Studio Business

Studio Business — Printables Updated for 2013-14

I have just finished updating two of the studio business forms from the Printables page.

The first one is the Record of Lesson Attendance & Payment pdf — I have updated the dates for use for the 2013-2014 school year.  I received a number of requests from teachers to make this form available again this year, and I am happy to do so!

Here is how the form works: Write your students’ names in the first column.  Each week, write the lesson date (in a month / date format) in the column for that week.  This is how you can track attendance.  The small circles in each cell are where you can write checkmarks indicating tuition payments.  Whether you charge by-the-week or by-the-month, you can place a checkmark by each paid lesson date.

Continue reading “Studio Business — Printables Updated for 2013-14”

Announcements, Studio Business

TeachPianoToday.com Podcast

logo (1)Have you heard about the new podcast for piano teachers created by the folks at TeachPianoToday.com? I have enjoyed listening to the first few episodes since they launched their podcast last month (click here to listen to Episode 1 and Episode 2).

So, I was honored when Andrea asked if I would be willing to be a guest for Episode 3, which has been released today!  Click the link to listen to our conversation about the challenges of relocating and starting a piano studio again from scratch.

While you are there, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss TeachPianoToday’s future podcasts and blog posts!

General, Music Camps, Music History

2013 Music History Camp

As I mentioned in a post last week, I held a Music History Camp last week with five of my private students.  Each day, we studied an era of music history (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern) and also focused on a composer from that period.

To study the eras, I decided to write a printable booklet for each era.  Below is a sneak peek at how they turned out.  I think they could be very useful both for music camps as well as for private students.   These booklets are going to make their way to the Shop very soon, accompanied by a set of corresponding worksheets and a timeline showing other events occurring in history during these eras. Photo - collage

Continue reading “2013 Music History Camp”

Performances, Teaching Piano

Audience In A Bottle

A couple of weekends ago, I attended a fantastic Piano Pedagogy Seminar at Ohio University.  The featured clinician was Dr. Peter Mack — an Irishman from Seattle who is a fantastic teacher with a wonderful sense of humor.

During one of the sessions, Dr. Mack told us that in his studio there are lots of teddy bears and dolls, as well as masks on the walls.  He told us that it was so that his students would always feel that they had an audience to play for.  Can you imagine having all those eyes watching you during a piano lesson?  haha!

While I’m not particularly interested in using masks or teddy bears to decorate my studio, I am interested in getting my students to listen to themselves more and play as if an audience is listening.  🙂   Thus, I created this silly little prop.  What do you think?!

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I call it my “Jar of Eyes” or my “Audience in a Bottle.”  🙂  I haven’t used it on any unsuspecting students yet, but I anticipate it will be highly effective to bring out the next time I think a student could use a reminder to play as if an audience is listening/watching.  😉

I bought the little glass jar (it is only about 2.5 inches in diameter) at Hobby Lobby some time back for about $2.  I already had all those different craft eyes in my bin of craft supplies.  If you’d like to create your own jar of eyes, I’m sure you can find various sizes of googly eyes at any craft store.

Technology

iPad Staff Paper Background

Remember the music whiteboard I created using a plexiglass frame from IKEA?  Here is my new digital version.  🙂

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In the photo above, the staff paper is being used in the GoodNotes app.  You can download a multi-page pdf containing the various types of staff paper by visiting the Printables > For iPad page.

These files will probably work just as well on non-iPad tablet devices with a similar app.  If anyone tries it, please let me know!

Technology

Annotation Apps for iPad / GoodNotes Pro Review

IPadminiWhite screenshotOne of the cool teaching tools the iPad provides the piano teacher is the possibility of completing worksheets digitally during the lesson — or using the iPad like a music whiteboard with a custom background.  A few of my favorite piano teaching blogs have shared some great resources for using the iPad in this way:

  • Anne Crosby — Check out her colorful whiteboard backgrounds by searching “iPad” on her blog, and be sure to see her Music Discoveries digital method book, too (pictured at right).
  • Wendy’s Piano Escapades offers a few different types of colorful whiteboard backgrounds.
  • Susan Paradis has a variety of colorful worksheets/games that would work well on the iPad. 
  • Jennifer Fink from Pianimation has some sight-reading cards (sets of jpg files) that are fantastic.

To use these wonderful resources on your iPad, you will need some kind of whiteboard or annotator app that allows you to upload custom “papers” or “backgrounds” upon which you can draw and erase.  There are many different options available.  Over the weekend, I spent some time researching and testing apps until I found my favorite.  Here are the features I was looking for:  Continue reading “Annotation Apps for iPad / GoodNotes Pro Review”

Music Camps, Rhythm

2013 “I Got Rhythm” Summer Camp – Sneak Peek

This week, my students and I are in the middle of rhythm camp!

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My blogging might be a bit sporadic for the rest of the week as I continue preparing and teaching this camp.  We’ve been busy working in our workbook…

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…and playing games and making crafts, too!

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I will be blogging more details about our “I Got Rhythm” camp pretty soon.  Stay tuned!

Games

Keyboard Rollin’ Game

I am a big fan of games, and because of that I am inspired to create a game. I wanted to create a note-naming game for my waiting room area, and this is what I came up with: the Keyboard Rollin’ Game.

There are two game boards to choose from, depending on if you would like to practice treble clef notes or bass clef notes.

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Continue reading “Keyboard Rollin’ Game”

Games

Ice Cream Interval Inspiration

My friend Susan Hong from Texas recently sent me a few photos, showing how she is using the Intervals Ice cream game in her studio.

Susan affixed adhesive magnets to the back of each card, so they can be used on a dry erase magnet board.  She also punched holes on the side of each card, so she can organize the intervals on binder rings.  For example, younger students can use the ring holding the Unison through 3rd scoops.

When students arrive early for their lessons, Susan’s students practice matching the intervals to the correct ice cream cone.

Ice Cream Interval game collage

What a fun learning station, perfect for the waiting room area!  Thanks for your inspiration today, Susan!

improving as a teacher, Reading Notation, Teaching Piano

The Role of Intervalic Reading when Reading Music

A few weeks ago, I added a new game to my Shop called the Ice Cream Interval game.  In that post, I briefly mentioned the importance of being able to read intervalically when reading music and I’d like to discuss this further today.

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While it is important for students to be able to identify the names of notes quickly, it is equally important for them to read intervals as early as possible in their studies.  While I am a big believer in drilling note-naming flashcards, I am an even bigger believer in drilling intervals.  Continue reading “The Role of Intervalic Reading when Reading Music”