Balance for your life … Creativity for your studio.
Setting up a routine is important for having a successful year. Not only does it ensure we make time for the concepts we want to teach, it makes time for when we need to step back and let our students lead. For our special needs students, a routine can be the thing that makes piano lessons a safe and enjoyable part of their week. How are you getting ready for back to lessons?
Let’s Get Outside! Instead of students gazing outside wishing they could be there … move those music lessons from the piano to the backyard with these easy ideas!
Whether it’s Pestalozzi, Mason, Suzuki or Gordon the idea of teaching aurally before getting students to read goes back hundreds of years. Yet many teachers tend to teach music from the notation first & aurally second. When it comes to a practical approach of teaching sound before sight it can feel a bit like the…
In the past year, digital escape rooms have become more popular in music studios. Many teachers have looked for online solutions that get students practicing music skills without the stress of trying to do everything live. These have become a student-favourite in my studio & for good reason! But, knowing how can we use digital…
Group lessons are an amazing way to keep enthusiasm up in any studio. It’s a great time for students to visit, build a sense of studio community & bring a change in our routine right about when students need a change in scenery. How do you host a fun online Halloween group lesson? Without feeling…
With the end of the year just around the corner (or so it seems), many of our students will be getting a bit wiggly on the bench, perhaps a bit teary-eyed at staying inside on a sunny day, and in general wanting to do something just a little bit different.
One of the favourite warm-up activities we did in my studio this year was rhythm warm-ups. I wanted my students to feel a steady pulse as they played piano, but I also wanted them to improvise with rhythms so when they saw them in their music it was easier to recognize. I wanted a warm-up that kind of did it all. This week, I am sharing the warm-up with you!
Maybe it’s my special needs teaching background. Maybe, it has to do with teaching at private schools. Or, maybe I just feel a deep desire to be organized (or at least feel like I’m mostly organized). Whatever the reason really is, each summer I make annual student growth plans. Why would I subject myself to…
At this time of year, I am always torn between finishing out the year with a bang & wanting to get going on next year’s plans. So this week, I wanted to share the articles & ideas that kept my excitement up … during a time of year that typically leads to burn out.
Raise your hand if you love the admin side of your teaching job? … No? While I LOVE researching new ideas & teaching, all the other admin stuff that comes with running my own business? Not so much. A couple years ago, I finally opted to extend my screen in an effort to be more efficient…
Planning lessons can take up a lot of time. When I first began teaching, I was told to budget an hour for each hour I taught. Thankfully, there are tools that have taken that planning time to a much more reasonable & sustainable level.