(Re)Teaching in Control

Following up on my student who is very musically inclined, but who was getting very careless with basic things: he had a wonderful lesson today.  His father is picking up that he isn't practicing his actual lesson, which includes memorizing three songs for a syllabus exam next month.  I am very grateful for his intuitiveness as he is checking with his son to make sure he works on those songs as well as his own creations.  I could hear a huge difference today in the control he had playing them, and they're almost perfectly memorized.  I introduced some Czerny exercises, emphasizing the need for precise evenness with the 8th notes and carefully forming the phrases.  We also clapped some rhythms, showing his need for steadiness, then did a little sightreading to remind him the care he needs to take when figuring out a new piece.  I know things will not be fixed in one lesson, and I am facing challenges deciding what to assign him next.  I am also perplexed as to exactly how to proceed with him.  The Level 2 book he's starting seems so simplistic, but I don't want him to miss anything. I will spend some time later this spring experimenting with repertoire pieces that provide the right challenge.  We have an early summer studio recital in June, which will give him something to concentrate on.  He's done an excellent job with the Fearless Fortissimo series; would be fun to hear him choose a few to play together.  Again, I am grateful for involved parents.  Learning to communicate to them what this student needs will be an important part of his progress.  I also must remember that as the student needs to control his playing, I need to be in control of the lessons, and not allow him to stray too far from what must be mastered.

Fun with Yo Yos

I'm not talking about plastic balls on a string, but rather students who are up about piano lessons one minute, down the other.  I have one particular student who hits the extremes on both ends.  He either finds piano a waste of his time, or he truly adores it and has fun exploring new things and playing his favorites.  While I can't make everything about piano lessons "fun," I hope to stay flexible enough to make it worth it to him.  It is work sight reading a new song, practicing a tough measure over and over, stretching the hand into new positions.  I'm learning how to keep a balance of enjoyment and beneficial challenge to keep him growing. But hopefully we can get through to the reward at the end  - being able to play music that's beautiful. 

The Right Start

I discovered today that one of my piano students, though her songs were memorized, was still having trouble finding her starting hand position.  Usually, we practice the song from the music, then I take it away, so she already knows where to be.  When I started on a song without playing from the music first, she just couldn't remember.  Thankfully we still have another month before the song are played at her syllabus exam, and we talked about some strategies to get them down.  And it taught me to watch out with my other students to make sure they don't have the same trouble!

Ribbon Festival Recap

Another successful recital, though from a teacher's perspective, it was quite an undertaking.  Going from setting up, to hosting recitals, to teaching games to a room full of unfamiliar students...  I was almost too exhausted to enjoy my students performances.  I am writing this now mostly to remind myself not to volunteer to run so many activities!  I need at least one session of down time to actually take in what's going on around me, collect my thoughts, and be aware of what the student and their families are experiencing.  On the up side, my students had positive feedback, and one of my students was even chosen to play his composition at a statewide festival in May.   I hope the opportunity encourages him to continue being creative and sharing with others.  Now, it's onto my first year of putting students in syllabus exams....!

Nervous?

I was reading this post by LaDona's Music Studio, http://ladonasmusicstudio.com/2012/03/14/double-the-nerves/
when some thoughts came to be about my own nerves.  My own children have played in recitals for many years now, and I have never felt extremely nervous about it.  I was concerned that they would embarass themselves, or become discouraged if something bad happened.  But they handled things quite maturely, so it was never a huge issue. 

But now that I'm a teacher, I find a whole new set of emotions emerging...!  Now I am finding that I am getting flustered as I prepare students for recitals, second guessing myself about which pieces we selected, wondering if I taught them everything I should have, wishing I had just a few more practices...  I think now the student's sucess or failure reflects more on ME.  When I was a parent, it was their teacher's "fault" if something went wrong... now I'm the one to blame!  Now, I know that the teacher really isn't at fault or needing to be blamed for anything.  There's responsibility on everyone's part, and sometimes now matter how well prepared, something can go wrong.  I know it's all part of the learning process and we grow from our mistakes.  I know that I have prepared each student the best that I can.  But the negative thoughts still find their way in. 

One thing that keeps me from listening to the destructive thinking is to remember that my attitude reflects on the student.  If I am confident, the student will be confident; if I am impatient and nervous, the student will be as well.  Also I plan far ahead as is reasonable to ensure the student feels comfortable with piece and knows it well.  I schedule as many practices as possible with duet partners.  And I remain as flexible as possible.  If something just isn't working, we can select a different song, or, in the recent case of a student trying to play two songs, we simply dropped the one he wasn't ready for.  Another example is showing a duet pair how to find a good place to restart their piece if they got so out of synch they couldn't go on.  They could start at a place near the end which they knew well and at least finish.  I want to my students to be confident, but also give them realistic expectations. 

With all that said, two more days until the biggest recital of the year.....!  All of my students have one more lesson to go, and I'm sure I'm more nervous than they are.  Maybe their confidence will rub off on me!  :)

Re-teaching a Student

I've had one particular student who has been learning very quickly and seems to be inclined to music perhaps above many of my other students.  While he used to go off and learn his assigned piece by the following week, he is now struggling with even simple pieces.  He is spending more of his time playing his own improvisations rather than practicing his lesson plan.  He is also losing learned technique, including hand position and timing.  I can see now where letting some of the "little" things go has compiled into a "big" thing now.  We have a big recital in less than two weeks, followed by syllabus exams 6 weeks after that.  Those 6 weeks will be spent redirecting, rehoning, and reiterating, to the parents as well, the need for practicing what's been given, and playing it how it's been taught.  The next couple of weeks for me will be spent researching refreshing ways to (re)teach and (re)motivate him!

Why Only One Post in February?

Only one post in February, and now it's March 1st and I have three posts!  I've wondered myself what was keeping me away last month.  At this time on Thursdays mornings the past few weeks, I was rehearsing with my duet partnet for a teacher's recital which was on Feb. 26.  Now that it's over, I have a few more chunks of time available.  In conjunction with the post about how important recitals are, I think they are equally important for a teacher to be participating in.  I'm very thankful for the opportunity, though it nearly drained me!  Most of my spare time was spent practicing or rehearsing.  I certainly can see where my weaknesses are, and thank my colleagues for their patience as I develop those areas.  I can also relate better to my students and what they go through in preparation for a public performance.  I will take a few weeks break, but in late spring will begin preparing for the September recital.  It won't be easy, but I believe I need to be an example to my students and be willing to work hard and grow as well.  And wow, there's a lot of room for improvement...!

Ribbon Festival & the Importance of Recitals

I wrote a lengthy paragraph on my second blog (Firm Foundation Piano Page - geared more for my students and their families), so I don't want to repeat myself again here.  But I want to express my appreciation as a teacher for the opportunity to have recitals for my students to participate in, which are so important for the growth and devlopment as a pianist.  Being a member of the OMTA, I can be a part of things on a much larger scale than I would ever be able to do on my own.  Our local chapter offers on the state level the Baroque Festival, Ensemble Festival, Syllabus exams, and the Ribbon Festival, exclusive to Newport.  About a dozen teachers (or less) participate, and well over 100 students perform throughout the day.  It really gets students excited about playing, and gets them thinking about what they'll do for the next year!  At this point I don't have an official policy on recital participation.  So far, everyone has been willing to participate.  I also host my own studio recital in June, which allows my students and families to get to know one another in a smaller setting.  Recitals are such a great excuse to partner up for duets, polish pieces they're practicing, explore new things to "wow" the audience, work on concert etiquette, etc. etc.  I know I am excited to see the joy each student has sharing the songs they've worked so hard on, and it's so fun being not only a parent now, but having my own students participating... wow! 

Bring on the Stopwatch!

One of my younger students has a fairly short attention span.  He's bright and learning quickly, but he doesn't care to sit and do what he's told to do for very long unless his interest is piqued.  We finished up going through our assigned songs, ran quickly through a new one, and had nearly half the lesson left to go.  So my box of flash cards and the stopwatch around my neck came out.  First we timed how long he could go through the 10 notes, then we timed how many notes he could name in a minute.  This was the first time I'd done that with him, and he actually took a breath in the middle of it and said, "This is fun!"  Hooray!  I am definitely seeing the value of being flexible in my teaching, and of keeping various activities around.  I'll be searching for more challenges like this to add to my "bag of tricks!"