“Strings Attached: Twist On Offering Trial Lessons”

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:52:40 +0000

“There’s no such thing as saver’s remorse”, proclaims an ad for a California bank. Don’t tell that to Ran Kivetz of Columbia University. Tight times are creating the new phenomenon of saver’s remorse–one that you can warn against in your advertisements for new music students. Kivetz conducted an experiment with Stanford University’s Itamar Simonson, in which [...]

Growing your studio…

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:24:22 +0000

Trying something new… I’ve been working on promoting and building my studio for the past month.  I got MANY great ideas at the Classical Singer Convention in Chicago at the end of May, thanks to Cynthia Vaughn at Magnolia Music Studio in Fort Collins, CO.  Cynthia has SO many amazing ideas and she worked with [...]

To Applaud or not To Applaud, that is the question.

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:48:04 +0000

Originally posted on my solo performance website blog, I ran across more information on this today (see UPDATE at the bottom of the page) & thought I’d pass my posting on to my MTH colleagues.  What do YOU think about applause at concerts? Over the past several weeks I have asked my colleagues in person and [...]

What 10 Things Do I Wish I’d Known Before I Started Teaching?

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:32:23 +0000

This blog was inspired by an article with the same title that I read in the Autumn 2001 Keyboard Companion magazine as part of my studies. As I was reading through the article, I noticed that my list of things I wish I’d know was quite different. I thought I’d share the 10 things that [...]

“Get It Going!” Improvisation Mini-Series Part 2

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:19:35 +0000

After last month’s article, are you still looking for: A few ideas for a fresh new way to start off a lesson? A few quick improv games to use in a group setting? A reward activity for a student’s hard work on an assignment? Starter ideas for the next composition: In each part of this [...]

Improvements to Music Teacher’s Helper in June, 2009

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:42:37 +0000

Here is the list of things we’ve improved on Music Teacher’s Helper the past month or so, based on requests and feedback we’ve had from our members. These improvements aren’t as numerous as last month, but they certainly aren’t any less spectacular. Thanks for all your great feedback! Feature: Make-up Lessons! You can now track how [...]

Changing your Studio Name and/or Web Address on your MTH Site

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:18:01 +0000

One of the questions asked the most by music teachers to our support team is “How can I change the studio name on the website?”, or “Can I change my address to the studio website?”. Some teachers have even canceled their membership and signed up a second time so that the above changes could me [...]

Invest in yourself so you will have more to give to your students.

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:42:40 +0000

Being a teacher requires you to give a lot of your energy to your students. If you don’t spend time taking care of yourself and replenishing your own energy levels, you may get burned out. Summer is a great time to focus on yourself. Here are a few ideas that I’ve come up with to [...]

References - as requested

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:28:05 +0000

I have been asked to supply the references I used for my presentation on motivation - here it is, along with where the books are available to purchase online (the pictures are links): Clark, F. (1992). Questions and answers: Practical advice for piano teachers. Northfield,Illinois: Instrumentalist Co. Coats, S. (2006). Thinking [...]

End of the Year Student Gift Idea

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:11:56 +0000

Here in Los Angeles, I still have ton of private students who have not gone off to camp yet. There is still time to put together this quick gift idea for the kids. If your students have already left, I apologize for the tardiness of this article, but consider using it as a “Beginning of [...]