Tag: music

Announcements

Top 10 Issues for Music Teachers in 2009

Joy Morin

I just finished reading the August/September 2009 issue of American Music Teacher.  Perhaps you’ve already read it too, if you’re a member of MTNA. 

I was struck by an article written by Lezlee Bishop, 2009 Top Issues Project (pg. 27).  Her article presents the results of a survey run from February 1 through April 30, 2009, with participation from 46 states and 1,118 teachers.  According to the article, “Teachers were asked to choose five of the items on the list that were most important to them.”  The top results:

  1. Teaching students who are over scheduled in today’s society: 768 votes
  2. Making a living at teaching, and setting fees accordingly: 533 votes
  3. Positive communication with parents and students: 503 votes
  4. Being connected to other teachers: 502 votes
  5. Developing and following through on studio policies: 377 votes
  6. Respect in the community for what I know and what I do: 357 votes
  7. Continue my own instrumental study: 306 votes
  8. Marketing myself as a music teacher: 294 votes
  9. Taxes, records and deductible expenses: 276 votes
  10. Continuing Education/Being an advocate for the arts in my community: 267 votes

Fastinating, eh?  I was intrigued to see what other teachers are being challenged by today.  How many of you were surprised by the #1 answer?  Not me. 

Which of these issues have you experienced?

Resources

Free Easy Piano Arrangements for Students

Joy Morin

Have you ever had a student who has a particular interest for learning familiar tunes?  The internet is becoming a wonderful resource for easy piano arrangements – which you can commonly download and print for free.  One site in particular that I have turned to frequently for my students is a site called G Music Theory by Gilbert DeBenedetti.  His arrangements were perfect for a student I once had who wanted to be able to play some of her favorite songs.  So I assigned a few of these “just for fun” pieces for her to learn on her own.  It was a big hit – she loved them. 

When you visit his site and click on Free Piano Music, you’ll find that he has a large amount of music sorted by difficulty (from Beginning to Intermediate) – including some duet music.  What a great resource for those adults or little ones who want to learn to play their favorite tunes! 

Be sure to check out the rest of the site – there are a number of music theory worksheets and other resources available as well.

Music Theory, Printables

60 CHORDS music images – Make your own Music Worksheets

Joy Morin

Chord Abmajor BAs promised, here is a continuation of the “Make your own Music Worksheets” series — this time, adding CHORDS image files.

Also in this series:

  1. Make your own music worksheets: Five-Finger Pattern image files – includes the original tutorial.
  2. [Currently Viewing:] 60 CHORDS music images – Make your own Music Worksheets

Remember, “Tr” means “treble clef” and “B” means “bass clef.”

Happy worksheet-making!   Continue reading “60 CHORDS music images – Make your own Music Worksheets” →

Music Theory, Printables

30 FIVE-FINGER PATTERNS music images – Make your own Music Worksheets

Joy Morin

5FP Abmajor Tr

Also in this series:

  1. [Currently Viewing:] 30 FIVE-FINGER PATTERNS music images – Make your own Music Worksheets – includes the original tutorial.
  2. 60 CHORDS music images – Make your own Music Worksheets – click here

Ever find yourself wanting to make a music worksheet for your students, but don’t have easy access to any music notation software?  This tutorial will get you on your way to creating your own music worksheets using a word processor on your computer — without purchasing an expensive music notation software. Once you’ve created some worksheets, you can print as many worksheets as you need and send them home with your students.

Using Finale software, I have saved tons of image files of chords, five finger patterns, arpeggios, etc. on my computer over the last couple years.  I’d like to share them with you, so you can make your own music worksheets using just a simple word processor like Microsoft Word.

Here’s how it works: Continue reading “30 FIVE-FINGER PATTERNS music images – Make your own Music Worksheets” →

Performances, Resources

Making Grab Bag Gifts for Music Students

Joy Morin

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Need ideas for what to give all your music students this year for Christmas or to reward them after a performance?  Trying to stay within a budget?  How about making grab bags full of music goodies! Your students are bound to be thrilled with this music-themed gift.

First, buy a package of cellophane favor bags – music-themed ones if you can. They are usually located in the party favors/decorations section at the store. Dollar stores often carry them as well. A good deal will cost from $1.00 to $3.50 for a package of 20 bags. If you cannot find favor bags, you can also use small gift bags – but it will probably cost you a little more.   Continue reading “Making Grab Bag Gifts for Music Students” →

Resources

Link: ClassicCat.net

Joy Morin

Picture 3This site is a great place to send your students who are working on Classical repertoire.  Personally, I’ve been able to use the NAXOS site to listen to pieces I’m currently working on, but I’ve always had free access as a college student.  (Otherwise you have to pay to use it.)  But ClassicCat.net is free, plus it often allows you to not only listen to the mp3’s, but often to download them also! Continue reading “Link: ClassicCat.net” →

Announcements, Games, Group Classes, Resources

Music Bingo

Joy Morin

One of my favorite blogs I follow is Susan Paradis’ Piano Teacher Resources.  She does an amazing job creating colorful worksheets, games, etc. on her computer and she puts them up on her website to share with other teachers.  A couple months ago, I had the opportunity to try out her Music Bingo game (complete with boards and calling cards) with a group of my students.  This version is suitable for elementary level students.  For even younger students, Susan Paradis has created a simpler version, available here.

Continue reading “Music Bingo” →

Announcements, Resources

Free Weekly iTunes Downloads

Joy Morin

the iTunes storeDid you know that iTunes offers free downloads each week?  If you use iTunes on your computer (you can download it here) and if you have an account on iTunes that allows you to download, you can access free mp3’s to add to your music library.  They usually showcase a different genre of music each week (sorry, Classical music doesn’t come up very often) and often showcase a new up-and-coming artist.  

Here’s how:  Visit the iTunes Store (available right inside of iTunes) and scroll down to the box called, “FREE on iTunes.”  Click there.  You will see (usually) three songs near the top that you can click on, and listen to a 30-second clip of the song.  Decide if you like it, and then download it!  Happy listening.  🙂

Click here to visit my eHow article on this topic.

Announcements, Resources

How to Give the First Music Lesson: Interviewing the Student

Joy Morin

eHow articleAre you a frequent eHow user?  My husband and I both have accounts on eHow, where you can write your own “How to” articles and make money.  The money you make is based on how many times your article is read by others, and the money is safely deposited into your linked PayPal account.  Don’t expect to make a ton of money, but if you keep up on it, it may be enough to cover your website hosting expenses each month.  (That’s my current goal!)  Below is a link to the article I wrote that summarizes the information from my most recent blog post, about conducting student interviews:  

eHow article:  How to Give the First Music Lesson: Interviewing the Student

If you haven’t tried using eHow before, give it a shot!  There’s lots of great articles to browse through, and it is fairly easy to write your own articles.

Studio Business

Conducting Student Interviews

Joy Morin

Many teachers interview prospective students before accepting them into their studio.  While I haven’t yet felt the need to do so with my own studio, after reading James Bastien’s insight concerning interviews in his book Teaching Piano Successfully, I’m convinced that interviewing students is a great idea — even if you are planning to accept the student anyway.  

It’s difficult to know how to spend the first lesson: should you buy a book in advance for the student, and jump right in?  Should you hold off on the music books, and first teach them the musical alphabet, some simple tunes, and maybe some five-finger patterns?  Maybe.   Continue reading “Conducting Student Interviews” →

Music Theory, Printables, Resources, Worksheets

New Worksheet: Intervals (unison-5th)

Joy Morin

Do you find yourself telling students how much easier it would be if they learned to recognize intervals on sight when they are sight-reading?  Here are two new free, printable worksheets, designed to help students who have difficulty distinguishing between different intervals on the staff.  The first one is for younger students who have just begun reading staff notation.  It teaches and quizzes the difference between unisons, 2nds, and 3rds.  The second worksheet is a little bit harder, adding 4ths and 5ths into the mix.  Enjoy!

  • Worksheet: Intervals Unison through 5th

This worksheet is designed to teach/quiz the student in identifying the intervals unison through 5th, in both treble and bass clefs.  The top line gives an example of each type of interval, and the rest of the page is dedicated to quizzing the student on identifying the interval.

To download, visit the Printables > Worksheets page and scroll down to the I’s for “Intervals Unison through 5th worksheet.”

  Intervals Unison-5th Worksheet (40.6 KiB, 20,344 hits)

See also:  New Worksheet: Intervals Unison-3rd

Music Theory, Printables, Resources, Worksheets

New Worksheet: Intervals (unison-3rd)

Joy Morin

Do you find yourself telling students how much easier it would be if they learned to recognize intervals on sight when they are sight-reading?  Here are two new free, printable worksheets, designed to help students who have difficulty distinguishing between different intervals on the staff.  The first one is for younger students who have just begun reading staff notation.  It teaches and quizzes the difference between unisons, 2nds, and 3rds.  The second worksheet is a little bit harder, adding 4ths and 5ths into the mix.  Enjoy!

  • Worksheet: Intervals Unison through 3rd

This worksheet is designed to teach/quiz the student in identifying the intervals unison through 3rd, in both treble and bass clefs.  The top line gives an example of each type of interval, and the rest of the page is dedicated to quizzing the student on identifying the interval.

 To download, visit the Printables > Worksheets page and scroll down to the I’s for “Intervals Unison-5th.”

  Intervals Unison-3rd Worksheet (39.0 KiB, 21,829 hits)

See also: New Worksheet: Intervals unison-5th