Musical Magic It is wonderful to watch someone master a piece and feel that joy and confidence that comes from working hard. I remember that feeling. But it was always quickly replaced with a brand-new assignment challenge so there wasn’t much time to relish the success. I realized one day that I needed to be…
How to Help the Shy One in Class Saraya is one of the quiet girls in my Tuesday 4:00pm class. She’s naturally shy but she’s got a lot going on. When I challenge her, she always rises to the occasion. The last months of school she got quite buried in her AP classes and exams,…
Teachers who switch to small group lessons fall in love with teaching all over again We’ve all been there. Sitting for 30 or 45 minutes ahead with a student who hasn’t practiced is a hard way to feel motivated to teach. It totally bites. I remember one week in particular, facing a whole week of…
Some students are great at reading notes Some show their strengths in feeling or playing rhythm. Others see patterns everywhere and get excited when they search for new ones. Even a student with personal discipline in practicing lifts those around them. A whole class can learn from the strengths of others and even from weaknesses…
Three Differences There are 3 striking differences you will find in a small group classroom versus a private lesson. Students develop a camaraderie and start looking forward to coming to class. Learning with friends propels progress. Hearing how others struggle validates a student’s own struggle to learn, but assures them that they can do it….
3 benefits most parents notice right away with small group classes Motivation Performance Exposure Motivation Magic Motivation happens because class members don’t want to show up unprepared. It’s not just their teacher who will hear if they didn’t practice, it’s the friends in their class. Traditional excuses are not given on a regular basis, because…
Are you interested in finding better ways to teach piano? If so, then congratulations, that makes you more teachable than most teachers. Finding success with new ideas is wonderful because success means you’re able to teach others better. I promise this makes you an exception. I say this because piano teachers, in general, are quite set in…
Why Body Percussion There is a cadence in my voice calling the commands. There is a beat on each student’s body that gives them muscle memory and regular memory in participation. They are feeling the beat, playing the beat and coordinating it both with audio and visual with their classmates. We start by making a little wall…
How long a student needs to practice piano each day is different for each person. Is there a magic number that produces great students? No, not in my 30+ years of experience teaching piano. Julliard students practice 5-8 hours a day but that would ruin most any beginner’s desire to learn piano. What about 10 minutes a day? Can…
Tracking practice minutes is important Did you have to practice piano a set amount of time each day? Some teachers encourage setting a buzzer, while others suggest a set time each day for practice …but did you know that keeping track of practice minutes is very helpful for both students and teachers? Teachers need to…