I’ve written about her before, but her fabulous site has helped me once again, so here I am singing her praises one more time! (but probably not the last time!)

Susan Paradis’ Piano Teacher Resources is a site filled to the brim with great ideas and printables.  Susan also writes her own music, which you can print from her site.

Most recently, I have printed her Elementary level Halloween pieces for one of my new beginners!

If you haven’t visited her site, now is the time!

Maybe one of the best things I learned from Randall Faber at a recent conference was how different age groups approach learning.

• Under Seven age group:   Their mentality is “I can DO IT.”  They are more excited about the doing than anything else.  They don’t care so much about progressing or achieving goals.  They just want to have fun.  Activities at the piano and away from the piano are great motivators.  Because they are motivated, they achieve success more readily.
• Seven to Thirteen Year Olds:   “I CAN do it.”  They are motivated by their ability.  Stickers are great motivators.  Acknowledging and reinforcing their competence helps foster great self esteem and motivation in this age group. 
• Adolescents:   “I can do it.”  They are proud of themselves.  Treat them as competent and capable, and they will achieve better success.

I think I approach each of my students with the “I CAN do it” mentality- focusing on and praising ability.  This works well, because most of my students fit in the seven-thirteen age range. 

But I do have a few students under seven and one over thirteen.   I have been so glad to have this insight.  It has opened my eyes, and I am approaching my younger and older students much better, keeping their age appropriate mentality in mind as I teach.

One of my beginner students was playing a piece where fingers 2, 3, and 4 were on the black keys.  This position was awkward for her.  She noticed that her pinkies were up in the air.  To explain to me how awkward the position was, she giggled and said, “My pinkies want a spot!”

I recently attended  a workshop by the wonderful Randall Faber, author of the Piano Adventures method books.

I want to share some great things I learned from him.

When teaching young children, we need to be aware that when they like something, they want to do it over and over again.   With that understanding, teachers need to adapt to that mentality.  If our students are struggling with a certain technique, a smart way to approach that struggle is to create an activity involving that technique that the student will want to do over and over again. 

For example, if a student is having a hard time with rounded fingers, perhaps a fun chant or rhyme that goes along with getting fingers into rounded shape could be taught.  Or if a student is having a hard time reading notes, a fun game about notes played away from the piano can help reinforce a knowledge of notes.  If the student enjoys the activity, s/he will want to do it over and over again, and if the teacher allows that, the student will benefit.

I’ve always been a huge advocate of games, as they make piano lessons fun.  Having it pointed out to me that children want to repeat fun things over and over again will help me tailor games to be more appropriate for each child.

And how will I know if a student is actively engaged in the activity I have chosen?  Randall Faber also taught to moniter the students’ eyes in order to determine their attention to the lesson, activity, discussion, explanation, etc.

Have you noticed the pink “Moms are Making Money with their Blogs” button over in the middle column?  —>

You should really take a look.  Vanessa Brown, successful blogger and owner of www.inevergrewup.net, has launched a fabulous instructional program to help bloggers actually make money from all the time they spend blogging! 

Self taught through trial and error, she completely understands the process towards making money from blogging, including what NOT to do!  And she shares it all through informative videos and CDs.

How enticing does this sound?  Vanessa makes enough money through blogging that she is able to pay her family’s mortgage each month- plus more.  And all while spending time with her kids-then blogging about it.

If you’ve ever considered using your blog to make money, this is a great place to start. 

I’m so excited to learn from her.  I’ve already gotten great tips, like how to use Twitter to help get traffic to my blog, something I was completely clueless about!

Check her out.  When you sign up, you get a free video.  Click on the pink button that says “Moms are Making Money From Their Blogs” over there on the right!

I am so excited about Alfred’s new series for busy teens, but brokenhearted because I don’t have any students who could use it yet!

Alfred’s “Piano For Busy Teens”  incorporates many different styles of music to appeal to teenagers- jazz, classical, duets, showstoppers and more.

But the ingenious thing about this series is that it takes into account how busy teenagers are.  This is for the teenagers who still want to play piano, but only have a short time to practice each day.

Each piece first has a “1 Minute FYI,” a brief introduction about the piece with historical and practial information. 

Following the “1 Minute FYI,” there is a “5 Minute Warmup” to help students get the feel of the piece- the rhythm and coordination. 

After that, there is a “15 Minute Practice Plan,” where the piece is divided into 4 weeks.  During Week One, the student is to spend 15 minutes each day on Section 1 of the piece.  Week 2 covers a new section and so on, until Week 4 when the student practices the entire piece. 

There is also a “5 Minute Finishing Touches” portion which points out impressive rhythms and dynamics that a student should pay attention to.

After 4 weeks, the student should be able to play the entire piece, even though he/she only practiced about 15-20 minutes a day!

What’s even better is that the pieces are very impressive sounding and very fun to play!

Alfred’s ”Piano for Busy Teens” is a great and realistic way to keep teenagers at the piano when life just gets too busy.

Please tell me if you try this series.  I would love to know how it works for you!

I teased last week about a fun new twist on the Whack-it games Natalie from www.musicmattersblog.com invented.  You can see her versions of those games here and here.  These games are such hits with my students, so we’re always playing them.  I did a small group lesson last week and wanted to find a way to play the game with two players. 

Each student will need a spatula (this is their favorite part of the game).

Each student also needs a deck of flashcards.  I take 20 cards out and split them into two piles of 10.

The students sit side by side.  The teacher sits facing them.  At the teacher’s signal, (I smack my hands on the floor, but a bell or buzzer would be fun too) the students race each other to whack their card with the spatula and correctly identify their note. 

Whoever gets the note correct first moves the card aside.  The other person keeps the card at the top of his/her pile.

The teacher gives another signal and the students race again.  The game is over when one student successfully moves through his/her pile of flashcards.

When it’s all done, switch decks of cards and play again!

I just got back from a wonderful Alfred workshop with Dan Coates and Gayle Kowalchyk.  I’m incredibly excited about Alfred’s new series for teens.  I’ll tell you all about it next week!

In the meantime, here’s another preview.  My daughter is playing in the mess left over after a student and I played a fun new game inspired by Natalie’s Whack-it Games!  I’ll tell you about the new game next week!

A young student of mine stopped mid-song to scratch his leg.  His explanation?

Normally, I can itch my leg with my other foot.  But this is a bigger itch.  I need my hands.

Understood.  Play on!

I had a great Students Only Recital this past week. 

My aim in doing a recital just for students was twofold.

1. To make performing less stressful.  The students were slightly nervous when they got to my house.  They would be performing, after all!  But as they walked in, I handed them a number.  They then were allowed to sit wherever they wanted.  Both these factors eased fears, since students are used to sitting in a designated spot and holding a program at regular recitals.  I allowed each student to start with one piece.  When everyone had finished their pieces, I asked if anyone wanted to play another.  Two non-shy hands shot up right away.  Motivated by those successes, several shy hands raised into the air as well.  Mostly everyone ended up playing two pieces- one they had prepared for and one they had not.  These spontaneous performances helped my students feel comfortable around each other.  They were able to actually experience the FUN of performing!
2. To create a cameraderie amongst students.  I’ve said this before.  I think it’s important that students have friends in music.  There are many reasons- they can motivate each other to keep going, they can help each other aspire to be better, they can create music together.  So a large part of my recital was devoted to meeting each other and getting to know each other’s names.

After everyone performed, we sat in a circle on the floor.  We started tap/clapping a simple beat: Hit legs, clap, hit legs, clap… We then went around the room, and said each person’s name in rhythm.

Rebecca

Hit legs, clap

James

Hit legs, clap

and so on.

Everyone did a good job.  My youngest student, a 5 year old, had a little trouble keeping the beat.  However, I anticipated this, and sat next to him so I could help.

After we played that game, we played another silly name games that had the kids literally rolling on the floor in hysterics.  I’m sure you’ve heard this game.  Each person chooses an animal that starts with the first letter of her name.  I was Rebecca Rabbit.  Then, each person goes around the room taking a turn at trying to remember everyone’s name and animal.

Such a simple game, but the silly laughs everyone shared really brought my students together!

I have asked each student this week if they can name everyone who was at the recital.  Everybody (even the 5 year old) has been able to do it!

Have you ever done a Students Only Recital?