What is the benefit of using a sight reading curriculum? Isn’t every new song in the student’s book an opportunity to sight read? My emphasis on and philosophy of sight-reading tends to shift the more that I work with students. I agree that the number one way to build fluent sight-reading skills is to play […]
Teaching
25 Things to Do at a Piano Lesson When a Student Forgets Their Books
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 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 […]
