An expert explains how musicians with hearing loss can personalize their hearing aids’ music setting by tuning in to the subjective nature of sound perception.
Nancy M. Williams, Founding Editor
Dr. Chasin’s Checklist for Optimizing Your Hearing Aids for Music
For musicians with hearing loss, we offer this expert-verified checklist to take to your audiologist to create a better music program on your hearing aids.
Power Poses for Piano Practice
Learn how to use power poses, posture, and other bodily strategies to take on the challenges of piano practice, through applying principles from Amy Cuddy.
I Reveal My Hearing Loss…at a Piano Recital
When an amateur pianist with a hearing loss forgets to turn on the music setting on her hearing aids during a recital, she has to stop the performance.
Stories from Musicians with Hearing Loss
The second edition of Making Music with a Hearing Loss collects more personal narratives from, as well as useful strategies for, hearing-impaired musicians.
Top 10 Holiday Gifts for Piano Nerds
This insider’s guide offers 10 holiday gift ideas, from silly to practical to beautiful, for the adult piano student or classical music nerd in your life.
Top 10 Benefits of Being a Piano Nerd
The sooner you admit to being a full-on piano nerd, the sooner you can start to appreciate the unexpected benefits it brings to the rest of your life.
My Clacking Shoe
While performing Debussy at a recital, this adult piano student faced performance anxiety, her foot shaking on the pedal and making an embarrassing noise.
The Willy Wonka of Classical Music
Stephen Malinowski’s colorful visual representations of the notes in works of classical music help deepen our understanding of Bach’s radiant complexities.
How Claiming My Passion Transformed My Writing Career
After reclaiming her passion for playing piano, this writer’s fear of submitting essays for publication diminished and her writing career began to blossom.
Veteran Plays Piano Despite Suicide Bomber Attack
This Army veteran survived a suicide bomber attack in Iraq. Upon his return, despite severe injuries and hearing loss, all he wanted was to play the piano.
Top 5 Tips for Wearing Hearing Aids and Making Music
Get the top 5 tips for playing a musical instrument while wearing hearing aids, in this exclusive interview with an amateur pianist who has a hearing loss.
Cast a Spell with Schumann’s Album for the Young
Tips on how to play and interpret the contemplative No. 30 from Schumann’s Album for the Young, and create variety to avoid monotony in the repeating motif.
Why Pianists Need Musicians’ Earplugs
All musicians, including pianists, should invest in a set of custom musicians’ earplugs and keep them on hand for hearing protection in loud environments.
How to Find the Right Audiologist: Service, Service, Service
A musician with hearing loss offers tips on how to find the right audiologist for your needs—such as custom hearing aid settings for playing and performing.
Understanding Tempo Rubato
The push and pull of tempo rubato is a tricky concept for this adult piano student, until she comes to understand rhythm through the poetry of Mary Oliver.
Faking It with My Hearing Loss
Faking is routine for those with hearing loss; Nancy M. Williams relies on the Bert and Ernie letter songs to overcome her tendency to fake conversation.
Piano Trills and Bach
The piano trills in the Bach Invention No. 1 trip up Nancy M. Williams in this next installment of her piano practice notes.
A Listening Profit from My Hearing Loss
Nancy M. Williams looks back on how she used to hide her hearing loss, but realizes she draws strong listening skills and musicality from her hearing loss.
Top 10 Warning Signs You May Be a Piano Nerd
An adult piano student has detected an unintended consequence of her passion for piano: becoming a piano nerd. Here’s a list of the top 10 warning signs.
Claiming Your Passion with a Slow Embrace
After her workshop, Claiming Your Passion . . . Despite a Hearing Loss, Nancy M. Williams reflects on reasons to jump into your passion or ease in slowly.
Schumann’s Album for the Young No. 30 Played by Nancy M. Williams
Amateur pianist Nancy M. Williams plays Schumann’s Album for the Young 30, one of the lesser-known, difficult pieces at the back of the book, in this video.
The Making of The Cohen Variations
Pianist Simone Dinnerstein and composer Daniel Felsenfeld discuss the making of The Cohen Variations, with its inner voices and counterpoint, in this video.
Four Hands: Piano Duet Pair Anna and Dmitri Shelest
Anna Shelest and her husband Dmitri Shelest are role models for adults learning piano duets. The couple offers tips on playing together as a four hands duo.