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 […]
Teaching
Piano Mistakes NOT to Correct
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 […]
50 Music Practice Websites
Mike Saville, of the excellent How to Practise website, recently compiled a great list of 50 Websites that will Improve your Music Practice. This is definitely a page worth bookmarking and passing on to students!
Monday Mailbag – Charging for Lessons
How do you charge for lessons? I have been charging new students by the month, old students pay when they have their lesson. I haven’t found a happy medium and can’t figure out a good way to go about doing semesters (with make up days) which would really help my business. The way the economy […]
Intervals by Ear
One of the hardest skills for my students to master is identifying intervals by ear. In fact, most of my students door quite poorly with our annual ear-training tests. I always think that I need to do something to help them improve, but usually that’s about as far as my good intentions get. Well, no […]
Monday Mailbag – Makeup Lessons
Do you have a contract that the parents must sign about piano lessons, etc.? I have tried doing a contract and it falls through every year. I now have a 24-hour policy, but it is so hard to keep that policy with certain parents (those being the parents who give me the most business and […]
