There was such an interesting and helpful discussion about scales last week in response to the Monday Mailbag post and the Prescription for Scale Sickness that I thought it would be good to share a couple of the questions that were raised and some additional thoughts on them. LaDona wrote, “My thinking is, if students […]
Monday Mailbag
Monday Mailbag – Teaching Scales and Such
After looking through your blog, it seems to appear that you write out your scales, chords, and arpeggios for your students. Why do you do this versus using a book? And, if I would prefer to have a book that already has scales, chords, and arpeggios written out for me, do you know of any […]
Monday Mailbag – Mysterious Repertoire
After reading about the success of your incentive programs I decided to come up with my own for this fall. I’m still working on it, but it’s going to be about exploring the mystery of music. I’m wondering if you have any pieces that come to mind for recitals? (So far I have Agent X, […]
Monday Mailbag – Lesson Games
You have a lot of games. Do you do them just with the student at their lesson or do you incorporate these games into group lessons? Do the students enjoy doing these games during their lessons? How do you do that? Yes to all of the above! 🙂 Ask any of my students and they’ll […]
Monday Mailbag – Quick Easy Games to Start Off the Lesson
In reference to this post, one reader asks, “Do you have other ideas for the above listed categories that you put on popsicle sticks? What do you usually have ready to use?” There are tons of possibilities, but I’ll just give you one example for each category: 1. Chords – Hold a Chord Spelling Bee! […]
Monday Mailbag – Best Age Student for a Beginning Teacher
What age range do you think might be best for a beginning teacher? Or maybe I should rephrase that as, “Are there certain ages which you find significantly more challenging to instruct than other ages?” This one really made me think! There is a common misconception that it is less critical to have a good/professional/experienced, […]
