The Teacher's Personality

“The teacher should generate as positive a personality as possible in working with students. Negative aspect detract and should be eliminated. It is helpful to portray the following qualities:
Be pleasant. A pleasant attitude is one of the most valuable attributes a teacher can possess. A genuine display of kindness can often defuse even the most hostile and disagreeable child. Although moods vary greatly from day to day, teachers need to conduct themselves with as much poise and self-control as possible when dealing with others. (including parents!!!)
Be enthusiastic. An enthusiastic person is one who evidences a positive, bright outlook in relationships with others.
Be encouraging. Realistic encouragement whenever possible is a sign of an outgoing personality. Rather than trying to get results by negative remarks, the positive teacher can bolster and uplift the student with encouraging remarks.
Be patient. Working with children either privately or in groups can be trying at times. An understanding teacher will “keep cool” and not resort to negative remarks.”

Adapted from How to Teach Piano Successfully by James W. Bastien

I am sure that describes all of you wonderful teachers out there, right? You always have a neat house or studio, a smiling face and a positive word, no matter what is going on around you.  :) You might be thinking, “And what did he dream the next night??” Often we find ourselves clearing books and papers off the piano for a student’s lesson, (oh, that’s where that list went!) greeting our students at the door after just dealing with a annoying tele-marketer over the phone, or just simply having a “down” day. Yes, it is true that we are never happy and pleasant all the time, nor do we deal with each situation in a positive way. We are human after all! But I believe it is so important that as we teach and interact with other people, we keep our attitudes and reactions in check.

I am teaching a young girl right now that is 12 years old, in the throes of puberty changes, and often has drastic “mood changes,” to say the least! :) If I choose to, I can watch carefully the things I say and my attitude, and keep the lesson upbeat and positive, no matter her mood when she comes in! It does take a choice on my part to not let the negatives affect me and to choose how I am going to react. But it can be done!

There is a small booklet called “Your Reactions Are Showing” (Sorry, I don’t remember the authors name!) that I have read a couple of times that contains vital information for anyone that deals with other people. Which would be pretty much everyone! The basic premise is, don’t just be concerned about your actions, but also your reactions! They tell a lot about you that you otherwise would be able to hide or mask. Keep those reactions in check!

As a teacher, how do you deal with negative attitudes or mood swings in your students? Maybe you aren’t a teacher, but are still interacting with people...how do you keep your attitudes in check? What do you find helps you stay calm and positive? We all have areas we need to work on, and I’d love to hear your thoughts as a help to me!

Let's Play the Piano With Hammers!

A few weeks ago, I showed you how I take my piano apart and asked what you thought about including this in lessons. I decided to go ahead and give it a try! Last week, I took the front of the piano off before each student came to his lesson. It was fun to watch their eyes get big when they walked around the piano!

I would explain simply how the piano has strings and hammers to make a sound. Most are familiar with stringed instruments like guitars, so they quickly noticed that the piano was "the same." And they were all excited to find out that their piano has hammers inside! (Hence the title of this post...no, I did not let them use real hammers on my piano!! Yikes!)

I let them plunk some keys and watch the hammers, and then I would also show them the dampers on the strings and how those work when you strike a key and when you press the damper pedal. Lights came on at this point with a lot of students. Which is a good thing. :)

When I was done explaining everything and they were done exploring, I had them play a song that they know from memory and just watch the hammers strike. They seemed to enjoy it! Here are a couple doing it:

Then I had to put the front back on so that they would have a place to rest their books for the rest of the lesson. One student was sure she could just lay her book down, but I didn't know how well that would work. :)

It was a fun experiment!! And now I have all kinds of ideas for a group lesson along these lines...a piano tuner could come and show how he tunes the piano and some of the ins and outs of tuning. What student wouldn't like to see his tuning fork?? Whenever anybody learns any other instrument....guitar, violin, etc....they learn how to tune it. Why is the piano any different? Obviously they can't tune their own piano, but I think they should know how it works, anyway. What do you think?

Interview with Natalie

I recently read a very interesting interview with Natalie from Music Matters Blog. You can find the interview here at Easy Ear Training. I love reading anything Natalie writes about anyway, but I found this interview very thought provoking. I enjoyed reading more about Natalie's piano lessons as a child. I am hoping that none of us piano teachers fold laundry during lessons!

Another interesting part of the article was what Natalie had to say about helping students listen to their own music. This is a difficult concept to get across to students! (And I find, that just because they do it at the lesson in no way guarantees that they do it at home! :S)

Thank you, Natalie, for your insight! I hope to implement some of these things into my own teaching.

My Favorite Flashcards

I have mentioned once or twice my insane love of the color-coded flash cards that I use. Here are my reasons why!

They are colorful. I am all about anything colorful, and we all know that bright colors appeal to kids, and many times to adults, too!

They are inclusive. They cover practically everything a student needs to know for a very long time. In fact, off the top of my head I can’t think of anything else a student could drill! Here’s the breakdown:

Yellow: Clef signs and all notes on staff and ledger lines

Pink: Note values, time signatures

White: Musical terms, tempo marks, dynamic signs

Green: Symbols

Blue: Key signatures and intervals

They have more uses than just being boring flashcards. Because they are cleanly printed and large enough to be clearly seen, they can be used to play games as well. Use your imagination! Don’t let them seem like a drudgery, find a way to make them interesting for your students. I shared here how I am using them to help my students into the One Minute Club. They are working extremely well for that purpose!

They are inexpensive. I usually order mine through alfred.com. (Note: When you go to check out, alfred.com will ask you to select a distributor in your area. I usually use musictime.ca or sheetmusicplus.com) I hesitated at first, wondering if it was worth it to buy flash cards or if I should just print my own freebies, but the reasons I mentioned above sold me very quickly. I think I may have pondered it for about 3.5 seconds. It is a wise investment of a few of our dollars!

Here is how I present them to a student the first time. For a beginner, I usually go through the yellow and pink sections and select the ones I feel appropriate for the student. I usually will start with the notes in the Middle C and C positions. I don’t want to confuse the student by giving them ledger line notes, etc. Depending on the student I may just give them the notes in Middle C position and add the others as they learn them. I also select the pink cards that they will learn first - 4/4 time, 3/4 time, quarter, half, and whole notes, etc.

I put these selected cards in a binder clip and assign those to the student for the first few weeks. (I do send all of the cards home with them, though, so that if they get ambitious and want to look through them they can.) For a young student I assign 5 minutes a day/5 days a week. For an older student I assign 10 minutes a day/5 days per week. I encourage them to take them with them when they go places that they will have a few minutes of extra time - waiting rooms, car rides, etc. Unlike regular piano practice, these can go anywhere!

I don’t drill the cards at every lesson, but I do at most. I think that this gives a little motivation for the student to spend quality time with their flash cards during the week. They know I will be checking up on how they are coming!

I also supplement flash cards with games and activities that go over the same notes. More about that here.

I encourage you to check out these flash cards for yourself! I think you will quickly fall in love with them as I did! And I would love to know how you use flash cards in your studio.

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked in any way to give this plug about these flash cards. I just seriously adore them and wanted to share the love! There is plenty to go around!

Keeping It All Straight

Have you noticed that there are many great resources out there for piano teachers?? No kidding, Nicole, thats what this blog is all about! When I first began teaching my siblings, I felt overwhelmed with all that was available. You have to understand, when it comes to creative juices, mine don’t flow...I don’t even think I have any to flow! :) So I depend largely on those that do have creative juices. I do sometimes come up with my own things, but I don’t have nearly as easy of a time with it as some of you. How did you get all the creativity??

So I search. I search high and low for what would be most suitable for me. When I first began with my siblings, I loved everything I found, and wanted to print everything off and try it! Some of it worked, and some of it didn’t. At first I felt discouraged that my siblings didn’t absolutely heart everything that I did. Then I realized that I just needed to find what worked best for them and for me as I taught.

This resulted in more research and more overwhelming material! Fun, fun! Before you think that I’m complaining about it, let me assure you that I absolutely love reading piano blogs and websites and looking at all the great stuff out there! But it can be hard to figure out what I need for my studio. Here are a few basic points to keep in mind while doing that unending research and forming lesson plans.

Less is usually best. If you print off every great thing you see, not only will you use a ton of printer ink, but you will also have waaaay more material than you can use! Your lessons are only so long, and your students can only process and retain so much information. Use what will fit into the lesson, both time-wise and practically.

Consider the needs of your students. You may find a great game that reinforces finger numbers, but it is a waste of time and ink if this student knows her fingers like the back of her hand. No pun intended. :) Keep in mind the individual needs of your students. What concepts are they struggling with? What sorts of things do they enjoy doing? Your students were not all cut from the same cloth, and each activity is not going to fit them.

Example: I had a wicked fun game to use with each of my students. It was a quick race down the keyboard between the student and myself. It had worked well with several students so far! Then as I went to explain it to a beginner student, I decided not to play it as a fast-paced race at the last second. She was a beginning student, and since she was racing against me, I would have had to obviously “let” her win. I personally don’t think there is any satisfaction is being made to win. So instead, we played it at a slower pace, still between the two of us. And she won! Fairly and honestly. It was a much better way to play this particular game with her.

Keep your goals in mind. What goals are you pushing towards with each of your students? What goals do you have for your studio in general? If you have a theme for your year, find things that go along with that theme, or reinforce your main concept. This helps things to flow together in your students minds, not just, “here’s a random game.” Not like you would actually say that, but that message will be conveyed unless there is a purpose behind what you do.

Use variety. I think someone should write a book entitled, “101 Ways to Play Bingo-Type Games in Piano Lessons.” :) I’m not against bingo-type games. I have used a few of the great ones out there, and my students do seem to enjoy them. But I have also passed over a few I’ve found that may have been what I was looking for, but we had already played some of these type recently. I’m not picking on the bingo ones, I’m just saying that variety is best. There are many, many ways to reinforce a concept if you use your imagination! (An extra bonus is if you have some of those creative juices I talked about!)

Those are some of the ways I funnel and process all the great things I find on the web. I’d love to hear from you! Do you often use things you find from other teachers? How do you make it all come together in your studio? Most of all, do you have creative juices? If you do, are you willing to share them?? :)

What You Already Know

I am sure you all know this already. Very, very sure. But, if you are like me, you forget until it is too late. Am I right? Tell me I'm right.

Here's the problem. I come from the freezing cold, snowy weather into my "studio" (ha ha) where it is (comparatively) nice and warm. I begin teaching a lesson, and then the unthinkable happens. My nose turns into Niagara Falls. C'mon, you know it happens to you too!!!...doesn't it??

And I can only imagine, that if it is happening to me, it is also happening to my student, and I really don't like to think where it might be going if said student has no kleenex. Just sayin.'

So the bottom line is: must bring box of kleenex to lesson. If you are like me and don't teach from your home, chances are you don't normally have kleenex handy. I have decided to find a way to change that. The rest of my students will thank me.

You did already know that, right???

The First Few Lessons

I started two new, beginning piano students this week, and while I was preparing for their lessons, I thought I may just share with you some of the things I do in the first few lessons.

They say, and rightfully so, that you only have one chance to make a first impression. That is true not only when meeting your students and their parents, but also in the first piano lesson that student ever has. We could re-word the saying for our purposes and say, “A piano student can only have one first lesson, and that first lesson could determine how they view piano for the rest of their lives.” So yeah, that first lesson is very important.

I talked here about the student/parent interview I have with each of my new students. I prefer for this to be separate from the first “real” lesson. This gives the student time to get to know me, and gives me an opportunity to observe him and answer any questions from him or his parent. Sometimes I begin a few introductory things with the student. It just depends on the situation, the method book he is using, etc.

So, depending on those factors, I use some combination of the following in the first few lessons:

Pre-reading songs. Susan Paradis has several of these. In some method books, the students does not have any songs to play for the first couple of lessons. I don’t like to overwhelm the student, so I generally go over a couple of pages of introductory material (Posture, hand position, highs and lows on the keyboard, black keys and white keys, finger numbers, etc.) and then give a couple of these pre-reading sheets. Susan has several of these in different levels...some that say the note name, some with just the finger numbers...so you can easily find one that fits your exact need.

Activity Papers. (Not to be confused with worksheets, mind you) For young beginners, I use this one reviewing Left and Right hands, and this one, reviewing the finger numbers. These seem to be very effective. I also use this one as soon as they learn the quarter, half and whole note so they can begin to learn to draw them. This activity is great for enforcing which note is which. For older beginners, I use mostly the little worksheets that I put together. I have not yet been able to find much along these lines for adult beginners, because they comprehend and learn at a faster pace. Do you know of any for adults???

Practice Charts. I usually use these ones from Making Music Fun. Generally adults don’t need them, but kids seem to love them! My sisters have used every one of these, and still beg to use them over again. They seem to love the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction of being able to put a sticker on the chart at the end of a day’s practice. I think I can understand that. These have such simple but attractive graphics on them.

These are the ones I have found myself going back to for each new student. I know there are more options out there, but this is what has worked for me so far. What do you use in the first few lessons? What concepts do you teach in that first lesson? Leave us some feedback!

Worksheets: Who Needs Them?

Last week I talked briefly about worksheets and gave you some resources for some great ones to use in your studio. Today I’d like to talk about actually using them with your students.

(Please be aware that all opinions in this post about worksheets are completely and totally my own. You may have your own opinion. I give you permission. You may also have a different opinion than mine. I give you permission for that, too. And I also give you permission to leave a comment below and share your opinion with me, because I love to hear opinions! From opinionated people. Moving on...)

I use worksheets quite frequently with my students. I used to think that every student needed a worksheet for every new concept they learned. I don’t overload them like that any more, but there are some I still like to use. Why?

I think that worksheets are a great way to enforce a concept. Heres an example: a beginning student is learning the quarter note. His teacher says to him, “This note with a "dirty face" is a quarter note. Now you must remember that 168 hours from now when you come to your next lesson and I ask you which note has a dirty face. Got it?”

No, he doesn’t got it. (Excuse the grammar.) Because this student is a he, said student learns things much more concretely if he is allowed to do, not just listen. So instead, his teacher gives him a simple worksheet asking him to draw 5 quarter notes. When he goes home, this students gets to leave the piano (walking=action=way more interesting and a change of pace) and draw (more action). While drawing, he has “quarter note” on the brain. (He actually might have fire engines or trash trucks on the brain, but lets hope for the best.) This is cementing the name of the note in his mind. Plus, he is coloring in each note head, re-enforcing the fact that this note has a “dirty face.” And an added bonus is that he is learning how to draw notes, which may come in very handy when he begins composing his own songs in like two decades (ok, it seems like it).

Is this reasoning only for those students called “him?” No, girls appreciate these things too. They just have Cinderella and lip gloss on the brain, thats all. No matter what the gender or age, students learn things better when they use more than one of their senses (touch) to learn how to play.

There are some instances when I don’t use worksheets. If the student is working through a theory or activity book, chances are they don’t need much more than that. If their theory book has them labeling all the C’s on the staff, then I don’t need to give them a worksheet that will repeat that activity. However, if a student is having a hard time remembering the Bass Clef notes in the middle C position, then I may give them a sheet that reviews those notes. Or maybe this student hasn’t reviewed their intervals lately, and I want to soon introduce minor scales. Out comes an interval worksheet!

There have also been times when I have printed off a particular sheet for a student’s lesson, but then during the lesson decide not to give it to them. Either I feel they don’t need the review on that particular skill, or I feel they have enough for one week, and I don’t want to overwhelm them. It just depends. As the teacher, I must have my eyes and ears open to what will be best for my student right now. None of my students were made by a cookie cutter, they all are different people with different learning strengths and weaknesses and need different teaching approaches. (Whew...that makes my job sound like hard work!)

So what is your opinion? Worksheets or no worksheets? Please, do share! Because I love opinions...

Tips From My Studio - Beginning A Lesson

Comparatively, I have not been teaching piano for very long. I have taught my siblings for several years ( I started all 4 of them as beginners) but other than that I have only been teaching “real” students for...um...4 months. 

Ok, now is the point where you roll your eyes and say, “And she thinks she has tips to give ME??”

Yeah, thats about how I feel too. Next to most of you, I feel about knee-high in the area of teaching. Ok, make that ankle-high.

But even in my limited teaching experience, I have learned a few small things. (And I mean small.) Most of this stuff you probably already know, but in the event that you don’t, hopefully it will be a blessing to you.

This first thing I would like to share is about beginning a lesson. All those years I “just” taught my siblings, I usually began a lesson with, “Ok, lets have a lesson now” or, “Will you stop talking long enough for me to get a word in?” or something similar to that. It wasn’t until I got to college (at least thats the first time it really sunk in with me) that my teacher, Mrs. Susan Smith, prayed with me at the start of every lesson.

Now just perhaps my previous teachers did pray with me, but if they did, the weight of that didn’t sink in until college. Even then, I didn’t start doing it in my own lessons. Things take a while to penetrate this thick skull.

What I did notice about these lessons with Mrs. Smith was that praying at the start of a lesson really calmed my nerves and settled me down to get serious about the lesson. It also showed me what the focus of our lesson was...not to impress my teacher, but to bring glory to God. Yes, even an ordinary, mundane, and (heaven forbid) boring lesson should bring glory to God!

As I said before, even though I thought starting in prayer was wonderful, I did not start doing it with my siblings. After all, they are “just” my siblings. (In case you are wondering, that is the wrong attitude to have!! My poor siblings...I had so much to learn! But that is another post for another time.)

Finally, this summer when I started teaching “real” students, it sunk in. Probably because I felt more scared about teaching other people, and I felt like I really needed the Lord’s help! It is sad, but isn’t that how we so often treat prayer?? We don’t realize how much we need it until we are in a situation we can’t handle without it. 

So I thought, well, why not try this with my siblings lessons, too? And you know what? It has radically changed our lessons! Because when I did not start the lesson with our focus on God and bringing Him the glory, and when I had the attitude that it is “just” my siblings, those siblings had the same reaction: “Its “just” my sister.” Not good. But once I started beginning in prayer, they began responding to me as a teacher way better. They are more cooperative and seem to enjoy the lesson more....even the boring parts. (Oops, I said the forbidden “b” word again!)

So you ask, what do I pray for at the beginning of a lesson? I pray that I will speak only the words that will help the student. I try to remember to pray for the student by name and pray something specific for him or her. I pray that all we do in the lesson will bring honor and glory to God. And I pray that we will redeem our time during the lesson. (Ephesians 5:16)

Sometimes I let the student pray, if it is someone that is comfortable with praying out loud. The purpose of praying is not to make the student uncomfortable, so I don’t make them pray unless they want to. 

Do you start your lessons in prayer? How has prayer worked in and through your studio and your student’s lives?