Music Teacher's Helper Blog

2 simple games for the ‘overly’ excited student

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:00:13 +0000

I am currently teaching two very enthusiastic 8-year old boys. They are in their first year with me and, to my knowledge, piano is their first instrument. They are unique in that they both are sons of well-known, successful musicians in New York. They are very musical, are clearly happy to come to the studio [...]

Turn Your Studio Announcements Into a Blog for Students and Parents

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:55:33 +0000

One of the ongoing challenges of using Music Teacher’s Helper is getting students and parents to regularly login to their teacher’s site and make use of the student-only features. The solution: create a regularly updated stream of cool content so that they’ll get hooked. Just below the Upcoming Events section is a list of Announcements, [...]

Unique Neighborhood Venue

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:54:58 +0000

Recently, our neighborhood in suburban Denver enjoyed the grand opening of the “Streets of Southglenn”. Once a mall, it is now a village of specialty shops, restaurants, flower-pot-adorned streets, department stores, fountains and a natural foods grocery store. This national chain store features local rock bands and small ensembles during special store functions. One evening, while [...]

Drama Exercises for Singers

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:45:01 +0000

Singing is unlike any musical instrument in the world.  Not only is our instrument a part of our body, but we are able to synthesize music and text in one.  For centuries, composers and librettists have collaborated to create opera, zarzuela, operetta and musical theater, heightening the text and music into drama. Many of my high [...]

Too Much Practice!?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:47:32 +0000

I read recently where it takes some 10,000 hours to become the master of a skill. Of course it’s a given we’re not talking about bussing tables here; and I ought to know. You see back when Nixon was yet a president in good standing I learned and practiced that little ’skill’ [...]

Introduction to Group Workshops

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:38 +0000

As I prepared for another season of teaching earlier this Fall, I was trying to think of ways to foster community among my students while at the same time allowing prospective students to become familiar with my studio. I decided that one of the best ways to do this was to have workshops on various [...]

Student-centred pedagogy

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:42:23 +0000

The term student-centred pedagogy alludes to the student being the teacher’s main priority, rather than the music that is being taught. It’s main objective is for teachers to become increasingly dispensable to students by developing them as independent learners. So what can teachers do to achieve this? Allow students to become active participants of their musical [...]

Cognitive Thinking

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:49:25 +0000

Cognition:“The process of thought“. On several occasions I have had a student ask me to teach him to sing while playing. This task seemed impossible for the student(s), I explained that this was a learned skill, which takes hours of practice. When I am playing, I will make a mistake if I stay focused on [...]

Tip for Arizona Teachers (or others not using DST)

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:59:35 +0000

MTH, fabulous website that it is, doesn’t yet support Arizona not using Daylight Savings Time.  This morning, when I went to reconcile my lessons, some weren’t yet showing.  I had forgotten that I’d set my Time Zone to Pacific (GMT-8:00), because there is not yet a support for Arizona (GMT-7:00, no DST).  In this way, [...]

Skill Upgrades for Music Teachers

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:13:25 +0000

Yesterday evening I attended a training session for district treasurers sponsored by the Ontario Senior Secondary Teachers’ Association, the union that I belong to as a faculty member of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. I have a set of new duties starting in the coming weeks, as I’ve recently agreed to take on [...]

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