I promised I'd send online ideas that make it SIMPLE for beginning onliners. I've been doing this for a while now. It is particularly helpful I find for kids in groups online. It helps the lesson get off to a flying start at that typically clunky online beginning of lesson with lining the technology up. It covers the super important LTR, PL and checking NOTES from previous week without saying a word. What I have in…
Ideas that can help streamline Online lessons you use? When your student is playing and you need them to stop, instead of shouting, use a percussion instrument. This can be fun, incorporating music instrument, saving your voice and for the student to not feel they are being 'yelled at' I have found clapping doesn't help as effectively as an instrument. Maybe the ears hear the instrument better, it is louder? I…
Has anyone successfully taught shared lessons in an online setting? My husband suggested Google Hangouts. I'm using Zoom. You can log yourself in with two devices so you can have a face to face view as well as a keyboard view. I think it takes a little education for the students to get familiar with the different views and how to set up their device, etc. but it's worked well so…
I have a very quiet, shy 15 year old (boy) and an extremely shy and quiet 11 year old girl who have private lessons back to back and am thinking of letting them have share lessons instead because they are at roughly the same song in the curriculum. She hardly talks at all though she (they both) cooperate and learn and practice well. I am just wondering if any of you have had experience with putting…
One of my farthest-along students is pushing back on writing lyrics because she doesn't want to sing. I assigned composition two weeks in a row--make up a song. Then I assigned to make up words for the song. Mom texted me today (their lesson is in about 3 hours) that she didn't make up lyrics because she was uncomfortable with it. She doesn't want to sing. This child is painfully shy and won't even sing for…
I had an inquiry from a lady today, she and her daughter both want to learn. I was wondering since I require parents to attend lessons anyway, should I charge only one private fee? Two shared lesson fees? I have a pair like that. I just teach and charge for the daughter since the dad has to be there anyway and spend a much larger amount with her and have the…
I am sad to say that my mother-in-law is very ill and may pass any day. I sent an email to my students and parents giving them a head's up. So if/when I have to cancel lessons, they will be ready. Also I did it because it saves talking about it during lesson time. This is when it is hard to be self-employed, as taking time off now, especially after the holidays, is very hard on…
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 other adults doing this and totally comfortable with it. She said she already has a good sense of rhythm and does not have to do these walking (or foot tapping) exercises.…
Two questions: 1) How do practice requirements change through the foundation levels? Level one is 15-20 minutes, but as their repertoire grows, it would seem they need more time to keep everything alive and also with the addition of multiple streams and songs getting more complicated. 2) How do you know when to retire a song? I'm only trained in levels 1-3 and multiple streams, so I'm not clear what songs need to be kept from the foundation levels…
I’m sensing my own impatience lately with some of my adult students! I also feel like I’ve been getting lots of “I’m nervous” and “it was perfect at home” from them. Maybe it’s just me... I’m not quite sure what’s going on. I’m just feeling frustrated right now I guess. It is great to not only have these thoughts but more so, to be questioning them. Frustration is another door to…
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