Do you give out awards to your students for various achievements from the past year?
Would you like to do more awards but aren’t really sure what to do besides recognizing student achievements in festivals and competitions?
Do you struggle to implement or track something like this with any kind of consistency?
This post is going to look at a few types of awards that can be integrated into your studio’s awards program, as well as how to track everything by creating a simple “policies and procedures manual” of your own.
Each Friday on this blog, I will share some of my favorite finds from the past week. I absorb a lot of content in Feedly so I’m looking forward to helping you as busy teachers see what’s worth checking out! You will find anything from teaching articles, podcasts, music news, recipes, favorite pieces, and more. I promise to try to keep it under 10 items!
1
If you’ve never heard of the Taubman Approach, read more about how the Goldansky Institute Transforms Lives One Student at a Time posted on Clavier Companion blog.
2
This past Sunday in worship, I played several of Victor Labenske’s cleverly woven arrangements in Sunday Morning Blended Worship Companion. A local band teacher attends the Lutheran Church where I play and the pieces really piqued his interest as well as he’s hoping to brush up on his playing skills! I grew up with the classic hymns and they still deeply touch my heart but I also love the power of today’s worship music. Thanks to Victor for pulling these together!
3
An absolutely brilliant activity to incorporate into your recital. Teacher Swan Kiezebrink has her students and audience participate in The Recital Compliment Exchange. I can think of no better way to have your students feel pride and affirmation. This would even be a great activity to do if you hold a recital dress rehearsal. Compliments prior to the recital would certainly give students confidence for the performance.
4
I made The Best Soft Granola Bars this week. I love how simple they are with only six ingredients and no baking required. The crushed pretzels definitely make them. They’re really tasty and overall pretty healthy! After cutting, I wrapped them in individual plastic sandwich baggies and threw them in the freezer. They’re easy to grab and pack for lunch.
I finally got around to ordering this adorable stuffed chipmunk to use when I teach my kiddos the famous “Charlie Chipmunk” in their very first lesson. I can’t wait to use him.
On the Science Channel website, they have clips from the TV series “Machines: How They Work” including a three-minute clip called How Do Grand Piano’s Work?
Besides learning how to store clothes in a way that makes good use of space, the word “joy” came up frequently. The author Marie Kondo strongly encourages readers not to skip one important step when working to reduce and organize “stuff” in their lives. That is, we should hold every single item physically in our hand and ask, “Does this bring me joy?” Such a simple question!
I finished that book on my flight to San Antonio a couple of weeks ago, and the next day, I was once again asked to consider “joy” when I heard Robert Duke speak.
His basic premise is that if our goal as teachers is to make everything perfect and to have students not make mistakes or “choke”, we may be setting our students (and ourselves, for that matter) up only to feel relief when playing/performing well. I had never thought of it that way, but honestly, how sad! Joy should be the ultimate goal.
He shared this video of a little boy singing and playing a Ukelele. So what if he isn’t playing perfect notes or rhythms? There’s true joy in this child!
Fast forward a week. I’m rehearsing with a local choir, and they’re singing “Joy in the Morning” by Natalie Sleeth.
I love Lauren’s new rhythm worksheet just posted for teaching 6/8 and 3/4 time signatures.
2
Elizabeth Gutierrez is doing a Periscope series beginning April 16 on Donald Waman’s “Piano Pageants” book. I purchased it awhile back after Joy Morin wrote about it in her awesome “Un-Method Books for Piano Students” post but I have yet to pull it out. I look forward to Elizabeth’s insights and hope it may entice me to use it!
3
Here’s a great storage idea from Sheryl at Notable Music Studio for storing games.
4
Spice dinnertime prep and your Spotify playlist with go-to pieces from line-chefs across the country. You never know what you may find!
5
Marie Lee has written a smashing report on Time for Three’s appearance at MTNA. These guys have developed some big fans!
Right on the tail of my lost-a-student-out-of-the-blue email, the very next day, I received possibly one of the best compliments you could hope to hear from a parent who was completely off-cuff.
This mom almost always sits in on lessons and engages with her children’s practice and learning. As I took a step back from the piano to my bookshelf next to her chair to switch out sightreading cards, she said (and I paraphrase):
*Sigh* I just love coming here. If only I could make my life as orderly and structured as you run your lessons. You know exactly what you’re doing when, it’s like boom-boom-boom. It always smells good in here (I diffuse oils), and it’s always neat and clean.”
Wow! Mama, you have no idea how much you made my day. I’ve always wanted my studio to feel like a place of comfort and like home. I take pride in my space, and as I told her, it takes work and planning for my lessons to run smoothly.
This makes me smile again as I sometimes catch this working mama with her eyes closed in my black leather chair, taking a quick shut-eye or simply enjoying the music-making happening with her children. She’s there to say “good job” when they play especially well for me and to know exactly what’s expected that week.
What most people need, then, is a place of community that has purpose, order and meaning… A place in which being human is a prerequisite, but acting human is essential.
A place where the generally disorganized thinking that pervades our culture becomes organized and clearly focused on a specific worthwhile result.
A place where discipline and will become prized for what they are: the backbone of enterprise of action, of being what you are intentionally instead of accidentally.
A place that replaces the home most of us have lost.
That’s what a business can do; it can create a Game Worth Playing.
It can become that place of community.
It can become that place where words such as integrity, intention, commitment, vision, and excellence can be used as action steps in the process of producing a worthwhile result.
What kind of result?
Giving your customer a sense that your business is a special place, created by special people, doing what they do in the best possible way.
A few weeks ago, in preparation for my first national conference presentation, I traveled to Butler University in Indianapolis to give a trial run of my session to their MTNA Collegiate Chapter.
Local teachers were invited, and several attended. It went really well, and in the end, as usual, I offered time for questions. Although the session was 100% about marketing, the questions that emerged had nothing to do with marketing but with studio policies.
How do I handle students who quit out of the blue? Do I make families sign a contract? How do I word my policy and enforce it?
I was happy to answer the questions, but they took me by surprise at first since I had just gotten done talking about marketing for 60 minutes.
Later that afternoon it dawned on me that it really wasn’t surprising at all. Why? Studio policy will forever be an issue with independent teachers, and when we talk to someone or see someone who has been successful, we want to pick their brains for the toughest issues we face.
That is why I am opening my dirty laundry today and sharing a complete email exchange with a studio family that happened recently.
Rather than giving you a general idea of what to say in this situation, I hope sharing the word-for-word exchange will help you see one example of how to handle the email we never like seeing.
Luckily, the exchange was not outrageous or nasty. Overall, it was pretty cordial and well-handled, in my opinion. This is just a little dose of reality.
More than anything, I want this blog to be real. I don’t want just to show you the perfect sides of my job, but the hard parts as well.
As I am making preparations to adjudicate tomorrow at one of our Indiana districts for our state competition, Hoosier Auditions, I thought I would briefly share some tips on how to prepare.
#1 Obtain A Repertoire list
If possible, request ahead of time, a list of the repertoire entered. If you have a little heads-up, it’s nice to be able to jump online and your memory on the pieces ahead of time.
As your watching and listening, try to think through specifics regarding the piece and elements you may look for when the student performs. To me, this is simply being mindful of what’s to come.
#2 Do a Little Reading
Read through a few articles online on what it means to be a good judge. Marcia Vahl wrote three excellent articles on Compose Create:
Do you ever feel you’ve gotten off your rhythm of cooking at home? Perhaps your family has had a week where you’ve had something going on every night and you’ve had to rely on a 15-year old in a drive-through… or perhaps you’ve been at a conference for the last 5 days (like a recent MTNA in San Antonio! 🙂 and haven’t touched foot in your kitchen for a week. We all have days or periods in life where we have to outsource our food. Marisa and Joy share a little on how we can get back into our happy places in the kitchen.
2
One of the sessions I attended this past week was Have You Forgotten What It’s Like to be a Child? by Wendy Stevens. One way I try to remember the child in me is by what Julie Knerr would call in one of her 152 Teaching Strategies“personification.” That is, personifying their fingers, “Oh, Mr. Thumb, you’re just not cooperating today, are you? You must be really sleepy because you keep laying down!” I guarantee this elicits nothing but smiles and giggles from students. Andrea Dow shares similar thoughts in How I Use Imaginative Play to Win Over Challenging Piano Students. Don’t be afraid to be silly!
3
While we’re still on the topic, one necessity for all those long conference days and really on any given day, is comfortable shoes. I was fed-up with my thin-as-a-popsicle-stick ballet flats with no support which did nothing but hurt my feet (even though they were cute, of course). I decided at the last minute I had to break down and get something that would be nicer on my feet. I found the Tami Ballet Flat by Born at Von Maur and they were totally worth the price of three pairs of cheap shoes. They have some arch support and are made of soft leather so your toes still have freedom to wiggle. They allow my feet to breathe, are simple, versatile, and comfortable. I wore them nearly every day this week.
4
As I was unpacking and doing laundry, I was listening to Michael Hyatt talk about 8 lessons we can learn about leadership from the Symphony Orchestra. I love this! I especially love #3: Be visible so everyone can see you (like the conductor). Whether it’s as a leader or as a business owner, we need to make ourselves visible both online and offline.
5
Coming off my session I just gave this week on the Wild West of Marketing, “marketing” had been on in my brain. Hitting spot on, Canva Design School Blog did a fun post on the ABC’s of Facebook Marketing. Each letter is a short, easy-to-read snippet on understanding Facebook a little better.
6
Are you an Essentialist? Do you know how to achieve more by doing less? I’m already reading Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.Sharon Mark-Teggart shares three strong impacts the books has already had on her as a piano teacher.
7
Seth Godin comments and gives a run-down on the 5 Ted Talk’s he’s given thus far. I’m sure I have seen them all!
by Michel E. Gerber, which wrapped up her feelings spot on:
