Laurie Richards

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 1 week 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 1 week ago
• breaking down the costs of lessons, cost, cost of materials, cost of SHMs, inquiries about price, Laurie Richards, material cost, materials, new material, price, prices, purchasing SHMs, setting prices, SHM, SHM costs, SHMs, student home material, Student Home Materials, talking about cost, value of materials, value of SHM

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 weeks 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 weeks ago
• angry parent, dealing with parents, Disappointed parents, dissatisfied parent, feedback, frustrated parents, Laurie Richards, parent, parent concerns, parent expectation, parental expectations, unhappy parent, unsatisfied parent, unsupportive parent

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 weeks 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 2 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 3 months ago
• chord, chords, consistency, differences in materials, different materials, digital materials, digital SHMs, FL9, Foundation 9, foundation level 9, inconsistencies in materials, inconsistency, Laurie Richards, learning from SHMs, Level 9, music books, Panther, reading chords, SHM, SHMs, using both TTMs and SHMs, using music book, using music books, using SHMs, using the SHM videos, using the SHMs, video and book different

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 3 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

Having trouble wording an answer for a student. He’s perceptive and quick, and he asked me today why there’s a flat in the key signature for First Signs of Winter when there is never actually a B played in the song. How would you explain…

• Last updated 3 months ago
• family analogy, First Signs of Winter, flats, FSOW, key, key signature, Laurie Richards, major vs. minor, minor keys, sharps and flats

What are some top reasons that you think playing based is a useful approach? One for me: It helps the student see the piece holistically – understanding through patterns the form of a piece. (The ‘puzzle pieces’ as it were.) My favorite is just that…

• Last updated 3 months ago
• applying PB strategies to music, benefits, communicating benefits, confidence as a student, expressive playing, freedom, identifying patterns, Laurie Richards, LAWOL, learning a new way of learning, learning a way of learning, learning by doing, learning strategies, learning tools, learning tools and strategies, memorization, memorizing, memorizing harder pieces, memorizing pieces, memorizing reading pieces, memorizing songs, notation, number of songs on playlist, patterns, PB, playing, playing fluently, playing with expression, playing without looking at hands, playing-based, playing-based strategies, playing-based tools, playing-based while reading, Playlist, playlist size, rate of learning, reading, reading-based, remember, remembering, remembering patterns, size of playlist, speed of learning, using playing-based tools while reading