Judy Kagel, author of the Keyboard Beginnings music course will present a workshop for music teachers at the New Jersey Music Education Association (NJMEA) Conference. This year’s topic will be Keyboard Techniques for Young Fingers. Ms. Kagel is an instructor at the Monmouth Academy of Musical Arts in Morganville, NJ and Honey Child Music in Red Bank, NJ. She also maintains a private studio in Freehold.

Ms. Kagel will demonstrate ideas and techniques for teaching group keyboard in the classroom for pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade. Included are hands-on activities to develop note reading and rhythm notation. She will share some of her creative activities and games that improve listening skills needed for ensemble and solo playing. Judy Kagel is the author and composer of the Keyboard Beginnings curriculum for children ages 4 through 7.

She has an extensive background as an accomplished music teacher of private and group piano and keyboard lessons for more than 30 years. Keyboard Beginnings celebrates its fifteenth year in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Keyboard Beginnings is a series of music books that introduce children to their first playing experience on the piano or keyboard as a solo and ensemble instrument. Children are taught to play and read musical notation through musical games, expressive singing, ear training, and music appreciation.

The conference will be held Thursday, February 19 through Saturday, February 21, 2009 at the Brunswick Hilton and Towers, East Brunswick, NJ. Music teachers and home schooling parents can register for the conference at www.njmea.org.