This summer I attended a Melody Bober workshop at our local music store. It was a wonderful workshop, and among the practical ideas Melody shared was the idea for this rhythm chart. I made one on my own a couple of weeks later and have already used it numerous times in my lessons. Side one […]
How to Inspire Students to Do Better?
Here’s a funny little quip I ran across recently that made me think in terms of how I teach my students. “There is no such thing as an attention span. People have infinite attention as long as you are entertaining them!” I know several students might say I’m too entertaining on occasion… 🙂 But, in […]
Counting Rhythms with Pennies
One of my students was having difficulty understanding 16th note rhythm patterns today, so I pulled out my penny jar. I remember hearing about this idea a number of years ago and was just reminded of it the other day. Every penny represents a 16th note. Therefore, every set of four pennies represents one beat […]
Catalog Your CDs Using Readerware
What an amazing organizational tool! Have you ever wanted to let a student listen to a CD recording of a certain piece and spent a great deal of time looking at the back of each CD cover, only to discover that you must not have it after all? You absolutely must check out the Readerware […]
Get Your Name Out
If you haven’t already done so, you should register your studio at Music Staff. Registration is free and allows you to list your studio in a database of music studios searchable by potential students. Even if you already have a full studio, the more you get your name out in the public eye, the more […]
Music to My Ears!
What a pleasant surprise it was to me when 8-year old Joey announced part way through his lesson that he had chosen another piece to work on. “Because it will make me have to count,” he said and then quickly added, “and I need to work on my counting.” Ah, yes! An early convert to […]