Laurie Richards

Hi teachers, just curious how everyone is handling the Reading Rhythm process with online students. Are you having them play the tracks to the audio, a metronome, one handed while tapping the beat or having the coach clap? Any preference towards any of these? They’re…

• Last updated 3 weeks ago
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For anyone out there teaching groups, where do you teach? I’ve checked with music stores and a few other places, with no luck as of yet. I got a quote from a church for $20/hour to use their room. I thought it sounded a little…

• Last updated 2 months ago
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I have been teaching since October 2009 and I enjoyed teaching at first, but lately I’ve been getting very frustrated with Simply Music. Around here(Central IL) I can hardly get students, let alone get them to pay enough to make me a profit. I’m being…

• Last updated 3 months ago
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I’d seen someone talk about handling materials expenses by just upping the monthly fee to include a contribution toward materials, avoiding lots of separate administrative stuff with separate orders and such. I realized that I like this idea a lot, and I’ve run it by…

• Last updated 3 months ago
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Who has a nice response to this missive that I received today? “I am happy to pay you for your time, and am overall pleased with the program (and with you especially), but paying for the books is more difficult when they are, quite frankly,…

• Last updated 3 months ago
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I’d like recommendations on how to handle the feedback from this parent. (Please see below.) They’ve missed the last two and have only come to two classes, up to and finishing the “pentatonic” concept. The recreation only allows refund if they’ve requested for it before…

• Last updated 3 months ago
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I have a dad who is moving to Indiana to become one of the assistant. coaches for Notre Dame. They’d like to continue lessons with me by webcasting? Has anyone ever done that? Tips and thoughts would help? I have done this a few times…

• Last updated 3 months ago
• distance learning, distance lessons, Laurie Richards, learning online, online groups, online learning, online lessons, teaching online

Can someone recommend to me how they teach their students the Minor Scales? I teach major scales in the order of the circle of fifths. Then, I usually start with natural minor, and show the relationship with the relative major, since they have the same…

• Last updated 4 months ago
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I’m working on learning Panther in Level 9. Is there a reason that the final chord in the printed music is not played in the demo or taught in the teacher or student videos? Cool chord–assuming it’s a reference to “Pink Panther”. Ha, even I…

• Last updated 5 months ago
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As you all know, I’ve been sending out updates on an array of things related to Online Lessons. We have had several requests to demonstrate what an Online Shared Lesson (OSL) would look like. . Recently, one of our Master Simply Music Teachers, Laurie Richards,…

• Last updated 6 months ago
• audio options, audio settings Original Sound, Background Noise, benefits of group lessons, benefits of online lessons, cameras, class notes, comfort in teaching groups, distance lessons, earbuds audio, earphones, Echo Cancellation, evaluating playlist, FaceTime, Google Hangouts, groups, importance of playlist, keeping groups together, keeping playlist alive, keeping playlists, keeping the playlist alive, Laurie Richards, learning online, learning via webcam, lesson notes, managing groups, managing playlist, managing the playlist, Neil Moore, notes, Notes Book, notes books, online, online groups, online learning, online lessons, organizing teacher notes, Piano at Home, Playlist, playlist check, portrait mode headphones, Skype, student writing notes, students taking notes, students writing notes, teaching groups, teaching online, technology, using a webcam to teach, value of groups, videoconference software, web cams, webcam, webcasting studio setup landscape mode, white board, whiteboard, writing notes, writing simply music notes, Zoom