Have any of you been involved in collaborative music events this year in conjunction with MTNA’s Year of Collaborative Music? We kicked off the theme in our studio at our September Surprise last fall, continued with our Collaborative Christmas celebration, and several of my students and I participated in the festival sponsored by one of […]
Teaching
Monday Mailbag – Practice Incentives
My question is regarding what type of practice incentives you use, if any. Currently, I have an incentive program for practice time only, where they earn a prize after one month of consistent practice (and the parent’s signature). I set this up because this year I started over with all brand new beginners. I do […]
Fun Music Games at Theta Music Trainer!
One never knows what they will find when linking around on-line. This week’s exciting find is the Theta Music Trainer website, which features a nice collection of fun and engaging music games. I just got done with a round of Paddle Pitch and am happy to report that I passed level one. 🙂 By signing […]
Playing Bach at 106
That’s years, by the way, not a tempo marking! 🙂 Last week, Fiona sent me the link to this short clip of 106-year-old Alice Sommer Herz talking about music and playing a bit of Bach, to boot! After doing a little investigating, I learned that the documentary itself has been pulled from production because of […]
The Case Against Offering Make-up Lessons
When I first started teaching I knew nothing about operating a business, establishing professional policies, or setting personal boundaries to help maintain sanity and avoid burnout. That’s probably why I hated teaching. Thanks to the influence of many wise teachers who have mentored and advised me since then, I now have well-formulated policies that enable […]
Monday Mailbag – Teaching Students to Play Beautifully
One of my families (I teach three of their children) has quite a different view on what is important in their musical education. They want to learn as many pieces as possible each week, without worrying too much about all the important details (dynamics, mood, rhythm, etc.). They also put technique down at the bottom […]
