The latest in my attempts to keep my toddler happy during lessons:

This is the landing on our stairs.  I set up a reading nook and showed it to her before lessons by reading stories with her there.  The first day of lessons, this worked like magic.  She was enthralled with her new spot, and didn’t leave it once.  After a few days, she was bored of the same ol’ toys I was putting there. 

So now, I divide toys up into 4 baskets (I teach 4 days a week).  Each basket has a couple books, a stuffed animal, a few small toys, and a big interactive toy (like a puzzle or filing folders with pictures).  I put the basket on the landing with some library books.  This works much better since she sees these toys only once a week.

Sometimes it’s good to look at things from a different angle- like your students!

The week before a recital, I have my students ”practice recital” during lessons.  I sit on the couch as an audience member, make noise as distractions, clap when they finish, etc.  They take a bow at the end and go back to their seat (my chair set far away from the piano.)

I noticed yesterday while I was doing this that one of my students bounces when she plays!  I never noticed the bouncing from my position in my chair at the right side of the piano.  But sitting behind her helped me to see.  It was an eye opener for me because I realized that she counts with her body while she plays.  As a result, her songs always sound a bit choppy and unfinished. 

Now I know how to help her create a more smooth and flowing sound- just from watching her from a different angle!

It makes me think I should get up and move around more often!  What else will I discover?

I know this isn’t original.  I’m pretty sure I read this in a forum somewhere.  So I am totally stealing somebody else’s idea.  But it’s been SO effective in my studio lately that I MUST share it here!

When introducing eighth notes, tell your student to say “apple” instead of “1 and.”  Quarter notes will also now become “pear.”  This is much easier for a child to do.  Instead of counting “1 and 2, 3 and 4,” they say “apple pear, apple pear.”  Surprisingly, this does not seem to confuse them in the slightest.  And they actually get the rhythms right!  Even successful “1 and” counters tend to get choppy rhythms.  But “apple pear” counters don’t have that problem!

Plus, it’s fun for their families to hear them saying such sill things while they play the piano!

Do you do this already?  Do you have any other silly words you use?

Jennifer, who said,

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One of my “gifted and terrifed of failure“ students told me he is getting very very bored.  Knowing I could be setting myself up for an unpleasant response, I still decided to acknowledge his feelings and ask him why.  He responded that all his pieces in the lesson books are too easy.

To be honest, they are too easy for him.  He can sight read well beyond the level that he plays.  But I don’t think it is wise to skip levels because he needs to understand all concepts.  I fear that if we skip a level, he will miss something important that will hinder his ability to play a much more difficult piece.  And because he tends to balk at challenges, I am not willing to let him skip concepts and fundamentals. 

Since that is too difficult to explain to an 11 year old, I chose to liken piano to baseball, his favorite subject.  Maybe you can find a way to use a similar comparison with a similar student.

I told him to imagine that he started baseball this year for the first time, and could “knock the ball out of the park” 9 times out of 10.  At the mention of his favorite sport, I could practically see the baseball diamonds glittering in his eyes.  I then told him to imagine that even though he could hit like a pro, he couldn’t catch for anything.  He didn’t like that part of the analogy, and told me he could most definitely catch like a pro.  So we had to change the character in this imaginary story to “a friend.” 

I then explained that the friend would have to start from the beginning- from scratch- to learn all the fundamentals of baseball.  I asked him if he agreed, and he did.  He would never be a great ball player without the fundamentals.

It’s the same in piano.  We have to move through the lesson books so that we can get the fundamentals.  In the meantime, I will give him harder pieces that will challenge him.  But he must get through the basic stuff before we can leave the lesson books in the dust.

He completely understood what I was saying, and completely agreed.  (something that surprised me to no end- because he is NOT one to agree with me on ANYTHING!)

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My husband and I are very good about splitting household responsibilities.  We each do what is most convenient and practical for our individual schedules.  My husband makes dinner most nights since I am teaching during dinner prep time. 

But, since having shoulder surgery a couple days ago, he is now a one armed man.  I’m not counting on much help in dinner preparation over the next month while he heals.  So I am setting out on a quest to find great crock pot recipes and super quick meals.  As I find recipes, I will share them here.  I imagine I’m not the only music teacher who must juggle meal preparation with teaching!

This is a favorite of ours.  It may be the easiest crock pot recipe in the world.

Pork Tacos

Put a pork roast, a can of diced chiles, and almost a whole jar of salsa (we really like the mild Wal Mart brand of salsa for this recipe.  It’s cheap and it soaks into the pork very well) in the crock pot.  Let it cook for half the day.  Shred the pork about an hour before you serve it so it can soak in the salsa even more.  Put the meat on tortillas with whatever taco toppings you like!  Yum!  We’ve also put this pork over rice when we are out of tortillas, and it’s very good.

My husband just had shoulder surgery, and I am worn out from taking care of him and a toddler.  I’m sure he’s worn out too, but we’re talking about me here!

Because I’m exhausted, I’m just going to wish you a Happy Thursday today!  I hope your week is going well.  I hope your students are practicing perfectly for you and are on their best behavior today.  (I hope mine are too!)

And please don’t forget to comment here for a chance to win a subscription to Pianomorning.com!

Don’t forget to comment here to win a free subscription to Pianomorning.com!  You only have a few days left!

How do you handle awards?

I have a few students receiving awards for participating in MTNA programs this year.  I want to hand those awards out at our recital a couple weeks from now.  I feel those students deserve public recognition.  I also hope that other students will be more interested in participating in programs next year when they see their peers getting awards.

My concern, of course, is this: What about the kids who will receive no award?  Will they feel bad?  Will their parents feel bad?  Should I make up some studio awards- such as Most Improved, Excellent Sight Reader, etc. so that every student gets some sort of award?  But will that cheapen the “real” awards?

What is your take on handing out awards publicly?  How have you done it in the past?

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There’s one thing you should know about me.  I do not like to play sports.  I will attend a sporting event only if it’s free or very very very cheap.  You will never ever ever ever catch me watching a sporting event on TV.  (OK, that was technically 3 things.)

Curiously enough, however, I LOVE sports movies.  I don’t know if it’s the triumph over adversity, the teams pulling together, or the feel good music combined with cheering and chanting, but I can always go for a good sports movie.

Recently, I watched Gridiron Gang with my husband.  Have you seen it?

Just when and where is this going to relate to music teaching, you ask?  Soon, I promise.  Stay with me!

Gridiron Gang is a true story about a juvenile detention center warden who decided to use football as a tool to keep his teenage prisoners from returning to the streets upon release from jail.  He miraculously got the approval of his superiors, and even more miraculously, found a high school league that would allow his team of criminals to compete.  Ultimately, he was successful in helping keep kids off the street after jail.  Some did return, but the majority went to school and got jobs and scholarships.

There is a scene in the movie which reminds me of piano teaching.  The coach, played by The Rock, comes out to practice in full football gear.  He looks ridiculous, as the uniform he is wearing is the same size as what the boys wear.  The players and other coaches stare at him and start to laugh, wondering out loud just what the heck (that’s a much more mild way to put it) their coach is doing in a too-small uniform.

He heads straight for one certain player.  This particular player is afraid to get hit.  Consequently, he gets tackled way too easily and way too often, costing the team valuable points.  He has the potential to be a star, but he can’t get over his fear of being hit.

The coach sets himself up in a defensive stance and tells the player to come at him and knock him down.  (Have you seen how big The Rock is?)  The kid, of course, is scared.  The coach tells him he has potential to be great, but he must overcome this obstacle and move forward.   After several attempts, the kid finally knocks The Rock flat on his back.  He is proud, but more importantly, he has overcome his fear and is a better player because of it.

How does this relate to music teaching?  Sometimes we ask our students to do really ridiculous and incredibly challenging things.  But we KNOW what our students need.  We KNOW that this really ridiculous exercise is going to improve some type of technique to make our students stronger players.  Sometimes the parents watch us and wonder what the heck we are asking their kids to do.  But we KNOW how to reach those kids because we are their teachers.  We are musicians.  And we understand that proper fundamentals are the only way to get the desired result- and sometimes we have to get a little ridiculous to teach those fundamentals.

I once donned martian antenna for a “Space Day” to get my students excited about learning and remembering space notes.  I often send my students home with really awful sounding warmups that cause parents to question if their children are truly practicing right.

What have you done to make a point?  When have you started something that seemed so backwards to your student, but ended up being just what that student needed?