Perfect Time for a Sight-reading Challenge
How would you like to motivate your students to sight-read every day during the month of May? What if you could do this AND give back to your community and those in need at the same time? Sight-reading for Sight-saving May is National Sight Saving Month and the perfect time for a sight-reading challenge. I got this idea from one of the editors in the MTNA eJournal last year and tried it in my studio in the fall (albeit at a time when it was not sight-saving month). My kids loved the challenge and loved giving to the local organization...
read moreHarmonizing Compositions
There’s now a pretty extensive index of how to work on composing melodies with your students. Check out the Index of Composition Corner Articles for lots of ideas! Several of you have asked about how to proceed with harmony, so I wanted to write some posts about this. It might be helpful just to begin listing all of the things you could teach in regard to adding harmony to a composition. Here are some of the things that I cover: Primary chords Secondary chords (including diminished and augmented Seventh chords (not to mention 9th,...
read moreAdding a Lab to Your Lessons #2-If Yes, Then What?
by Leila Viss The fact that you are reading this second article in this series means that the idea of a lab plus a lesson has sparked your interest. Read Article #1 to understand why you should consider adding a lab to your lessons. The following will provide answers to the questions you may have regarding equipment, scheduling and resources for setting up a successful lab. How do I SCHEDULE students with this new format? Essentially, two students will be scheduled on the hour. Instead of one arriving at 3:30 and then another at 4:00pm,...
read moreIndex of Composition Corner Posts
Recently, I published an Index of Dollars and Sense posts so that you can quickly find the areas that interest you. I’m getting more and more questions about teaching composition, so I thought it might be helpful to also post an index of the Composition Corner posts. In addition to seeing them below with annotations, you can also see these articles here. Keep This in Mind Before you read about specific things to do with students who are composing, here are 2 articles that discuss 2 things that should always be in the forefront of...
read moreAdding a Lab to Your Lessons #1 – Why?
This is the first in a series of articles written by Leila Viss that will focus on adding a new technological addition to your teaching studio. The series will attempt to answer questions of those who have never considered this format before. The articles will also include ideas for those who already successfully use technology to enhance daily teaching. Questions, comments and suggestions in the comments section are greatly appreciated! “Why NOT Add a Lab to Your Lesson?” Fact: Our studios are filled with Millennials–the...
read moreA Rousing Round Robin Game!
A teacher recently asked me how to use Rhythm Menagerie with students who are older but still working on basic rhythms. I had to admit to her that I’ve used Rhythm Menagerie with all my students no matter what their age, but I think being successful with this depends on how you present the resource and how flexible you are in making it fit your student. For example, there is really only 1 type of page in each unit for which the older student might think they are too “old.” The animal characters are pieces of art...
read moreStudents Who Compose but Can’t Read Difficult Rhythms
I wanted to revive the Composition Corner Q & A segment since I’m getting all kinds of questions via email and Facebook. Recently, Becky asked me on the ComposeCreate FB page: I just finished working with my students and submitting their compositions to our state composition festival (Indiana). Three of my elementary students composed pieces where I had to help them with their more complex rhythm (and boy – some of the rhythms were indeed complex!). My question is, in your opinion, should I have encouraged them to stick with...
read moreMarketing Piano Lessons to Adult Students
I’ve asked Leila Viss to share some tips on marketing piano lessons to adult students. Leila teaches students ages 6-86 in an independent piano studio which features a tech-savvy lab. She seeks to create innovative teaching methods and successful practice strategies to encourage the average player of any age to stick to the bench for life. She holds a Masters Degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Denver and has presented at local, state and national conferences. She adjudicates at local, state, regional and...
read moreGreat Q & A for Business Issues on Facebook
The National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy hosted a wonderful Q & A with Kristin Yost and Kathleen Theisen on Facebook today. Kristin and Kathleen presented a number of fantastic sessions on the business of piano teaching at NCKP this last summer and this even was a follow up to those sessions. There were a number of great questions and of course some very good answers. Here are some of the questions: How do I maintain the same ‘feel’ of ‘credibility’ as an independent teacher teaching in my home as opposed to...
read moreClavier Companion iPad App
The Clavier Companion now has a free iPad app available in the iTunes app store. You can read the current version of Clavier Companion here in your browser even without the app. I believe that Clavier Companion will soon be offering both print and digital versions of the magazine, though I’m not sure of the details. I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, you might be interested in following Clavier Companion on Facebook. You can also see their brand new website which promises info about the digital...
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