Monthly Archives: July 2009

Piano Camp – Improvising!

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One of the other activities we are doing each day of Piano Camp is improvising. I start out by having all the students play the pentascale, chord progression, and arpeggio of a given key. We do this several times all together. Then, I play an accompaniment CD and they play along with the CD.


After one run-through, I let them choose what order they want to play the various elements in (scale, arpeggio, etc.) as long as they stay on beat and try to match the style and character of the accompaniment. I conduct while they play and give them a signal leading into the final measure so that we all end together.


I have a couple of students at the piano, a couple at one keyboard, one at another keyboard, one on the bells, and one on the xylophone. After a couple times through, they all switch to a different instrument, and those on the keyboards can select another orchestral instrument for their sound setting. (The ones on the xylophone and bells just play the chord root or the chord shell during the chord progressions.)

By Thursday and Friday, I should be able to let them do a full-fledged improvisation in the key, but for now it helps to give them some structure within which to play. Either way it’s a lot of fun and sounds pretty cool! :-)

To be continued…

Piano Camp in Pictures

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Since I’m holding Piano Camp this week, I thought I’d give you a look into what we do each day. You can see the outline of my objectives for the week on the post Working on Piano Camp Lesson Plans. Not surprisingly, some of the activities took a little longer than I anticipated, so we didn’t get to everything that I had planned. We couldn’t believe how fast the time flew by! I’ll try to post pictures from several of our activities each day. Here are a few from today:

Here’s a snapshot of the workbooks I put together for each student. Once all the pages were printed, I three-hole punched them and then fastened them in these colorful folders. We’ll be working out of these each day, and then the students will be allowed to take them home at the end of the week to complete additional worksheets and activities that we have to skip or leave incomplete due to time constraints.

The first activity today was the assignment for each student to draw a diagram of the piano keyboard – as accurately as they could based on their memory/knowledge of how many keys, etc. This was a good intro into discussing what keyboard topography is and why it’s important. We also discussed the history and design of the piano in more detail.

Our next activity is what I called “The Blindfold Challenge.” Each student took his/her turn sitting at the piano with the blindfold and had to play groups of either two black keys or three black keys up and down the keyboard. The goal was to be as smooth and accurate as possible. This was a challenge, but they all did a great job coming up with various strategies to help with accuracy and fluidity!

To be continued…

Monday Mailbag – Practice Incentives

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I’m interested in purchasing at least one of your incentive programs but have no studio yet. Is there a program(s) that might work for a teacher just starting?

Of the practice incentives that I currently have available, I think the one that would work best for a fledgling studio is Climbing the Ladder to Success. This one is more individually-based with the objective being to encourage students to play lots of music. Students of all levels benefit from supplemental music that is appropriate to their level. And the Diligence Dollars that the students are collecting throughout the year could be used for any event or items that you choose; they don’t have to be for a trip to a recording studio. So, I think this practice incentive would be the most adaptable to a studio with any number and level of students. Plus, it’s pretty easy to implement and is a lot of fun!

Remember, if you have a question you’d like to contribute to next week’s Monday Mailbag, leave it in the comments below or send me an e-mail sometime this week with Monday Mailbag in the subject line!

Working on Piano Camp Lesson Plans

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My Piano Camp is scheduled for next week, so I’ve been busy these last couple of days trying to assimilate all my ideas and devise the accompanying lesson plans. For more specifics on how I do this, you can read the post, How to Plan a Group Class. This year, I’m only holding one Piano Camp, which is nice because then it only requires one set of lesson plans! It’s a pretty diverse age and skill-level group, so I’ve had to brainstorm extra hard to think of objectives and activities that will be relevant and exciting for all of the students. I still need to finalize my outline and finish designing the student workbooks this weekend, but here are the objectives that I’ve outlined for the group:

  • Have fun!
  • Develop keyboard topography skills
  • Learn about the history and design of the piano
  • Learn an ensemble piece (assign each student a duet or trio)
  • Build improvisation skills
  • Learn about some composers and their spiritual lives

My tendency is to try to focus on too many things, so I’m trying to be more realistic and narrow in my emphasis. Each of the activities are designed to reinforce these objectives and hopefully provide a cohesive flow throughout the course of the week. It should be a lot of fun and a great learning experience for all of us!

Are any of you holding piano camps this summer?

Guest Post – 6 Networking Tips for Independent Music Teachers

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Besides your latest efforts to recruit new students, when was the last time you really went all out in terms of marketing and networking? Indie music teachers are responsible for every part of their business, including managing the creative side, client relations and marketing. That’s why it’s important to build up your network of other independent music teachers so that you can benefit from a larger support system of professionals. Don’t think of all the other music teachers in your area as competition: think of them as potential business partners, friends, and people who can give you referrals. Here are six easy tips to get you started on building up your network.

  1. Register with a national and/or local music association. There are numerous associations and clubs for independent music teachers and musicians, so register at the national and local levels to get invited to special events, conferences, and other networking events.
  2. Organize a group recital. Contact other music teachers in your area to organize a group recital, especially if you have a limited number of students. For variety, ask teachers who are in a different field of music than you to join in.
  3. Become a judge. Find out how you can become a judge at music competitions and festivals. You’ll meet other judges, teachers, parents, and students, as well as other professional contacts who can help you in the future.
  4. Get online. Advertise your services by becoming a respected music resource on Facebook, Twitter, or through your blog. You can even set up a podcast or post audio recordings from your top students as a portfolio. The Internet has unlimited possibility for networking and marketing.
  5. Share space. Post a listing on Craigslist or just ask around to find another music teacher who’s interested in sharing a studio space. You can get a two-room space or switch off days of the week.
  6. Perform at local events. Contact local fairs and charity events to find out how your students can perform. Parents of your students will be glad to have their kids get the added exposure, and you’ll immediately advertise your services to everyone attending the event for free.

This post was contributed by Megan Jones, who writes about online colleges and universities. She welcomes your feedback at Meg.Jones0310 at gmail.com.

Monday Mailbag – Music Reading Dilemma

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I’ve got a question for you about children who fail to progress. I’ve got 3 students who have been playing for quite a while – I think all of them started 2 and a half years ago – but they’ve all just failed to progress. I started teaching them using a middle C method and in all this time they still cannot read notes in middle C position. I constantly drill, play games, use guide notes, go over old material, assign games from musiclearningcommunity.com; but nothing is working. If it was just one of them I’d think “oh well, I’ll just keep trying” but because it’s three, I guess some of it must be me. I’m not sure how great their practice is – they tell me they work, but who knows. Do you have any great ideas? Have you ever had students like this?

Ha! Has any teacher not had a student like this?! :-) I have found that these types of students usually fall into two categories:

1. Non-practicers

2. Non-intuitive music readers (usually these students are stronger aurally than visually)

For the non-practicers, or those that I suspect have the ability to excel in this area but just aren’t putting in the effort, here are the things I would try:

  • Have a “practice lesson.” I explain to the student that I am holding a practicing evaluation day. I will sit to the side of the room with a clipboard and piece of paper and take notes. Meanwhile, they are to go through a practice session exactly as they would at home. On my paper, I make a list of the things the student did well/effectively and the things they need to improve. This is very revealing. Based on my assessment, we go over each assignment one at a time and I walk them through an effective way to practice. This helps me see if they have trouble finding their starting notes, how they handle difficulties, how many times they practice each piece, etc.
  • Write a detailed list of assignments and require the student to place a checkmark in a corresponding column for each day that they practice that particular assignment (here’s an example of a generic assignment page/practice journal that I have used for this purpose).
  • Call or e-mail the parent and explain to them that you’re trying a more structured approach to practicing and ask them to oversee their child’s practice each day and sign off at the end of the week. I am usually very upfront with the parent and let them know that their child is not progressing very well and I’m concerned that it’s due to a lack of quality practice. Usually the parent knows whether their child has been practicing or not and their response will either be apologetic with a promise to help them do better, or defensive with an excuse as to why they haven’t practiced.
  • If it becomes apparent that lack of practice is a persistent problem, I let the student and parent know that if it doesn’t improve, I will have to let them go so that I can open their spot up to someone who is committed to practicing regularly. Usually within the year, they either decide to discontinue lessons or I let them go.

For the non-intuitive music readers, here are a couple of thoughts:

  • Have them pick out a song by ear using the notes they should know on the staff. Then, using their manuscript book, help them learn how to notate the song using the correct notes and rhythmic values. This same concept can be applied by having them compose a short piece in a particular position, if you prefer. It’s amazing how doing things “backwards” like this can help the concept of note reading click for their brains. All of a sudden it makes sense that those dots all over the page represent keys that must be played to achieve the sound that the composer wanted!
  • Use beginner level supplementary books and just keep assigning new pieces every week. For some students, it just seems like quantity is the key. The more they play, the more they start to understand the written music. This starts out pretty ugly at first – the student plays lots of wrong notes and rhythms. I might correct one or two things and have them play it again, but we ALWAYS move on to a new piece for the next week. I don’t necessarily recommend this method for all students, but it has proven very effective on the few strugglers that I have used it with.

I’m personally not a fan of the middle C approach, but it sounds like you’re supplementing with lots of other ideas, so it’s hard to say what is really going on with your students. I do know that I have had several students over the years who just took a long time to grasp the concept of note reading. But I could tell they were trying, so we kept plodding along and I kept reminding them week after week how to find their notes, etc. and eventually it did click! In the end, perseverance paid off and now they play wonderfully!

This is such a great topic, though – and one that is always pertinent. Does anyone else have any insights or ideas as to how to work with these students?

Remember, if you have a question you’d like to contribute to next week’s Monday Mailbag, leave it in the comments below or send me an e-mail sometime this week with Monday Mailbag in the subject line!

Piano Mistakes NOT to Correct

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This recent post on Piano Mistakes NOT to Correct by Dan Starr is fabulous! I love how he breaks down the different types of mistakes to highlight just how particular one can become in their performance expectations. Then he lists the order of his “Priority of Mistakes”:

1. Learning music you dislike.

2. Playing with an uneven tempo.

3. Hitting wrong notes.

4. Using wrong fingering (playing with bad technique).

>>Read the whole article for lots of great additional thoughts about each list item. If you have adult students, this is definitely a site worth directing them to!

50 Open Courseware Collections for Musicians

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I guess this is the week for lists of 50! Here’s another great collection – 50 Open Courseware Collections for Musicians. This is a list of places where you can find free on-line music classes and resources. From organ workshops to a course on the Physics of Sound to learning to play the cello, there are lots of possibilities to explore! The list is nicely annotated to help you navigate through the wide variety of website offerings.