Back to Piano!

Whew! After taking my practical ARCT exam, I thought I'd be able to catch my breath. Really? I should have known better. Now it's back into fall schedule -- which means teaching again. :)

First Week of Lessons!

    My students started their lessons this week. As a teacher, my first impulse was to get straight to work, reviewing and reviewing some more. But a blog post I read made me decide to make first lessons easier. So there were a couple of things we did that were definitely on the lighter side.
This is the fourth wall in my piano studio -- two garish, screaming-80s-green Sunday school room dividers. (Hey, I got them for free!) In spite of their outdated and unappealing colour, I love these walls for two reasons: 1) They can be moved aside when hosting a recital or when my family needs the basement space for company, and 2) I can jab as many pins into them as I like without worrying about making holes in the drywall. One divider serves as my Brag Wall -- where students rack up points for practicing, performing, and Word of the Week. This one is going to be my Theme Wall. For this week, I asked each student to list one piece they want to learn this year. Then they wrote that piece title on a sticky note and pinned it to the wall. (Not representing all my students.) This gives me an idea what kind of music they want to play! 

And we took pictures ...

...and picked out new music. 

And we played sight-reading games. I love this idea -- again, from Teach Piano Today -- called "Rock Around the Clock." The student sight-reads the measure of music tacked beside the hour that I call out! It takes a little prep, but the result is fun enough to be worth it. 
My Studies

   Although I took the Practical ARCT exam a few weeks ago (and passed, thank God!), I now have the theory and history exams to work on. That's a total of three exams over the next school year -- if all goes according to my plan. The History 3 exam will be in December, and it includes a research essay. So you're probably guessing by now that I won't be posting every week between now and then. I'll try to keep up with studio updates, but other than that, you won't here much from me. Don't worry, I'm still teaching ... and studying. ;)

   (This also means I won't be accepting new students this year. If you are looking for a music teacher, check out Parkland Music Teacher's Association.) 

Location: Onoway, AB T0E 1V0, Canada

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