Piano Teacher’s Retreat

We all know the power of music, but every day I still find it just so delightful and enchanting how powerful it truly is.  Whenever my baby is upset or sad, all I need to do is hold her close and sing a song to her.  She rests her head on my shoulder and calms right down.  I have tried to calm her down without singing, and occasionally I am successful.  But singing is something that soothes every time.  How can that be?  It’s amazing!

Daddy singing to our baby when she was first born

I don’t know if I’ve posted about this site before.  Forgive me if I have!  I’m always looking for fun beginner songs that sound impressive in order to keep my students motivated.  www.makingmusicfun.net has traditional, classical, and even Christmas music arranged for easy piano.  It is organized by level, which makes it really nice to quickly find a piece. 

What kind of introduction do you give when you meet with a new student for the first time?  I am still trying to craft my own.  Sometimes I tell the student that piano is hard work but rewarding.  Sometimes I tell them about myself and my piano history.  Sometimes I forget and skip introductions all together!  Do you have a routine you follow?

I have a beginner student who really loves this song by Mary Hauber.  He loves the way the pedal makes the song sound like bells.  He also loves the 8va.  I think those two elements combined into one song is a recipe for a definite favorite among beginner students.  It makes them feel like they are playing something really advanced!  Check it out at this link below!

Victory Bells by Mary Hauber

…to do the same things that kids are allowed to do? 

If I’m sitting in a private lesson and I’m beginning to get restless, why can’t I stand up to continue the flashcard exercise, rather than sit still in my seat?  Why can’t I spin around and around on the piano bench?  Why can’t I announce that I just don’t care to do the thing my teacher is requesting I do?

*Sigh*

I’m just curious what method books people like the most.  I use Faber materials.  I was taught out of Bastien.  I have one student who came to me halfway through Bastien Primer level and one halfway through Alfred Primer level so I’m finishing the books with them and will then transfer over to Faber.  I have also taught Celbrate Primer level. 

Maybe it’s because I’m so used to Faber, but I really do not like the other methods.  Faber’s songs seem to be so much better, even in the Primer level.  What do you use?

My two ice cream parties last week were so much fun.  Each student brought one friend to their lesson.  We started out with eating ice cream (duh…how could you start with ANYTHING else at an ice cream party?).  Then we played games, followed by a mini-recital for the friend.

One student brought a friend who has taken piano lessons for 5 years so we were able to play games without teaching piano concepts.  We first played Note Twister (see previous post).  I do have to pat myself on the back because my student knew her notes WAY better than the friend who has taken for 5 years!  Yay, go me!  (and my student, of course)

The other student brought a friend who has been thinking about starting piano lessons for a long time.  We played a game at the piano which requires knowing the names of the notes, so my student and I quickly taught the notes to his friend.  He learned them so fast.  I was blown away.  He then went home and showed his mom, who decided to sign him and his sister up for lessons!  Yay!

The best part of the ice cream party with a friend was seeing my students teach their friends things they know.  I never know for sure how well my students are understanding something.  But when they are faced with teaching it to somebody else, their true knowledge comes out!

A while ago, I posted about Space Day, where we played games relating to the space notes.  I forgot to post about Line Day, so here it is! 

I wore a striped shirt and taped construction paper notes to the lines, for no other reason than to keep with the “line” theme.  (Sorry, no picture.  It was humiliating enough to do this in my studio!)

Then, we talked about the line notes and how to remember them.  “Every Good Boy Does Fine” for right hand.  “Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always” for left hand.  Some of the students made up their own sentences to help remember. 

We played the Skittles Line Game and Jumping Lines.

For Jumping Lines, I put tape on my floor to create a staff, like so:

Oh I hate my carpet.

Then, I called out a line note and the student jumped to it.  They loved to jump backwards, so I made sure to include a lot of notes from top to bottom.

We also played Note Twister with the same tape.  I called out Right Hand, E.  Left Hand, F.  Right Foot, G and so forth.  My fabulous husband demonstrates here:

This was, by far, their favorite game.  The game ends when the student falls over.  So I tried really hard to call out notes that would twist them up and make them fall!

I then sent the students home with homework of line notes to identify. 

Download piano sheet music instantly!

What do you do when your student bounces their fingers off the keys while playing staccato?  I think it’s instinct for some people, but I don’t know how to correct it.

I told a student that her song had all the basic elements (notes, tempo, rhythym) and now she just needs to polish it by adding dynamics and feeling.  She looked at me with a very puzzled look so we discussed “polishing” a song.

I said, “Look at my piano.  It’s a pretty piano, right?  Just like your song.  Well, look here at these fingerprints left by students.  That makes it not as pretty as it could be.  I need to get some polish and wipe those fingerprints away.  After I have polished it, it will be as pretty as it can be, right?  Now, your song is pretty but it needs better dynamics to make it as pretty as it can be, right?  So let’s figure out how to master those dynamics.  Then, it will be as pretty as it can be- and all polished up!”

Download piano sheet music instantly!