, 2020 9-11AM (Mountain Time)
Come join hundreds of private piano teachers as they discuss the challenges of online teaching and offer suggestions for overcoming these challenges. Also, learn about Piano Marvel, Zoom, and other technologies that can help make online teaching more fun and effective. Your students will love their lessons and you will be better prepared and confident in your teaching.
Tuesday - July 28, 2020
9:00 AM (Mountain Time)
- 9:00 Welcome and Interactive Whiteboard Discussion
- 9:10 Meet and Greet Peers Breakout Rooms
- 9:25 Interactive Polls - What are your most pressing concerns this fall
- 9:30 Small Group Discussion (3-4)
- 9:40 Medium Group Discussion - Choose a Spokesperson (6-8)
- 9:50 Return and Share Your Groups Concerns by Spokesperson
10:00 AM (Mountain Time)
- 10:00 Sample Online Lesson 1 - Beginning
- 10:10 Sample Online Lesson 2 - Intermediate
- 10:20 Sample Online Lesson 3 - Advanced
- 10:30 Breakout Room Discussion - Effective Online Lessons
- 10:45 Group Discussion - Effective Online Lessons
- Tip and Ideas Sharing From Peers
Wednesday - July 29, 2020
9:00 AM (Mountain Time) Video
- 9:00 Address the Majority Concerns From July 28th’s 9:00 AM Meeting
- 9:10 Implementing New Technology
- 9:35 Keeping Students Engaged Online / Student Motivation
- 9:55 Everybody on Your Feet - Stretch!!!
10:00 AM (Mountain Time)
- 10:00 Video Project Ideas
- 10:30 Doing Recitals
- 10:45 Open Discussion
- 10:50 Adjourning Comments
List of Contacts for Participants - We hope you reach out to your fellow attendees and make lifelong friendships as you collaborate with your peers.
The Best Piano Learning App
New article released! Read about how Piano Marvel helped Michelle Robison, daughter of the app's creator, learn how to play the piano where traditional lessons lacked. Michelle was 11 years old when the first version of Piano Marvel was released and, naturally, when Aaron Garner needed some guinea pigs to try out this new technology- his children filled that role. Learn why traditional methods lacked the ability to motivate and produce productive practice sessions for Michelle while Piano Marvel provided a stimulating environment for learning that helped her progress much more quickly and obtain the seemingly unattainable goal of performing pieces in recitals and YouTube Videos. Read Michelle's article here https://pianomarvel.com/article/the-best-piano-learning-app.
2020 Patriotic Challenge
You heard it right! This is Piano Marvel's very first Patriotich Challenge and it is going great! Learn patriotic songs to play from now until the 4th of July. We have added many patriotic songs to Piano Marvel ranging from early beginner to advanced, many of which are new from FJH Publishing Company. There are some songs from public domain as well, which means that everyone, including those with free accounts can access music to play for this challenge. We have also added many anthems from Countries around the world and will continue to add more. If you have a suggested piece please email us at contactus@pianomarvel.com. The prizes will be ear buds, blue tooth speakers, and Piano Marvel Patriotic Challenge t-shirts! Get playing and have fun!
Don't Cancel Your Piano Lessons! Teach Your Students Online!
Aaron Garner, President, and CEO of Piano Marvel is offering free instruction to teachers who want to learn how to conduct effective online lessons for their students during this coronavirus pandemic. Using online video chats and Piano Marvel to continue piano lessons will ensure your students' progress without interrupting your stream of income. To sign up for Aaron's free teacher instruction course click here: https://forms.gle/XQ6pCGiDg1jQbfMK9
Annual Piano Marvel YouTube Competition
The Annual Piano Marvel YouTube Competition could be the perfect thing to get you and your students motivated to practice your favorite songs and record yourself performing them to share with your friends and family! We have differnt age divisions as well as a composition and ensemble division. We are excited to announce our newest addition, the Free Form Division! For this division we are looking for mastered audio and visual along with some creativity. Don't worry we know most of you are amateurs, so have fun with it! This is your chance to record that music video you've only imagined! Adults are also welcome to enter the Free Form Division. There are cash prizes for each division along with an iPad drawing that all entrants will be entered in. The main thing is to have fun and make memories that will be immortalized on YouTube!
If you are a piano teacher or student looking for fun, easy piano songs to play that look impressive you've come to the right place! Check out this article written by Sean Slade, https://pianomarvel.com/article/learn-your-favorite-piano-songs. Another great resouce is our YouTube Channel, The Pianist. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzaqjb92sVoGXx-yC4he0w
What Makes a Great Piano Learning App?
Piano Marvel was born twelve years ago and back then we were the only subscription based software that exsisted for learning to play the piano online. We've come a long way and feel that we still lead the online piano industry with new inovations and features coming out all the time! Piano Marvel also has an ever growing and very large music library for our subscribers to choose their music from. Our Piano Marvel family has grown over the years and we are excited to feature this article written by our Office Manager and Technical Support Specialist, Suzette Moyer! It's titled, "What Makes a Great Piano Learning App?" Read it to learn about many of the features in Piano Marvel that make it the leading Piano Learning app! You can find it here at pianomarvel.com/article/what-makes-a-great-piano-learning-app or go to our articles page by clicking the link at the bottom of this page. Just click on "Articles".
Setting SMART Goals for Piano
It's a new year and a new decade! How can you make 2020 a memorable and significant year in your life? Most of us can admit that there are many areas of our lives that we want to make improvements. Here at Piano Marvel we want to help you achieve your goals relelated to piano. As you set your goals for learning the piano in 2020 make them SMART Goals! Sit down and take a few minutes to make a plan. Make sure that your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. The founder of Piano Marvel, Aaron Garner, is an avid believer in SMART Goals and he resently published an article on the subject. You can find it here:
pianomarvel.com/article/setting-smart-goals-for-piano
This way of setting goals can help in any are of your life, so start setting your SMART Goals and let's make history this year!
New Music Library for iPad!
We are excited to announce that the new music library design has been added to the Piano Marvel iPad app! Now organizing your sheet music, finding new songs, and keeping track of your progress is easier than ever. You can download the latest version of the Piano iPad app by searching for "Piano Marvel" in the Apple App Store, or visit https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/piano-marvel-piano-lessons/id1016751878
Special Music Video with Coco Berthmann
We are excited to announce the release of a very special project. Our video team helped produce this moving video starring Coco Berthmann - (Child Trafficking Survivor)
Learn to play Speechless from Disney's Aladdin in the Piano Marvel library.
Please watch and share this video!