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Author: admin

24 Jul

The Next Big Thing

by admin
in Facilities, Program Development
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The Next Big ThingFrom the moment I opened my studio, I’ve always had the same question in the back of my mind: what is the “next big thing” and how am I going to make it a reality?

Since that day over five years ago, I’ve had some pretty amazing “next big things” happen. I made the transition from traveling music therapist/teacher to opening a studio where my students come to me. I gained enough students to quit my day job and become a full-time studio owner. I completely remodeled my studio space. And then earlier this summer, I hired my first contractor.

But despite those exciting developments, I’m still in hot pursuit of — you guessed it — “the next big thing”. So what might that be?

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20 Jul

Self-help Pedagogy: Part 2

by admin
in Performance, Policies and Procedures, Program Development
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Time management is an essential component of managing a studio. In addition to managing and planning the details on the business end, many studio owners take an active role in the lesson and class planning. In this month’s blog, I will summarize points from Marienne Uszler’s book, Time Flies…How to Make the Best Use of Teaching Time.

Like last month’s blog on the use of repetition in practice (Self-help Pedagogy: Part 1), the first step is to determine how you use lesson time by video or audio recording yourself teaching a variety of different lessons. Then, review the recordings and make a timeline noting how much time was spent on each activity.

In order to plan an effective music lesson for the Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced leves, Uszler suggests that the following six elements must be present:

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24 Jun

5 Ways to Organize Studio Repertoire

by admin
in Facilities
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Organize Music Repertoire

If there’s one thing us studio owners have lots of, it’s this: music. We’re constantly purchasing and collecting songs to use with our students, and I know I’m not the only one who has struggled with the best way to keep my ever-growing repertoire organized.

And after five years of trying to figure it out, I’ve come to realize that there isn’t necessarily one “best” way to keep my music organized. Rather, I rely on five different methods to keep tabs on the resources I use every day.

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22 Jun

Self-help Pedagogy: Part 1

by admin
in Performance, Policies and Procedures, Program Development
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Summer is such a great time to rest and read. For the next three months I will devote my blog to reviewing three small wonderful “self-help pedagogy” books written by Marienne Uszler that have really influenced my teaching.

There are three books in the series: Play it again, Sam…What, Why, and When to Repeat, Time Flies…How to Make the Best Use of Teaching Time and That’s a Good Question…How to Teach by Asking Questions. All three books are very practical and give specific teaching techniques, helpful hints and references for further research. They are short on words and length, but long on ideas and concepts.

Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, when repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex. – Norman Vincent Peale

Play it Again, Sam… is particularly appropriate for right now in my studio as students are learning new repetoire for the summer. Learning a new piece requires so much repetition. How many times do you have a student repeat a new idea in your studio? What types of repetition do you espouse? At first glance of Uszler’s book, I thought it might contain suggestions to make repetitions more fun using games and so forth. Well, not quite. This is not a quick fix – Uszler’s approach is holistic. It is about teaching concepts that will stick and developing independent learners capable of transferring skills.

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