Onward to the New Year

Reflecting on the past two years, my studio has grown from only two students (friends from a family at church), to starting 2013 off with 15 students acquired from many sources including referrals from other teachers and students, word of mouth, and meeting families through other activities.  Growing the numbers of students I have has been a gradual process, but I am glad it's come slowly.  There's been much to learn: policies to implement, priorities to place, diplomacy to develop.... And much of that learning has come by mistakes that have been made.  I've taken the last couple of weeks off, and look forward to starting back fresh again.  My greatest source of encouragement is still the blog posts I read from other teachers, much more experienced and skilled than I am, yet still facing the same difficulties.  I am looking forward to try reaching out to some "fringe" families this year, trying some new technology in my studio, and trying to be more silly ~ all ideas inspired by blog posts.  Wishing everyone out there a very Happy New Year and may many blessing lie ahead!

One Measure at a Time

I spent most of a student's lesson today on one measure - just eight little notes.  There was a dotted quarter note in the melody, and the student was very frustrated trying to practice it at home.  He couldn't practice it at home - he didn't know how to play the timing.  We had encountered the dotted q. a few times before, but against the left hand, it just wasn't making sense.  So we counted and played slowly and counted some more and repeated it and tried it all again.  By the end of the lesson, the student wanted to practice some more.  What seemed impossible became easy in just a few minutes.  It doesn't always happen in just a few minutes, but this can apply to so many struggles we encounter in life if we just spend some time and patience working it out!