Simpedia

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.

Diana A., Australia

Here’s my next update installment. I placed some ads in the local newspaper and sent newsletters to the database from my business. So far I have a group of 5 children starting on Monday 21st October and hoping to also have a group of 5-6 adults starting in the same week (I am just trying to pin them down to a mutual time). So that is exciting!

Lesson updates:

Student 1

His mother arrived in a blustery fashion proclaiming that he was not happy, and that he couldn’t do what I had given him and that I had obviously taught him wrong. (This is the mother who is a doctor, and thinks her child is a genius etc.). She said he didn’t have the concepts and reiterated that both were not happy. (What a way to come back from holidays to your first private student!).

I asked him in front of his mother what he was having trouble with. He said he couldn’t play any of Jackson Blues or Honey Dew and was having trouble with the rest. I asked him was he having trouble with moving from one position to the next with Jackson Blues. He said “yes” and I said “Let’s go and see if we can help”. I took him in (of course his mother left) and got him to play the one that he wanted to play first.  He played Night Storm and then Dreams, both of which were fine. I asked him to play Jackson Blues and he started. He was really rushing and having trouble playing the right notes as he “plonked” onto the position like he was grabbing at the next closest thing if he couldn’t get the right notes.  We talked about what was happening and he said he couldn’t keep up. I asked him what he had to keep up with, and he couldn’t answer me. I said, “You are the only one playing, there is nothing to keep up with. You can play as slowly as you like.” We then played it again SLOWLY and he was fine.

I took a look at his Playlist to see how much he had practiced and there were no check marks for the weeks over the holidays. I asked him about it and he said he couldn’t practice cause Mum had taken his books to a friends to show them and didn’t give them back until today. I asked him did he watch the video and he said that his Mum had given it to the lady as well. I asked him if he played his pieces at all over the holidays and he said he didn’t have time.

After class, his Mum came to me and I explained that the video is important. I went over the relationship with the home materials and said that he needs to slow down. The first thing she said was (as she was compliantly nodding) “Yes, I agree, that is exactly what I have been telling him.” You know Neil, it isn’t the students we have problems with……So, all in all, I think Joseph did extremely well considering. So, what did I cover in the lesson? I told him not to go near Honey Dew and that we would do that another week. I took him back to Night Storm and we did a variation on a variation that he had composed previously. It is different to any of the variations in the SM materials. I will have to send you a copy of it. It worked well for him and was all he could cope with after his mother’s rantings, etc. We also discussed doing Jackson Blues much more slowly!

Student 2

Came with Dreams and Night Storm beautifully played. She is really stiff in her hands as she plays and this is making it difficult for her to play smoothly. I think part of it is that she loves to please everyone and is scared of not “doing well”. We are addressing that. She is a little uncoordinated too though and I think that is the major problem. It will come with time. We did Jackson Blues RH and LH separately. She couldn’t have coped with any more than that and she did that really well. She is teaching her Dad (a great unbeliever that was caught by his wife at 2am one morning playing one of his daughter’s songs on the piano cause he didn’t want to take a backward turn on the stance he had taken in the beginning). He is responding really well and it is great for his daughter to be in the teaching role, as she is a very shy, uncertain child who doesn’t usually pick things up quickly. She did really well this week and I was really proud of her efforts.

Student 3

He played BEAUTIFULLY today! Everything was really well played and he was in total control the entire time. We talked about how he had controlled his ear really well and how he was playing slowly and purposefully. I awarded him 2 stickers for his efforts and told him how proud of him I was. Today we tackled a different arrangement of Jackson Blues (different to the one his sister was doing). He coped well and we also did an arrangement of Night Storm. We then went onto Ode to Joy separate hands and left it there.

Student 4

She played beautifully also. Everything went really well.. Chester was a little shaky but they had been away for most of the holidays and so she didn’t get a lot of practice in. Remember before the holidays I had that taxing lesson with her and chose not to go onto Honey Dew? She has been DYING to do it but get this…. on the holidays she decided to watch the video from start to where she was up to and when it got to Honey Dew she stopped it and rewound the tape.  Boy that took control on her part and we discussed how strong she was and that now she was ready and deserved to go onto Honey Dew. This was at the end of the lesson and we were actually over time but I felt it was really necessary to reward her for such huge efforts today. She was the last lesson of the day so it didn’t throw anyone out. In her lesson we did an arrangement of Dreams. She coped really well and also we went and did Ode to Joy hand together.

General update:

On the business front, response has been positive for the fee change. Changing my private lessons from $25.00 per 1/2 hour to $50.00 for 25 minutes has meant that 99% of students are happy to go into groups (even the doctor’s child!) <— a major achievement and I think he will really benefit, although I am concerned about getting someone to come with him to the lessons and I know she won’t. Everyone has been positive about the change and no one has been motivated to stay in privates due to the fees. This suits me down to the ground. Apart from that I am going into the world and becoming great as you put it. The journey has started!