Students

What is your approach with young people who come to you after teaching themselves with online videos? I’ve encountered several who will work for months to master one difficult piece like Bohemian Rhapsody or Moonlight Sonata, but they can’t play anything else. They can’t read…

• Last updated 3 months ago
• experienced players, Laurie Richards, learning from video, learning online, online, online learning, online tutorial, online tutorials, other material sources, other methods, other music, other songs, outside materials, outside music, outside pieces, outside repertoire, pieces outside the program, previous experience, prior experience, songs outside the repertoire, student with previous experience, students with experience, students with previous experience, students with prior experience, tutorial, video, video tutorial, video tutorials, YouTube, YouTube tutorial, YouTube tutorials

Hi there! This question might be asked before. I have a student who injured his RH thumb and the whole RH is on a cast. I told the parent to have the student continue to play with his LH to keep the songs alive. He…

• Last updated 3 months ago
• broken arm, broken bones, injured fingers, injuries, injury

I have a private student break his left arm. I need ideas for how to engage him for the next 6 weeks. He is just starting level 5. He is reading music and came from a traditional background. He is almost done with RR. I…

• Last updated 8 months ago
• audio, audio materials, audio recording, Audio recordings, audio SHMs, backing tracks, BH, both hands, broken arm, broken bones, duet, duets, duets with students, hands together, imagination, imagine, improv, improvisation, improvising, injured fingers, injuries, injury, left hand, LH, medical, play along, play SH along with audio, play SH with audio, playing along with audio, playing with audio tracks, practice SH along with audio, practice SH with audio, RH, right hand, separate hands, SH, trouble with hands together, using audio recordings, using audio tracks, visualize, visualize practice

I have an elderly student who can’t bend fingers 3 and 4 in his RH. We are adjusting songs accordingly. For Alma Mater Blues 3rd Section CAGE chord I, what would you suggest? C G E – fingers 5, 2, 1 – 100% C A…

• Last updated 12 months ago
• adapting, adapting fingering, adapting to student's needs, Alma Mater Blues, Alma Mater Blues 3rd Section, alternate fingering for chords, bending fingers, CAGE chords, changing finger, chord alterations, chord fingering, elderly students, finger adaptations, finger change, finger substitution, finger substitutions, finger switch, fingering, fingering chords, fingers, injured fingers, older student, older students, stiff fingers, switching finger, weak fingers

If a younger student can’t yet manage the second chord of Dreams Arrangement 1, is there a preference in a three-note version? Fingers 123 (shifting 3) throughout or 135 (shifting 3 and 5) with the 9th omitted for now? I think they both work and…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• adapting, adapting fingering, adapting for young students, adapting the curriculum, adapting to student's needs, alternate fingering for chords, chord, chord alterations, chords, Dreams, dreams 1, Dreams Arrangement, Dreams Come True, family chords, finger adaptations, small hands, teaching very young students, teaching young children, teaching young students, young children, young students

Please read this post with the mindset that a student is playing too fast and you CAN’T slow them down they are great students and they totally on board for the long term relationship they don’t have any other problems other than slowing down (…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• audio, audio materials, audio recording, Audio recordings, audio SHMs, breaking things down, control the events, controlling the events, counting, counting rhythms, CTE, deliberate practice, external rewards, external speaker, external speakers, extrinsic rewards, fast playing, getting student to slow down, gifts, how to play, how to practice, internal metronome, intrinsic rewards, learning slowly, listening to audio recordings, listening to the audio recordings, metronome, motivation, play along, playing along with audio, playing fast vs slow, playing slowly, playing speed, playing too fast, playing with audio tracks, poor practice, practice, practice guidelines, practice habits, practicing, practicing guidelines, practicing slowly, rewards, slow practice, slow-steady-musical-even, slowing down, speaking instructions out loud, SSME, stickers, student rewards, teaching how to practice, using audio recordings, using audio tracks, using the audio recordings to learn songs, visualize, visualize practice, what to play, working with parents on how to practice

I am always looking for ways to motivate students. While I like the certificates for each level that are available to us, I’m wondering if students actually keep these as a record for all they’ve accomplished. What I would like to have is a trading-size…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• binders, certificate, certificates, certificates for each level, certificates of achievement, Laurie Richards

Have you ever turned down a potential student even though they really wanted to start lessons? 😬 What were your reasons? What questions do you ask potential students either during FIS or during initial interactions in order to get a better sense of whether they…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• attitudes, behavior, behavior in class, behavior issues, challenging behavior, claiming territory, coachable, lesson requirements, misbehavior, negative attitude, negative behavior, prior experience, prior reading experience, reject student, request vs requirement, requirement, requirement based studio, requirement versus request, requirement-based, requirements, requirements in lessons, Robin Keehn, student attitudes, student behavior, students with prior experience, territory, turn down student, vett student

I have a question about accommodations. I have a 10 year old student with severe anxiety and perfectionism. She is unable to understand that she needs to practice songs even if she doesn’t like them. She is working on this skill, among others, with a…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• accommodations, adapting, adapting the curriculum, adapting to student's needs, ADHD, anxiety, anxious, anxious student, bullying, changing teaching order, dislikes Reading Rhythm, emotion, emotional, emotional limitations, emotional student, emotional students, emotions, encouraging practice, feeling rhythm, helping students feel rhythm, improving rhythm skills, lack of practice, managing emotion, masters of the rhythm, mental health, MORs, moving slowly, neurodivergence, neurodivergent, neurological issues, neurology, not practicing, not wanting to learn song, not wanting to learn songs, omitting pieces from the program, parents of special needs, patience with slow learners, perfection, perfectionism, poor practice, processing rhythm, processing rhythms, reading rhythm, relationship, relationships, rhythm difficulty, rhythmically challenged, RR, slow learner, slow pace, slow progress, special needs, student anxiety, student dislikes songs, teaching rhythm, teaching special needs, therapist, therapy, validate, validating, validation

Those that also work with students 60+ might find something useful in a recent post to my students: Happy New Year! 🎉🎊 I hope you’re looking forward to an enjoyable year of music making in 2023! Here are a few tips that will support your…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• deliberate practice, glasses, hearing impairment, older student, older students, practice habits, tracking practice, vision impairment, visually impaired