Jenny Bay, over at The Teaching Studio blog, has posted a fabulous collection of 25 ideas that teachers can use if a student forgets his books. Not that that ever happens in my studio, of course. 🙂 As long as we’re speaking hypothetically, this is also a great list to refer to if a student […]
Teaching
Teaching Tips from Snowboard School – Part Two: Give Students a Vision of Success
When I first fastened my boots onto the snowboard, the prospect of whizzing down the slopes like the other snowboarders I had observed for years propelled me forward. From my experience years ago, though, I learned that the gap between where I want to be and where I actually am can quickly seem insurmountable (i.e. […]
A Fabulous Way to Introduce Students to Classical Themes
I’ve been playing catch-up on blog posts for the last couple of weeks and ran across this wonderful post by Heidi that’s a Classical Themes Lab Assignment for her students. In her assignment she creates a list of all the pieces in the In Recital, with Classical Themes by Helen Marlais and pairs it with […]
Monday Mailbag – 6 Steps for Teaching Students to Practice Well
These two questions are very similar: How do you encourage your student to practice correctly when they are at home, especially when their parents have no music background and cannot hear the mistakes to correct their piece? I have a three piano students from one family (girls aged 10-12) who practice at least an hour a day…I […]
Do You Keep a Studio Journal?
I’ve been an avid journaler since before I turned 10. And at least three of the pedagogy courses I took required some form of journaling. Perhaps that’s why I made a point years ago to start a studio journal of sorts. There are probably a variety of ways one could use a studio journal, but […]
Teaching Tips from Snowboard School – Part One: Be a Pro
Like I mentioned in my Introduction to this series last week, I think the instructor we had in Snowboard School was one of the best on the slopes. The interesting thing to me was that he knew it and wasn’t shy about “tooting his own horn.” Many people are afraid of coming off as arrogant, […]
