Friday Finds #39: Productivity Tools and Simple Songs

January 13, 2017
by Amy
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I often struggle with finding off-bench music lab activities for my youngest students (ages 5-7). Since I have one student doing lab and one in a lesson simultaneously, they have to, for the most part, be able to function on their own. If a student doesn’t read well yet, that makes it even harder.

In comes MLT and the idea of acculturation – being absorbed in and hearing music in a variety of styles, meters, timbres, instruments, and modes. Viola! One lab I rotate now is purely listening (15-20 minutes). It’s simple – they listen to music while drawing freely in their personal art book and they love it!

What Great Music! Classical Selections to Hear and to See is wonderful for this. Not only is the music of high caliber, but there are beautiful images to accompany each piece.

If you’re interested in reading a little more on how I use “art books” with students check out this post.

 

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Sort by Price. 167 words by Seth that will kick your “commodity” marketing mindset in the pants.

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Evernote: An Independent Music Teacher’s Handbook Part 2: Web Clipper [Video]

January 4, 2017
by Amy
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Helloooooo, 2017!

There are three times each year that the seasons give me a chance to feel refreshed and invigorated.

  1. The last week of May, after the school year lesson schedule comes to an end, I’m preparing for a lighter summer schedule.
  2. The middle of August, gearing up for Fall lessons to resume (this is the time I feel most refreshed and in order).
  3. NOW. The turn of the year when I have a chance to reflect and re-consider goals, organization, and life in general.

Many of us, during at least one of these three points in the year, realize it’s time to refresh and reorganize our studios.

January is one of my slower months of the year. It’s cold; there are no holidays, conferences, festivals, or recitals.

It’s the perfect time to rethink how you work, including organizing your studio physically and digitally.

Evernote is the perfect program to help independent music teachers in this area. Today, I will walk you through the perfect little tool that will be your best friend on the internet and your mobile device for capturing and organizing life – the Evernote Web-Clipper.

 

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Evernote: An Independent Music Teacher’s Handbook Part 1: Studio Organization [Video]

December 21, 2016
by Amy
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When I first started teaching piano as an independent music teacher, I learned quickly there was more to the profession than being a pianist and pedagogue. I was managing a business and, in a way, people. Tasks like tracking student information, lesson plans, overall student progress, music to be ordered, recital participation, and repertoire lists became a big part of the job.

Before Evernote…

I would find myself unable to recall the materials I needed to purchase when I happened by the music store unplanned.

Oodles of information and ideas that I intently recorded during sessions at local, state, or national conferences found themselves in paper stacks without a second glance.

I read valuable and detailed advice regarding iPad to MIDI capabilities in a Facebook thread, but it was later fuzzy in my mind when I needed it most. When I tried to find it, the conversation was lost in a sea of never-ending social media posts.

If you’re like me, you long for anything that streamlines the business side of your work. While today’s digital world offers many tools and applications to help us manage and organize the tasks we juggle on a daily basis, one stands out: Evernote.

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File Fever: Organizing Student Files

September 13, 2016
by Amy
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I have a fever, a fever that never breaks. It’s a sickness, really.

It’s called organizational fever; more specifically to this post-file fever – and I don’t know how to stop it! Being organized is fuel to my body. It gives me clarity and peace of mind.

My studio gets organized and reorganized every few months and rearranged to some degree once to twice a year. I’m getting to the point where I’ve nearly perfected the arrangement, but rearranging and organizing are like a breath of fresh air. I’m a better teacher when everything is in its place. I have my moments – we all do – but I strive to keep my studio and workspace tidy for my and my students’ sake!

This post will share how I organize my (physical) student files.

(To see how I organize student information using Evernote, see the post Evernote: An Independent Music Teacher’s Handbook.)

First, a quick note on what inspired me to improve my organization even more.

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