Another New

For several years now I've been part of a hand bell choir.  We've had adult choirs, children's choirs, youth choirs, blended choirs.  Now we get to try something new.  A beginning choir.... with me directing it!  I've learned a lot about teaching music over the past couple of years, but this will be a real test, teaching an entire group of young students, dealing with behaviour, having the energy to stay on top of it all....  I guess it goes back to the old addage, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  And more organized.  I think I need to carry a filing cabinet on my back now.  But wow, what an opportunity, to take a group of people who may barely know a quarter note from a crescendo and teach them how to play a song from start to finish...  whew!

New Student Results

The meeting went well today, I am very excited to begin teaching a new student!  She is very enthusiastic and has her parents' support.  I decided on the Faber Primer & Theory books, as I had extra copies on hand, and also I hope to try out their new sight reading book which can be started about half way through the lesson book.  She seems to have a diligent spirit and understands she must practice to improve.  I put that a little more directly to her as an individual student this time, asking her how much time she thought she could practice in a week.  She asked if a half hour a day was enough!  :)  (If I could get some of my students to practice 1/3 of that I'd be happy... they'd be happier too!)  Mom chimed in offering a particular time in the evening she would have available.  I look forward to seeing what the future holds for this sweet young lady.

New Year, New Student!

It's a very exciting thing to get a call from a prospective student.  There are many piano teachers in the local area who have lost students, and few who have gained many back.  I'm not sure why: the economy, losing interest in learning an instrument, too many activities to juggle, interest in instruments besides piano (guitar seems to be on the rise around here).  This is my first new student since last April.  It was almost like starting over again, just preparing what to do for our first meeting!  I had to review some ideas, and dig up the forms I need to fill out and give to parents.   I was also a bit surprised how difficult it was for me to decide what method book to offer.  I have a few to choose from, and ultimately will decide based on how ready she is,what prior musical experience she has, and what seems to fit her personality best.  (I am also happy to finally write "she," lol.  All but one of my students are "he's" right now!)  And I have found a repertoire series I think I like.  Students are required to memorize orginally composed music from various eras for their annual exams (which is another topic altogether, but I highly encourage all my students to participate).  I have perused the Alfred Masterworks Classics Series, Level 1-2 and Level 3.  Each book has enough to last the student for a couple of years, and they cost under $10.  The music is interesting and varied.  So when they are ready, I will add that to the method book, perhaps eventually dropping the methd books altogether by level 3 or so.  I hope to generate interest in a very straightforward theory series by Kjos publishers (Keith Snell).  They can start the preparatory book at Level 2.  It isn't full of illustrations or games though, so it may not work for everyone.  Another frustrating aspect to choosing curriculum is the fact that we have no local music store to pick up a copy here and there.  I have to order online, or make a trip to a town an hour away, so I usually wait until I need enough books to make it worth it.  So when a new student does come along, I have to scramble to make sure I have something on hand for them.  I may consider stock piling my favorite preparatory books, once I decide on them!  (I do like Faber Accelerated for older beginners. I am also looking into Helen Marlais' series.)  So now I wait anxiously for our first meeting on Thursday!  :)

Practice Incentive

Struggling with students not practicing is nothing new to the piano teacher.  Even my students who love to play are not actually playing their lesson assignments.  They continue to progress though over students who don't play anything at all through the week.  I read a recent blog that suggested that practicing just 20 minutes a day will make you a better pianist at the end of a year.  I'm challenging my beginning students with practicing even just 10 minutes a day... it's better than nothing at all.  And if students who love to "doodle" at the piano just add 10 minutes of practice their lesson, those songs will improve.  How nice they will see it is to move on to new things! 

The next idea I am struggling with is whether or not to add a practice incentive.  I don't like dangling a prize to get a student to do something.  The reward is, yes, being able to do that (or know that) now.  But, kids do seem to respond when there's something motivating them.  I have a rather elaborate idea, but I don't want it to overwhelm my students and become the focus, or discourage them if they don't live up to it.  So I am praying a while longer to see where the Lord leads.  I do have one student who I promised a piece of ice cream cake to if he learned his five finger positions!  So.... off to deliberate again....

New Year, New Goals

Time to get organized!  I spent New Year's weekend looking over what's coming next for my students.  We have an exciting recital, "The Ribbon Festval," in March, in which students can play a solo of their choice, a duet, as well as enter art work and a TShirt contest!  I selected duet partners and pieces based mainly on convenience this year and got them all started on thier piece to give us plenty of time to polish and practice together.  They can select their solo over the next few weeks as they find a song that stands out to them. 

The next "big" event is the OMTA syllabus examination the end of April.  Students are quizzed over theory and must perform three memorized pieces for an adjudicator.  This I'm a bit more nervous about.  The repertoire must meet certain criteria and I hope my students will all be able to have them down over the next few months.  This is my first time entering students, so I am trying to find a balance between preparedness and paranoia!  I would rather have my five students prepared a bit early - we can always change something later - than to have them not prepared in time at all.  So I am introducing all the pieces I suggest to them now, starting with the more difficult pieces, and will go from there. 

Being a new year, the tradition is to set a new goal.  With goals now set for the students, someone has asked what will you do - or quit doing - in your studio in the new year.  This year I hope to quit doubting myself.  As a new teacher, I wonder if I really have what it takes.  I'm not sure what the criteria really is for "it"....!  My students seem to like me, they keep progressing in their abilities, and the parents keep paying me.  When I started homeschooling my children, I feared my abilities then too, and took it "one year at a time".... that was 13 years ago!  So prayerfully  I will look back one day too, and say, "Whew, I did it!"  And when April is done and my students complete their exams, I can say, "Whew, you did it!" to them!

Teaching Composition (Book Review)

I am excited to implement ideas on composition that I found in Carol Klose's book "Piano Teacher's Guide to Creative Composition."  Her book is designed for elementary students, but includes a wealth of ideas for the advancing composer.  I think I will be able to use it for years to come.  She also lays out a simple outline for helping a student begin and complete their work.  She suggests five weeks worth of lessons that should only take 5-10 minutes to introduce and assign which lead the student through finding inspiration, mapping out their piece, choosing the form, adding details, and refining the composition.  I have one young student in particular who loves to "doodle" at the keyboard, so I am hoping this will give him some way to channel his energy and focus him on achieving a final product.  We have a Ribbon Festival recital in March which features a composition category, of which winners will be selected for the state Oregon Music Teachers Assoc. recital and even published in a book of winners.  So this also provides motivation to compose a complete work.  I am also looking forward to everything I will learn through the whole process!

Toning Up

One of the biggest challenges to me right now is teaching and demonstrating to the student how to produce a rich tone from their playing.  Rhythm is improving, note reading is getting there, fingering isn't too bad.  But they still play with low and locked wrists, no matter how many times we lift with the helium balloon.  I tried today to explain how the sound was actually made in the piano.  I was a bit surprised that one of my teenage students had no idea how the sound was produced.  Maybe it seemed a bit like typing on a keyboard, you strike an "a" and suddenly an "a" appears.  So I explained the best I could how the key moves hammers which strike actual strings.  The way the string is hit produces the kind of sound - whether short and quiet or loud and full.  Then I reminded her that hitting the notes is more than just pushing the correct key.  We need to let the weight of our arm help us get that louder, richer tone to bring out the melody with, and that raising and rotating our wrists is the key to getting the energy where it needs to be.  I also encouraged her not to be shy, to exaggerate the loudness, let it really stand out and contrast with quieter parts.  [Interesting to note, it's usually the opposite problem with many boys, who tend to unbearably pound out the sound!]  She has several duets she's working on right now, and I think she did bring out her part better today.  Hopefully with practice she'll tone up and develop a rich, lovely sound!