It’s never too late to learn an instrument Today has been music exam day for my students. They got to show the examiner all the hard work they have done this term (and what a friendly examiner too!) I also realised today that one of them is in their seventies. I love teaching adults and…
Month: November 2019
Music feeds the heart and soul
Education isn’t just about feeding the brain. Art and music feed the heart and soul. Julie Garwood Hands up if you agree! I love the way music touches our emotions and feeds ‘the heart and soul’. This was brought home to me in a recent music lesson where the piece a student was playing connected…
Meet the student where they are
Meet the student where they are, not where you are, and not where you want them to be, but where they really are Frances Clark Meeting the student ‘where they are’ is perhaps likely to be easier in a one-to-one music lesson. We get to know our students on an individual basis and can tailor…
Importance of music
Some people think music education is a privilege but I think it is essential to being human Jewel What a great quote and I couldn’t agree more!
Play Ball in a Bin to practice note values
If you are looking for a fun way to practice note values then Ball in a Bin could be useful for you – or your students if you are a music teacher! This is a trick shot game where you shoot the ball into the bins to score points. The longer you wait, the more…
Home is where my piano is
Home is where my piano is Are you emotionally attached to your musical instrument? I definitely am! Many years ago my mum and dad came with me to choose the piano I have now. My parents have always been massively supportive of my music education and my mum was musical and played herself. It was…
The importance of scales
By knowing your scales “you have learned 95% of 90% of the entire flute repertoire!” Trevor Wye, Practice Book for the Flute Volume 5: Breathing and Scales; Novello Sometimes scales become, for our students, something that they have to do in order to pass an exam. But actually they underpin all our repertoire, whatever instrument…
Routine and learning music
What are your thoughts on routine in the music practice room or the actual lesson? In the music lesson I have found some students seem to really love routine and are actually thrown when things are done in a different order. Whereas others respond much better to a more spontaneous approach (or at least something…
Love of learning
A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning Brad Henry There are many things I wish for my students but a love of learning their instrument is definitely high up on the list – if not at the top! What would be on your wish list?
Knowing and understanding
There is a great difference between knowing and understanding: you can know a lot about something but not really understand it Kettering I love how this quote can apply to learning music. You can know how to play a scale, for example, and not understand it. You could also learn to play a piece of…
Secret to good teaching
The secret of good teaching is to regard the child’s intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination. Our aim is not only to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorise, but so to touch his imagination as to…
Giving students ownership of their learning
If a student feels involved in their learning they are more likely to be highly motivated Many years ago when I was studying for a teaching diploma I read a really useful book by Susan Hallam and one part of it must have struck a chord with me (no pun intended!). I got the same…
