“I believe that interpretation should be like a transparent glass, a window for the composer’s music.“
— Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russian conductor and virtuoso pianist
Every Wednesday brings Words of Wisdom here at the Color in my Piano blog in the form of a musical quote or joke, intended to bring inspiration or humor to the middle of your week. Have suggestions? Send an email off to admin[at]colorinmypiano.com.
As mentioned yesterday, a new series is being introduced here at Color In My Piano: a monthly forum of sorts, where readers put their heads together a discuss various topics. The success of this series depends on YOU, so please, type away!
Without further ado, allow me to introduce the topic for the June forum:
The June Forum: Making your Vocation a Vacation
The June forum is inspired by a couple of quotes I encountered a couple of days ago that really got me thinking about my piano teaching:
“Instead of wondering where your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” – Godin
“Make your vocation your vacation.” – Old adage
So the idea is to make your vocation as a piano teacher enjoyable for yourself, so that you aren’t living most of your life just getting by until the next vacation. =)
Now that summer vacation is here, ironically enough, I think this is a fitting topic to consider. I’m sure that some of you are probably taking summer vacation from teaching and others of you are probably going to be teaching as normal through the summer (personally, I’m somewhere in the middle – some students have stayed on and others are taking a summer break). Nevertheless, I’m sure we are all thinking ahead to the next year of teaching and maybe even already doing some planning. Well, now you can add this thought to your list! — How can I make the next year of teaching be more like a vacation than a vocation?
Thoughts? What do YOU do to make your vocation more like your vacation? How do you deal with discouragement and disappointments as a teacher when they come along? How do you keep your teaching fresh and fun? What are some practical ways that you can do differently to make your vocation as a piano teacher more like a vacation all year long?
At the expense of sounding like an old record, I’d like to express once more (last time, I promise!) how much I’ve enjoyed reading all your comments lately, especially the shared stories on the giveaway post from a couple weeks ago. It’s comments such as those that make Color In My Piano a success and a worthwhile resource for everyone including myself! We have so much we can learn from each other.
For this reason, I’d like to introduce a new series that is coming to Color In My Piano designed to inspire and facilitate worthwhile discussions on various topics. It’s essentially a place to “throw our heads together” and share our expertise and experiences so that we can grow and learn from each other. Each month, a topic will be introduced in a post titled “The [current month] Forum: [topic].” The success of this new series lies in your hands…so please, be ready to type away! Think of it like a potluck: we each bring a dish to pass so that we can share a fabulous meal with each other. =)
At the end of the month, I will post another post summarizing the various points of discussion brought up and perhaps adding more of my own thoughts, effectively bringing that month’s forum to a close. (Although you may certainly feel free to continue commenting about the subject if desired.) At the beginning of the next month, a new topic is then introduced.
Stay tuned for the introduction of the topic for the first-ever monthly forum — to take place tomorrow!
I just thought I’d pass along the news about some great summer savings:
Perfect timing! I need to order a few books for my students. =)
Here’s a peek into the prize box I use for my incentive program. In case you haven’t read about my incentive program before, here’s the lowdown: I create an index card for each student, and when they pass a song, they are given a point/sticker for every page of the song learned. They can also earn points/stickers for doing theory worksheets, memorizing their pieces, etc. When they earn 25 points/stickers on their index card, they are allowed to choose a prize from the prize box.
I recently restocked the prize box with some cute new items. Take a look!
The purple prize box.
It’s decorated with some cute music stickers!
Continue reading “A Peek into the Incentive Program Prize Box”
“It is proportion that beautifies everything, the whole universe consists of it, and music is measured by it.“
— Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625), English composer and organist
Every Wednesday brings Words of Wisdom here at the Color in my Piano blog in the form of a musical quote or joke, intended to bring inspiration or humor to the middle of your week. Have suggestions? Send an email off to admin[at]colorinmypiano.com.
Congrats to Stacy, Heidi N., and Emily Elliott, who are the three winners of the last week’s giveaway! Winners, check your inbox for an email. Thanks to everyone for the comments with the great tips/stories/etc.!
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