Practicing & Playlists
Time for More Music: memorized or not?
Are the songs in Time for More Music meant to be added to their repertoire of memorized songs and the long term playlist? Or just used for learning to decipher the written music, and once they can play it well, they move on? I believe…
Discussing child’s minimal effort with coach
I am trying to choose the right words to discuss a student’s minimal effort with her parent. The student is 8 and has been taking lessons since she was 5. She progressed quickly, then hit a valley and has been putting in the bare minimal…
Level 7 valley
I have a student who has been on level 7 for 14 months and still has one more song to go. These things happen to me too. Especially if we have lots of other stuff going on, and if their practice routine isn’t stellar. I…
Motivating students to practice entire playlist
I am looking for any and all tips, input, ideas, and strategies to help motivate students to play piano regularly, and incorporate their entire playlist, not just their favorite songs. I have exhausted all I can think of and have continual difficulty with several students…
Unmotivated students
I have a group of young girls. Their practice is sporadic, and two of them haven’t watched videos in four weeks or more. The third one moans and groans with her mother about practicing. One mom told me yesterday at the lesson, “She only practiced…
Ideas for playlist review
Hit me with some fun ideas for playlist review! I’ve been trying to set aside the last lesson of the month to really focus on hearing selections from their playlists (I still incorporate some of this each week, but take a bigger chunk of the…
Helping parents get children to practice
I would like to prepare a document to give to parents to help in getting their children to practice when they don’t want to. Please share tips that have worked for you or parents in your studio. When I have students that don’t like to…
Playlist: Parent’s unmet expectations
The parent of a student I’ve had for three years told me that her daughter needs review because she only plays the current songs on her playlist (Level 6). The student’s father travels for months at a time and comes home with expectations to hear…
Helping students keep the playlist alive
I feel like I’ve had an epiphany lately! I’m realizing the importance of “really” helping students to keep their songs alive. We can’t assume they will do it all themselves or even the parents for that matter. The lesson time is the only time we…
Webinar Series: 10/24/2017 – Piano – Developing Strong Communication Skills
Neil discusses some the components of powerful communication in this webinar. Learn how you can ensure that your studio requirements are clearly understood and met by your students and coaches, thus maximizing your success as a teacher and your students’ success with their lessons. Topics…