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  A Fly on the Practice Room Wall

  One of the problems for any music teacher is that we really don't know how our students work when we're not with them. You'll never get the ...more »

   

  One of the problems for any music teacher is that we really don't know how our students work when we're not with them. You'll never get the court order you need for 24/7 surveillance in their practice room, but you can run a simulation.

  Maybe twice a year, have a lesson where you don't say a word. They get the 30 minutes to practice in front of you, while you quietly take notes. You'll learn more about them in that 1800 seconds than you would in months of working with them otherwise:

  • How do they allocate their time?

  • What gets attention, what gets glossed over, and what gets ignored completely?

  • How interesting would their practice session have been to actually do?

  • How closely did what they worked on match what you needed from them?

  • What improvements did all that time produce?

  • What bad habits or errors were they actually reinforcing?

  • Did they actually make some things worse?

  The lesson after is then dedicated to going over the practice session like Monday night sports commentators analysing the Big Game from the weekend. It will be very hard for their next practice sessions to be business-as-usual afterwards.

  (There's plenty of practice help available at the main www.insidemusicteaching.com website if you get stuck.)

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  Submitted by Philip Johnston 6 months ago

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  Keeping difficult parents away from the lesson (without having to ask)

  The problem with parents who Really Shouldn't Be Sitting In On Lessons is that they're usually exactly the same parents who won't like bein ...more »

   

  The problem with parents who Really Shouldn't Be Sitting In On Lessons is that they're usually exactly the same parents who won't like being told "you really shouldn't be sitting in on lessons."

  So don't ask them. Get them to volunteer.

  The trick is to create a waiting area that's out of interference range, but a space that's so comfortable and well appointed, that they'd much rather spend time there than in than the studio itself. So:

  • You'd have opulent seating in the waiting area, while your studio would have a bum-numbing hard-back wooden kitchen chair, built from recycled church pews.

  • You'd have a wide range of interesting reading material in the waiting area, while the studio would have nothing but a copy of the 1985 March issue of Lawnmower's Monthly.

  • Your waiting area would have enough space for them to put their feet up, stretch out, whatever, while the studio has strategically positioned boxes and bookshelves that mean that the parent can never...quite...get...comfortable.

  You get the idea. They will too.

  You can then make the point - and you'll have plenty of evidence - that the studio is not really set up for spectators, although you do have a waiting room for just that purpose. Come, I'll show it to you, there's a nice comfortable chair...

  (A quick furniture swap can then make non-painful parents feel welcome again in your studio)

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  Submitted by Philip Johnston 6 months ago

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  facebook

   

  Why not also add this to facebook - I see you have twitter. I would definitely use it.

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  Submitted by Joyce Hoke 6 months ago

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  How to get standing-room-only studio recitals: the power of invitations

  A full house for your studio recital means thunderous applause and Big Event buzz — you could print up posters to try to broaden the audienc ...more »

   

  A full house for your studio recital means thunderous applause and Big Event buzz — you could print up posters to try to broaden the audience base, but there's a much more powerful option:

  Invitations. Personalised, and direct from your students.

  Dear Mrs Hatfield.

  On March 15th at 7:30 pm, I'm giving my very first public performance on piano, and I'd love you to be there to see it. I've only been learning for a year, so this is a big occasion for me...I'm hoping to have plenty of friendly faces in the audience!"

  Ouch. I mean really, ouch. If you're that child's uncle/favourite teacher at school/gymnastics coach/best friend, how are you going to turn that down?

  To really get the students fired up about not only producing compelling invitations, but ensuring that they distribute them widely, offer a prize for best designed invitation, another for the student who brings the most supporters.

  Now you actively have every student in the studio working to promote the concert. Fly, fly, my minions...

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  Submitted by Philip Johnston 6 months ago

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  MAKE RECITAL INTERESTING!

  Michelle Charles Recital can be quite boring for the parents listening to all the other students but I liven it up with giving a little inf ...more »

   

  Michelle Charles

  Recital can be quite boring for the parents listening to all the other students but I liven it up with giving a little info about each student. About a month before recital time I send out a page for the parents/students to fill out that includes other areas of interests (sports, art, playing with their dog, etc.) and honors they have received that year (A honor roll in school, 1st place in science fair, earned black belt, etc.). As the students name is called they come to the stage to perform but while they are walking to the stage I tell these interesting facts about them. The other parents feel like they know the child more and take more interest in listening to them play. I have done this for years and many parents have told me how much they enjoy hearing about the other students' accomplishments.

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  Submitted by flute4jc 5 months ago

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  Turn your studio walls into News

  Your studio walls are not just a convenient way to keep the studio floor separate from the studio ceiling. They're a blank canvas, ready to ...more »

   

  Your studio walls are not just a convenient way to keep the studio floor separate from the studio ceiling. They're a blank canvas, ready to inform parents, motivate students and rally your entire studio.

  Which is why it's worth dedicating one of your studio walls to studio buzz, news, trivia and acknowledgements:

  Best practicer last week. A big welcome-to-the-studio and short profile of your new student. Who's having a birthday this week. Press clipping of a former student receiving a National Science Award. Photos and captions from the concerto workshop last weekend. Studio ugliest pet competition. Congratulations for a student who made the state inline hockey team. Whatever. But keep it fresh and varied, and make sure your students are the stars.

  The result? Your studio appears to be impossibly, vibrantly busy, energised, and a magnet for all manner of good things, not just musical. And better still, you're obviously paying attention to all of it - which means you're obviously thinking hard about your students.

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  Submitted by Philip Johnston 6 months ago

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  Maintaining a repertoire

  To help students remember the pieces they have mastered and to continue to play them for enjoyment, I have them make a list of their favorit ...more »

   

  To help students remember the pieces they have mastered and to continue to play them for enjoyment, I have them make a list of their favorites and keep it in the notebook they bring to lessons. Periodically we choose a piece to review to keep it at a performance level. We add or delete pieces as we feel appropriate.

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  Submitted by pianoj 5 months ago

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  Reclaim start-of-lesson dead time

  To stop the start-of-lesson week-in-review chats trimming your 30 minute lessons to 22 minutes, try this instead: While students are waitin ...more »

   

  To stop the start-of-lesson week-in-review chats trimming your 30 minute lessons to 22 minutes, try this instead:

  While students are waiting for their lesson to start, have them fill in a sheet:

  • Here's how ready I am for this lesson (1-10)

  • Here's something I really hope you ask me to play today

  • Here's something I hope you DON'T ask for today

  • Here's something my parents wrote and wanted you to know

  Case notes, and an awareness of the student's agenda, before you even start. You can hit the ground running. And you get the full 30 minutes.

  Of course, you need to acknowledge the notes, but you don't need to start a conversation. Just nod and say "That's interesting...hmmm...thanks for this - it's really going to help today. In fact, let's start with..."

  You're into it, no chats, but you're still informed, and the student knows they've been heard.

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  Submitted by Philip Johnston 6 months ago

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  PIANO STORE

  I give stickers for a theory page completed, assignment done or goal minutes practiced. Ten stickers turns into one dollar and students can ...more »

   

  I give stickers for a theory page completed, assignment done or goal minutes practiced. Ten stickers turns into one dollar and students can use these dollars a variety of ways:

  1. Purchase items from the "store" - a rack I purchased at a yard sale - the items in this store come from a variety of places including the students themselves -they can bring in items - stuffed animals they no longer want, small toys, etc.

  2. Purchase 4 pieces of candy

  3. Collect 20 piano dollars and then turn them in for a gift certificate to any place in town - eg. McDonalds, Walmart.

  4. Donate their dollars to World Vision - an organization that helps in times of need. When 50 piano dollars are collected, I send in $25 to the organization. We have sent in over $100 in the last year including money to the Haiti Relief Fund.

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  Submitted by Joyce Hoke 5 months ago

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  Refresh your studio with an instant makeover

  To quickly and painlessly breathe fresh life into a tired studio—without having to go to the trouble of actually coming up with anything tha ...more »

   

  To quickly and painlessly breathe fresh life into a tired studio—without having to go to the trouble of actually coming up with anything that is new—simply rearrange everything. You're not trying to be Feng Shui about all this, just shuffling what's there, as though furniture movers got drunk and couldn't remember where everything was supposed to go. Move the music stand from over here to over there. Put the piano in the other corner. Rotate the lounges. Put up fresh pictures. Add a water dispenser.

  The students come in for their next lesson, and suddenly everything is not where it used to be. You might not have anything new apart from that, but everything will feel new.

  It's like that delicious burst of motivation and promise that followed rearranging your room as a kid - just having your desk under the window instead of by your door makes homework feel different somehow, at least for a few days...try it, tell me I'm not right on this one.

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  Submitted by Philip Johnston 6 months ago

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  Jazzing up the studio without moving furniture Pam Friske

  To jazz up my studio, I change my theme every year. I use the theme for incentives both for practicing and learning new skills. The studen ...more »

   

  To jazz up my studio, I change my theme every year. I use the theme for incentives both for practicing and learning new skills. The students and parents really like it. My studio is nice but not much room for rearranging furniture so this helps things seem new. Pam Friske

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  Submitted by pamshummers 5 months ago

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