Every year the process looks slightly different, but in a nutshell there are some tried-and-true steps that seem to work for developing a practice incentive theme that will captivate students! In the spring, use year-end questionnaires to collect input on what they liked best and least about the theme, what things they’d like to focus […]
Teaching
Monday Mailbag – Teaching Note Recognition
I need some new ideas for the same old problem…teaching note recognition. I am so tired of students asking, ” is it ‘every good boy does fine’ or ‘good boys deserve fudge always’? What works for you? I have several Monday Mailbag questions dealing with teaching note recognition in my inbox right now, so I […]
Monday Mailbag – Quest for Capital Questions
I’m trying to decide on a theme for the year and I’m still unsure about how Quest for Capital works. Could you give me a little more info on how you invest in a particular stock? I guess I don’t know how stocks work myself! I’ve been getting quite a few questions about this Quest […]
Reaching the Younger Generation with Classical Music
Any outing to a local classical music concert will quickly reveal that the median age of attendees is somewhere around sixty, give or take a few years. But not anymore at the Utah Symphony thanks to the efforts of a group of high school students who have started their own Symphony Club. You’re sure to […]
Monday Mailbag – Advancing Students Too Quickly
What dangers are there, if any, in advancing a student too soon? This is one of those lessons that I learned the hard way. There are a lot of disadvantages to advancing students too quickly. Here are some of them: they often struggle with complex rhythms in the harder pieces technique skills don’t match the […]
Kick-It-Up-A-Notch! a one-week intensive piano course Materials Are Available!
After hours of writing, working, testing, tweaking, re-designing, and implementing, I am excited to announce that the Kick-it-up-a-Notch! a one-week intensive piano course package is now available! This course is specifically designed for middle school and high school students who are serious about music. In order for students to participate, I required them to commit […]
