Apex Musical Arts: Michelle Bitler, Instructor

03/07/2026

Let’s talk sight-reading…

03/04/2026

Cool ways exposure to music can show up in kids.

01/31/2026

The violin ensemble performed 𝑆𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝐺𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑠 to close our studio recital last night at Ruggero Piano in Raleigh. The lyrics capture the overall vibe felt and shared as student pianists, violinists , and cellist celebrated their musical gifts through performance: ‘Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,And when we find ourselves in the place just right,'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.When true simplicity is gain'd,To bow and to bend we will not be asham'd,To turn, turn will be our delight,Till by turning, turning we come round right. The simplicity of gratitude, smiles, joy, vulnerability, courage, and youth touched all of us as we gathered together with music. I don’t have video of the ensemble (yet) so please enjoy the magnificent piano in this recital hall.

01/17/2026

My music studio will be having a recital soon. I recently had a conversation with a parent whose child is anxious about performing.

Performance may be one of the scariest ideas for any musician. Each person handles this idea differently and some choose to not participate at all—it’s all part of learning. I never want an experience to be crippling and offer a few thoughts to help reframe the process.

I have removed or changed anything that would identify the student or the parent. This is an issue that all musicians face (including myself)! These ideas can be applied to other domains and are good reminders for adults too.

01/01/2026

Happy New Year!

Committing to a piece of music to study can be a tough decision. This time around, I chose a piece based on how my nervous system responds to the many low tones and the range of expressions I will experience.

If you want to talk through your next musical project, let’s connect!

11/15/2025

Music nerds unite!

10/22/2025

Earlier this month, I shared 𝑀𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐵𝑒𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑠: 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ, 𝐵𝑜𝑑𝑦, 𝑉𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑜 with a local music school. One element we explored was the use of timing. Timing can be a very powerful expressive device and it can boil down to not being able to tap your foot to the beat 𝑦𝑒𝑡 being able to move flowingly with the sounds you hear and feel.

Chopin’s Nocturne in C minor op. 48, no. 1 lends itself well to messing around with musical time.

10/10/2025

I’m delighted to present and work with students at the Ashe School of Music tomorrow morning. Teaching instrumental music is my bread and butter, but the opportunity to offer specialized topics gets me extra excited!

Canva slides and a masterclass format will make for an inspiring experience!

08/06/2025

07/26/2025

New to sight-reading and want an easy way in? 🎹

Learning to play from a 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑡 is a fun and accessible way to play music at sight while

✅ playing harmonies without written-out notes
✅ focusing on a single line of music while playing a full texture of sounds
✅ simplifying the reading process for sight-reading rookies
✅ getting creative with accompaniment patterns when the time is right

As a pianist, I get so much satisfaction from being able to sit down and play for the sake of playing. I also love that if I got called to play last-minute somewhere, I am confident that I could read and learn the music quickly.