Claiming Territory
Bored Student
This is probably a moot point because this student has all but decided to quit, but I’ll ask anyhow. Here’s the background: 17 year old student, who was my most advanced of traditional students when I transferred my studio over to Simply Music. He has…
Student Update – Neil Moore
Hi all, Recently I forwarded you a copy of a weekly update that I received from one of our teachers, Diana A.. Her most recent update is also valuable, and as such, I have included an edited transcript. I have left out the students’ names.…
Student Accountability
I want to share something I’ve learned that has really helped my teaching. I love working with kids, but when I first started teaching, I had never really been around kids much. I am not a parent, and most of my time had been spent…
Request vs Requirement Based Studios
December 2006 Neil came over to Australia for a series of workshops and spoke about the difference between Require and Request. This was a rather large insight for me. Although I knew where Neil was coming from and could appreciate it, I did wonder how…
Student Playing Too Fast
I have two individual cases where my students (both around 9 years old) want to merely “execute” the song – and as fast as possible! I have played to them with a lot of love, with the appropriate speed that the song requires, but once…
Playing Speed
There are songs we can play without thinking, at a fast tempo. Should we also still be able to play them slowly? Some of my students are in the situation where they can play the former (fast) but not the latter (slowly). I suggested that they…
Getting Students to Play More Slowly
I have a couple students that I know tend to play through their simpler songs asfastastheycan. I assume that this isn’t the best to help them develop playing with feeling, etc., and the one girl has trouble playing the song itself when she slows down.…
Managing Students Who Don’t Follow Instructions
I have an adult student who has been SO keen and enthusiastic and constantly comes back saying that he has gone further into the video, and taught himself, pieces we have not covered yet. I have explained a few times that this is not acceptable.…
Students Processing and/or Resisting our Approach to Reading
I have an adult male student, 35, in the middle of Level 3 (Shared Lesson with one other adult), more than half way through Accompaniment 1, and with many Variations and Arrangements on his Playlist, who has a very hard time keeping his Playlist alive.…
Students Not Wanting to Learn Blues
I have a student named Karen that is 63 and is in a group with 2 other women. All of them have prior experience, and things are going well. We are in the middle of level 2 and have had 12 lessons. Karen however, from…