Adult Students

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 11 months ago
• deliberate practice, glasses, hearing impairment, older student, older students, practice habits, tracking practice, vision impairment, visually impaired

I have a student in her 70’s who is working on Walk at Eleven. We have been over all the clues many times (C to A to D to G, focusing on the notes a half step above or a half step below, etc.); despite…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• adult, adult lessons, adult student, adult students, adults, adults with memory problems, blues, blues songs, coaching adults, FL9, Foundation 9, foundation level 9, half steps, improvisation, improvising, it takes as long as it takes, Level 9, older student, older students, remember, remembering, remembering patterns, Robin Keehn, target notes, teaching adults, teaching half steps, Walk at 11, Walk at Eleven, walking bass

I have a potential adult student who suffers from social anxiety. After attending a FIS she messaged me to tell me of her issue. I had noticed something during the interaction. She also told me that she just wanted to try one lesson. I suggested…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• anxiety, anxious, anxious student, claiming territory, coachabilty, coachable, coaching adults, compassion, compassionate, emotion, emotional, emotional limitations, emotional student, emotional students, emotions, managing emotion, reclaiming territory, Robin Keehn, social anxiety, student anxiety, students controlling the lesson, territory, try it out, trying it out, trying lessons

Talk to me about older adults and challenges accessing the technology. Is there still a way to order physical materials? What are other creative ways you have worked around limited access to technology? Hi Anna – no, physical materials are no longer available to purchase.…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• audio materials, audio SHMs, bringing to lessons, burn CDs, burning CDs, CD, challenge, challenges, digital materials, digital SHMs, download audio, downloading audio, electronic devices, Laurie Richards, learning from SHMs, lending DVDs, lending physical materials, managing materials, materials, mp3, music library app, organizing materials, organizing SHMs, physical materials, printed materials, printing materials, printing SHMs, SHM, SHMs, technology, technophobe, technophobia, using SHMs, using technology, using the SHM videos, using the SHMs

I’m generally very rigorous about following Neil’s instructions, since time and again I’ve come to understand why he does things the way he does. I’ve recently had a situation where I felt I had a good reason to do something a little differently from what…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• changing chapter order, context, control the events, controlling the events, CP, cross pollination, cross-pollinate, CTE, dosage, dose, doses, down-level, fragmenting, Fragmenting-Layering, fragments, Fur Elise, Fur Elise A Section, Fur Elise complexity, Fur Elise left hand, Fur Elise LH, Fur Elise order, hybrid, Laurie Richards, microdose, Neil Moore, out of context, re-teaching pieces, re-teaching songs, re-working pieces, re-working songs, single thought process, single thought processes, small doses, smaller dose, smaller doses, STP, technique for Fur Elise, up-level

I have a potential adult student with a traditional/classical piano background (grade 7 RCM) interested in broadening her music education. She would want to learn the blues and accompaniment streams. Is there a way to use the simply music materials to someone who already knows…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• classically trained, experienced players, Neil's Responses (YouTube Videos), previous experience, prior experience, prior reading experience, student background, student with previous experience, students that already read music, students who already read, students with experience, students with previous experience, students with prior experience, traditional background, traditional experience, traditional student, traditional students, traditional students to SM, traditional to Simply Music, traditional vs. Simply Music, traditionally trained, transitioning traditional students

I would greatly appreciate your feedback in a new situation that has never happened to me before. One of my adult students, who just moved into Book 4, is a retired doctor and used to getting his own way. While he initially was willing to…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• adult, adult lessons, adult students, adults, claiming territory, coaching adults, comp & improv, comp and improv, comp/improv, enjoying the process, explaining claiming territory, life coach roles, music education role, Neil's Responses (YouTube Videos), refusing to compose, refusing to improvise, reluctant students, roles, student reluctant to improv, teaching adults, territory

Thoughts on creating some kind of buddy system opportunities for adult private students who could use some extra support beyond their own playing the coaching the role for themselves? I do have more than one, so I could approach my own to pose this to…

• Last updated 3 years ago
• adult, adult afternoon soirees, adult cocktail party, adult lessons, adult student, adult students, adults, adults in groups, buddy system, coach, coach as student, coach responsibility, coaches, coaching, coaching adults, holding coaches accountable, importance of life coach, learning without a coach, life coach, life coach for adult, life coaches, mutual coaching, no coach at lessons, no coaches, no life coach, Practice Club, teaching adults, teaching students to coach, teaching without a coach

One of my private adult students had agreed to start RR but when I did the first exercises with her (walking with SDQ’s) she told me she did not feel comfortable as she feels this is more suitable for children. I told her I have…

• Last updated 4 years ago
• adult students, claiming territory, counting rhythms, difficult rhythm, explaining claiming territory, getting an even rhythm, helping students feel rhythm, improving rhythm skills, marching sdq, multiple thought processes, natural rhythm, not trusting the method, processing, processing rhythm, processing rhythms, reading, reading preparation, reading process, reading rhythm, reads rhythm, reclaiming territory, refusing to learn songs, refusing to play, regaining lost territory ideas, resistant students, rhythm, rhythm difficulty, rhythm fun ideas, rhythm games, RR, RR mastery, RR pacing, RR practice, SDQ, single thought process, single thought processes, singles doubles quads, STP, student processing and resisting approach, tapping, tapping sdq, teacher preparation, teaching rhythm, territory, trust the method, trust the process, trusting the method, trusting the process, trusting the program, walking sdq

One of my new private adult students (she is practicing diligently, LOVES SM, her playlist so far is very strong) wants to switch from having one (half-hour) lesson per week to two (half-hour) lessons weekly (several days apart) because she is eager to make even…

• Last updated 4 years ago
• 2 lessons per week, adult students, duration of class, duration of lesson, frequency of lessons, importance of playlist, length of class, length of lesson, lesson duration, lesson frequency, lesson length, managing playlist, managing the playlist, multiple lessons per week, number of songs on playlist, Playlist, playlist management, practice, semiweekly lesson, special needs, teaching week, twice per week lessons, two lessons per week