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 faster progress though she is very happy with what she already has gained. I love her enthusiasm but am a bit concerned it could be information overload if we do 2…
Can anyone point me towards resources to help a student with performance anxiety? She's 13 and used to willingly play and sing for anyone who'd ask, but now she's extremely resistant even as she's a fabulous and sensitive musician. I've never felt like much of a natural performer myself and feel keenly my own struggles to play in front of others so I don't feel like I have tools to help her (other than empathy!). …
I have a question about the SHM. I talked to my boss at the studio the other day and she was concerned about students possibly discontinuing lessons with me and then proceeding to use the videos and purchasing additional levels to learn the songs. She wanted to know if that is protected against and could this happen? I assured her there are some things that a student can only get in a lesson and the videos…
Sharing a requirement-based success story. I had a family recently whose two children never practiced consistently since they started. I told parents and children consistently the past week before spring break and week following that it wasn't a problem, but that it wasn't going to work for me. The dad talked over me repeatedly, told me he "didn't have time to be a babysitter," and lied about the amount of practice time that had been happening.…
How would my expert teachers out there manage a student who was absolutely adamant that they should only have 1 NEW song to practice each week. Regardless of if they get it easy or not; how can I correct this limiting belief in their psychology if it all? This is a case of Claiming Territory. If you don't claim it back, it will always be something with this student. I'd start…
You know how you talk yourself blue in the face sometimes to your students about basic best practices and it seems to go in one ear and out the other? Well, I decided to let the STUDENTS speak - video tape them - and share it with my studio. Lo and behold, it worked! Folks are referencing these videos in ways they never did before when I was just TELLING them to do it. It's…
Has anyone heard of school teachers saying children should use their own 'internal motivation' rather than pushing them to do something? We were discussing reward for completing tasks. Poor Mum is confused, I am telling her she needs to guide her children, manage their activities and their long term relationships. The school teacher is telling Mum to let her children explore multiple activities, quit if they don't like it and try something else. [answer author="Gabrielle K.,…
I'd love to get feedback on how you handle absences from students who are ill. I offer make-up lessons or even extended lessons to "make up" the time. Also, what about adults or youth who are so involved in other activities that they aren't always able to commit to a lesson/week? Does anyone have a minimum monthly requirement? Just wondered... If students are ill they miss that week, I don't do…
I have a super fast learning adult student. In 4 lessons he's done Foundation up to and including Ode to Joy; composed a short song, improvised on black notes, learned the C blues scale, done an arrangement of Dreams, learned different rhythms for Jackson Blues, and we have started Accompaniment 1. What would others suggest as I think 30 minutes is too long a lesson for him (or me!). He's a shift worker and so has…
In this webinar you will hear about actual situations that teachers have encountered with their special needs students and learn from Karen’s expertise how best to handle those situations. Topics include: Using a Schedule with Students on the Spectrum (00:05) Difficulty Finding Black Note Groups (2:57) Starting Your First Gateway Student (6:08) How to Handle Challenging Behavior (9:02) Students Reluctant to Progress (18:24) Student Getting Distracted / School Setting Issues (26:18) Dealing with Inappropriate Behaviors (29:29) Accepting the Student as…
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