Resources, Studio Business, Technology

Free Studio Website Builder: Weebly.com

Joy Morin

Have you thought about starting a website for your studio, but felt that you didn’t have the resources or expertise to build one?  Check out Weebly.com — an attractive and easy-to-use online resource where you can create a website for free.

Personally, I currently use iWeb software (comes free on all Mac computers) to create and maintain my studio site.  However, Weebly sites are so attractive, I might make the switch someday!  I switched, and now I use Weebly for my studio website!

Some great features:

  • Extremely user-friendly. The drag-and-drop site builder is extremely easy to use, even for those who might not consider themselves to be very technologically savvy.
  • No software is needed. That means, no buying or installing software onto your computer.  Creating and maintaining your website is done completely online.
  • You can use a free ___.weebly.com domain name, or use your own domain name. Weebly is one of the few free website building sites that allow you use your own url (e.g., colorinmypiano.com) if you desire.  Just purchase one from a site such as Name.com (a year usually costs around $10).  If you don’t want to use your own domain name, for free you can just use yourname.weebly.com.
  • Attractive themes. Of all the free website building sites I’ve seen, Weebly by far creates the most attractive-looking sites.  They have tons of great customizable themes to choose from.

Here are some links to some studio websites that were created using Weebly, to get you inspired:

Good luck!  If you are successful in creating your own studio site using Weebly, be sure to share the link with us in the comments!

Words of Wisdom

Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom

Joy Morin

“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.

improving as a teacher

The June Forum: Making your Vocation a Vacation

Joy Morin

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?

Photo credit: jonycunha | CC 2.0

Questions

Introduction of a New Series: The Monthly Forum!

Joy Morin

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!

Photo credit: incase. | CC 2.0

Announcements, Group Classes, Motivation, Music Camps

A Peek into the Incentive Program Prize Box

Joy Morin

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” →

Words of Wisdom

Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom

Joy Morin

“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.

Teaching Piano

Fun tip

Joy Morin

Today I just thought I’d share a fun little tip I learned from one of my students this week!  Yes, you read that right: she taught me.  =)  She is a young beginner student, just learning how to read music on the staff.  She informed me that she came up with a way for remembering the note “D” (the one just above Middle C): D is the note that Dangles from the staff.  Clever!  I was so proud of her.  That is a little trick that I will definitely be sharing with my other beginner students.

Announcements

Just checking in….

Joy Morin

Hello all,

Just a brief update for today, as my husband and I are in the middle of moving to a new apartment!  This week’s posts will be not as intensive as usual.  Hopefully, we will be more settled by this weekend, and next week’s posts will return to normal.

Meanwhile:

  1. If you haven’t already, check out the Discussions page of the Color In My Piano blog facebook page.  A few of you have introduced yourselves there, and I can’t tell you how exciting it is for me to get to learn a little bit about my readers!  Thank you to those who’ve taken the time to post.
  2. Also, if you haven’t already, enter yourself in the free giveaway that ends Thursday, May 27 at midnight!  And feel free to spread the news!  If you’ve entered already, however, you should still take a moment to visit this post to read the great things others have shared in the comments.  Thanks for sharing your memories, tips, and quotes – they are so fun to read. =)
Announcements, Games, Giveaways, Group Classes, Music Camps, Teaching Piano

May 2010 Free Giveaway: Drawing Music Symbols Boards

Joy Morin

I am excited to announce the first ever free giveaway on the Color In My Piano blog!  *drumroll…*

THREE lucky winners will each be mailed a pair of laminated boards for learning and drawing music symbols.  (You may recall when I blogged about these boards here. I am keeping my set, of course, but I went back to buy more to share with you!)  These boards have a lot of potential for team games at group lessons or summer piano camps, or can simply be used during the private lesson.  They are two-sided — one side shows the symbols and their names, and the other side lists the names but leaves a blank staff for the student to draw the symbol.  Both sides are laminated to allow use with a dry-erase marker.

Unfortunately, because the prize is such a odd-shaped object and is expensive to ship, this giveaway is limited to readers from the continental U.S. only.

To enter: Continue reading “May 2010 Free Giveaway: Drawing Music Symbols Boards” →