Curriculum

This is my first official post as a “teaching” licensed teacher!! Yeah! It’s nice to be able to jump in and ask pertinent questions. I’ve learned so much from all of you. I know it is a judgement call on how much information to unfold…

• Last updated 6 years ago
• Chinese Dreams, DCT, Dreams, Dreams Come True, how fast to move, learning pace, level 1, listening to the audio recordings, Night Storm, Night Storm inc, NS, rhythm, unfolding material

How important is it to play the upper level songs by memory? I have found the songs beginning in Level 8 to be more difficult to remember. Even with Canon in D (Level 7) many students have a hard time remembering, even though it’s very…

• Last updated 10 years ago
• keeping songs alive, memorizing harder pieces, upper levels

I wanted to share a game I created, (quite by accident, actually) that is extremely easy to make, well-loved by students and quite versatile. I was wanting to make a grab bag for students as they were working on transposition – i.e. pull a chord…

• Last updated 10 years ago
• accompaniment, chords, composition, games, improvisation, transposition

I’m just launching the Playlist Management program in my studio and absolutely loving the simplicity and clarity it bring to the whole playlist process. Besides the engaging and straightforward training in how to use these new playlists, the training was also packed with lots of…

• Last updated 6 years ago
• Accompaniment‏, accompaniment games, games, name that tune, playlist games, playlist management, snakes and ladders

I am a newly licensed SM teacher. I have been teaching traditionally for over 30 years. I am very excited to start teaching the SM method and especially the comp and improv program to my students that are switching over to SM. That was my…

• Last updated 7 years ago
• comp and improv, composition, improvisation, traditional students

A friend from church has talked with me a couple of times about her 15-year-old daughter who has been taking traditional piano lessons for 6 years. She doesn’t want to take from her teacher anymore because the teacher wants her to play only classical. She…

• Last updated 10 years ago
• arrangements, friends, learning a new way of learning, omitting pieces from the program, prior experience, starting at the beginning, traditional lessons, variations

I have an adult student that can already read some (childhood traditional lessons) that I recently started in Reading Rhythm. She is having trouble playing 5SS on the first few pages of the MOR book. She is only playing one finger because she says that’s…

• Last updated 10 years ago
• reads rhythm, traditional student

I have been in this situation many times – i.e. students who are only marginally behind my own playing ability. Sometimes I’ve kind of fudged it by avoiding playing the entire piece, if it isn’t sounding smooth yet but I can still teach chunks of…

• Last updated 10 years ago
• accompaniment, arrangements, Gordon Harvey, rate of progress, variations

Hello, I am a new S/M teacher and learner. I have learned through level 3, although I have just ordered level 4 and rhythm. I am having difficulty in the following way: I have a new student, an old student, and a middle aged student.…

• Last updated 10 years ago
• claiming territory, confidence as a coach, group lessons, Kevin Meyer, previous experience, reading, Robin Keehn, student background, traditionally trained, watching videos

I am a new teacher; I started my first lessons this month. I have a student, 15 years old, who has been composing his own music for quite some time. I know I have plenty to teach him in other areas, but I have no idea…

• Last updated 10 years ago
• accompaniment, composition skills, student with previous experience, traditional experience