Studio Management
Talking to moms about behavior issues
I am trying to figure out how to better handle this issue in the future. I do shared lessons with 2 kids at a time. One kid has been with me for 1.5 years. He was with his brother, and his behavior was so poor…
Role of the Parent
I would like to present a list of the advantages of having a parent present and participating in their child’s shared lesson to the parents of my students. Besides what I have listed, is there anything else I could add to it? Supportive Positive Influence…
Chat – Managing Parents Beyond the Foundation Session
Samali (AUS): Welcome to today’s chat session. I am Samali de Tissera from Perth, Western Australia and I will be hosting the session today. I have been teaching SM for five years now. Mostly I teach in shared lessons of two students. The topic for…
Issue with Child & Mother
I was wondering if anyone can offer any suggestions about a situation I have with a student please? This is a long email but I will start with the immediate issue and will post the details at the bottom in case you find you need…
Questions from a Parent – Intonation & Register
A parent who has been with me for over 2 years asked me the following question: When and how do the students learn the basic building blocks of music? Symbols (letters & signs)? Intonations? Registers? What is she talking about? These terms sound like musical…
Homeschool Siblings acting as Coaches
I have a homeschool family that I taught traditionally up until January of this year, when they went on a sabbatical. They are coming home soon, and when I talked with the mom about piano and told her I was now teaching SM, she asked…
Explaining Phrasing to a Parent with a Traditional Background
I have a dad who has a traditional classical music degree and is wondering when we start to teach phrasing. Do you have idea on how to discuss this with him? This is along the same lines as a recent issue that’s come up between…
Unsupportive Parent
This is my first email to Forum, and I would love to have some feedback on a frustrating situation. I have been teaching Simply Music since this past June, but have been a traditional piano teacher for the past 20 years. I transferred a fairly…
Supportive parent but student wants to quit
I have a very nice boy in one of my 4 person group lessons all about age 7-8. We just started foundation 3. His mom is very supportive although she doesn’t play herself and has 5 other kids so she doesn’t spend much time with…
Domestic Situations for Students
Having had a hunch about something for a while, I took a look at the history of my student body and discovered some things. Of all my discontinued students who were children, 9 out of 20 had parents who were divorced or separated. Some were…