Music Students Wanted to Perform in Edmonton Mozart Festival

ATTENTION MUSIC STUDENTS! LOVE TO PLAY MOZART? THEN HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO PERFORM IN THIS UNIQUE EVENT!! PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH OTHERS!

If you’d like to participate, contact Elliot Kam at: kam.elliot575@gmail.com

The Edmonton Mozart Festival
Muttart Hall, MacEwan Alberta College Conservatory of Music

June 3 @ 7-9 PM “Perspectives”
June 10 @ 7-9 PM “A Little Night Music”

$15 per concert or $25 for both.
Proceeds will go to Alberta Cancer Foundation

Festival website (see here for tickets and posters):
http://www.edmontonmozartfestival.com/

Celebrate Music Monday!

Today is Music Monday in Canada! How is your school or music studio celebrating? Share and submit your stories here!

“Studio Secrets!” This Month: Make-Up Lessons (To Give or Not to Give -That is the Question!)

How do you handle make-up lessons in your music studio?

If you have successfully implemented a great make-up or no-make-up policy, please share your thoughts with us here on our AMEF Resource Site for music teachers!

Just click on “submit” on the left-side of the page!  And thanks for sharing!

Make-up Lessons – To Give, or Not To Give, That is The Question (from Music Teachers Helper)

When I first started teaching (many years ago), I did not have a make-up policy, and was charging by the lesson. No show = no pay. (Yes, fellow teachers, I can sense your horror and disapproval!) Alas, those days are over; I now charge a monthly fee, and have a make-up policy. Still, the issue of make-up lessons comes up from time to time, and is one I find most frustrating to deal with as a private music teacher.

If you are reading this, you have probably come across the famous article “Make-up Lessons from an Economist’s Point of View” written by a parent. (If you have not read it before, it is a great email-forward to parents asking for make-ups!) I want to know who is that lucky teacher mentioned in the article?! In my experience, most parents do not think like this economist. I am sure we have all received the phone call that goes like “so-and-so can not come to lesson because of such-and-such, so can we have a make-up on this-particular-day from this-particular-time to that-particular-time because that is what suits us the best!”

When it comes to make-up policy, there are three basic approaches: None-Whatsoever, Free-For-All, or the Middle-Ground. I sure hope no one reading this is in the Free-Makeups-For-All category: you have got to respect yourself more! A quick search on Google tells me that most full-time private teachers have a strict No-Makeup-Whatsoever policy when lessons are cancelled by the students. (It goes without saying that all of us give make-ups when we, the teacher, cancel the lesson.) My current policy is the Middle-Ground: if students notify me of their absence before the day of the lesson, I will give make-up, otherwise no make-up. (Yes teachers, I see some of you shaking your head in disapproval again!) This policy seemed fair to me, but it means I am constantly rescheduling lessons when people choose to:

1. go to their sports practice

2. host a birthday party

3. go to a birthday party

4. go on vacation

5. study for school test

6. schedule a medical or dental appointment

7. whatever else they deem more important than their lesson

Another quick search on Google tells me that there are several other variations of a Middle-Ground policy:

1. limited number of make-ups allowed per semester

2. make-ups given only if other students cancel that week

3. make-ups given only under “special circumstances”

Some teachers will reschedule lessons missed due to sickness and nothing else – been there, done that, and not good! While some illnesses are genuine and you certainly do not want the sick students to come and get you sick, if you adopt this policy, you will have people cancel and expect a make-up over the littlest of headaches. The truth is, unless you take the None-Whatsoever approach, it is simply not fair for you, for your time, and for your family. So why did I choose to go Middle-Ground myself? It had a lot to do with my relocation and re-establishing a studio in a new city. I also took into consideration my own accompaniment and performance schedules that can be unpredictable, and figured if I am allowed to reschedule with notice, so can my students. What I forgot to take into consideration is that I would soon be dealing with a busy schedule and make-up times eat into my personal and family time. Am I reconsidering my policy? You bet! I am stuck with it though until the next school year.

About the author, Yiyi Ku

Yiyi Ku is a pianist and teacher. Born in Taiwan, she grew up in New Zealand and obtained her Master of Music degree with Distinction in Composition and Piano Performance from the University of Canterbury. Yiyi also holds a Licentiate in Piano Performance from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. She is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Piano from Music Teachers National Association and American College of Musicians/National Guild of Piano Teachers.

Yiyi has an extensive background in teaching. Before moving to the United States in 2005, She taught Piano, Theory and Musicianship at Rangi Ruru Girls School and St Margarets College in Christchurch, New Zealand. While living on Long Island, she was piano faculty at East End Arts Council School of Arts, and became a certified piano adjudicator for New York State School Music Association. In 2009 she moved to California, and currently lives with her husband and two dogs in Murrieta. She has maintained a busy private studio for many years, and enjoys teaching students of all ages and levels.

Make-up Lessons From An Economist’s Point of View - by Vicky Barham

I’m a parent of children enrolled in Suzuki music lessons.  I’d like to explain to other parents why I feel - quite strongly, actually - that it is unreasonable of we parents to expect our teachers to make up lessons we miss, even if I know as well as they do just how expensive lessons are, and, equally importantly, how important that weekly contact is with the teacher to keeping practicing ticking along smoothly.  I think that it is natural for we parents to share the point of view that students should have their missed lessons rescheduled, but if we were to ‘walk a mile’ in our teachers’ shoes, we might change our minds about what it is reasonable for us to expect of our teachers.

Like many parents, I pay in advance for lessons each term.  In my mind, what this means is that I have reserved a regular spot in the busy schedules of my sons’ teachers.  I understand - fully - that if I can’t make it to the lesson one week (perhaps my son is sick, or we are away on holiday, or there is some other major event at school) then we will pay for the lesson, but that my teacher is under no obligation to find another spot for me that week, or to refund me for the untaught lesson. And this is the way it should be.

In my ‘other life’ I am an economist and teach at our local university.  Students pay good money to attend classes at the university; but if they don’t come to my lecture on a Monday morning, then I am not going to turn around and deliver them a private tutorial on Tuesday afternoon.  When I go to the store and buy groceries, I may purchase something that doesn’t get used.  Days or months later, I end up throwing it out.  I don’t get a refund from the grocery store for the unused merchandise.  If I sign my child up for swimming lessons at the local pool, and s/he refuses to return after the first lesson, I can’t get my money back.  So there are lots of situations in our everyday lives where we regularly pay in advance for goods or some service, and if we end up not using what we have purchased, we have to just ‘swallow our losses’.  On the other hand, if I purchase an item of clothing, and get home and change my mind, I can take it back and expect either a refund or a store credit. 

So why do I believe that music lessons fall into the first category of ‘non-returnable merchandise’, rather than into the second case of ‘exchange privileges unlimited’ (which I think is one of the advertising slogans of an established women’s clothing store!)?  Speaking now as an economist, I would claim that the reason is that items like clothing are “durable goods’ - meaning, they can be returned and then resold at the original price - whereas music lessons are non-durable goods - meaning, once my Monday slot at 3:30 is gone, my son’s teacher can’t turn around and sell it again. The only way she would be able to give him a lesson later in the week would be if she were to give up time that she had scheduled for her own private life; and that seems pretty unreasonable - I can’t think of many employees who would be thrilled if their bosses were to announce that they couldn’t work from 3:30 to 4:30 this afternoon, but would they please stay until 6:30 on Thursday, because there will be work for them then!

Many teachers hesitate to refuse our request to shift lesson times (because our busy schedules do change), because unless they keep us parents happy, we will decide to take our child somewhere else for lessons (or to drop musical study), and they will lose part of their income.  This is particularly true in areas with lower average income, where it can be particularly difficult to find students. So rather than telling us that ‘well, actually, the only time when I’m not teaching and that you can bring your son for lesson is during the time I set aside each week to go for a long soul-cleansing walk, and I can’t do that on Monday at 3:30 when you should have turned up’, they agree to teach us at a time that really doesn’t suit their schedule.  Teachers who are ‘nice’ in this way often, in the long run, end up exhausted, and feeling exploited; they try to draw a line in the sand.  However, too few parents ask to switch only when absolutely necessary, and too many parents want lesson times when it suits them this week, which is not the same time that suited last week.  If the conflict arises because my child is in the School play, and they have their dress-rehearsal during his lesson time, then I feel that I must choose between the two activities, and if he attends the dress rehearsal my private lesson teacher doesn’t owe me anything.

During May, my eldest son will be missing three lessons because he is going to accompany me on a trip to New Zealand to visit his great-grandparents.  I do not expect my son’s teacher to refund me for those missed lessons, or to reschedule them by ‘doubling up’ lessons in the weeks before or after our departure.  Since there will be lots of advanced notice, I might ask her to consider preparing a special ‘practice tape’ for that period, or to answer my questions via e-mail, but if she doesn’t have the time (the second half of April is going to be really busy for her, and she wouldn’t be able to do the tape until more or less the week we left) and so has to refuse, then that’s fine. I certainly don’t expect her to credit me with three make-up lessons; there is no way for her to find a student to fill a three-week hole in her schedule during our absence.  Instead, I hope that she will enjoy the extra hour of rest during those three weeks, and that we will all feel renewed enthusiasm when we return to lessons at the end of the trip.

Creating Lesson Plans - from Music Teachers Helper

Sometimes, even a mere half hour of private music instruction can seem long (both for the teacher and for the student). Very young students, beginner students, or just very active students can have trouble sitting through an entire lesson. It can seem like a seriously long time to focus on one task. Other students might learn a couple of beginner songs in just a few moments, but you don’t want to send them home with too many new songs to practice in one week. So what do you do if you need to ‘fill’ a lesson with good, pertinent material that reinforces important musical concepts? Here are a few of my favorite ideas of what to teach when you don’t know what to teach.

Note reading. There are tons of fun ways to teach note reading. For starters, I have a large vinyl grand staff that I spread out on the floor. I ask my younger students to throw Angry Birds bean bags at it. Their task is to figure out what note the bird lands on, then run to the piano and play it. It’s a great way to reinforce note reading and it gets those active students moving around. I also like to use music note flash cards, work sheets that create puzzles out of the music alphabet, and composition to reinforce note reading even more. For a sweet reward, you could print out a good size staff and use your student’s favorite candies for notes. Just make sure they don’t have any food allergies, first!
For beginners, you can focus on just the notes used in their basic hand positions. For more advanced students, you can always single out those difficult ledger lines.
Rhythm reading. Rhythm reading and notation can be a hard subject for a lot of students. I like to read through the rhythm of a new piece with my beginning students, using the note names in tempo (i.e. half-note). Of course, I read it with them to help them be more comfortable and to stay on tempo. It can take a few times through for them to really understand and be able to do it.
Some students need a more visual representation of rhythm notation to understand it, so we pull out our Rhythm Pizza game, courtesy of www.susanparadis.com. Each pizza represents four beats, and is divided up into different note values. For instance, one pizza is made up with four slices –each one being a quarter note. Another pizza is made up of eighth notes, and still another is half notes. I printed them on cardstock and cut out all the slices. Students can create various rhythm combinations using the difference pizza slices. They can mix and match as much as they want, as long as the combinations add up to a whole note.
One of the best ways that I have used to teach rote rhythms is to have the student echo a rhythm by clapping, singing, playing, and even writing the rhythm. Fill in the blank worksheets are great, too.
Music theory. I have always enjoyed music theory, and a lot of my students do, too. Even beginner students can learn to recognize skips and steps and slowly move on to simple intervals. Give them a blank sheet of music paper and ask them to complete intervals that you create, or have them find them on the piano or their instrument. Once a student can understand the difference between a whole step and a half step, they can create scales. And soon after that they can easily learn key signatures, too, and move on to chords.
Special pieces. If I think a student is getting bored with their lessons, I’ll let them pick out a piece of music that they really want to learn, no matter what style or genre. A lot of my students enjoy their lesson book and don’t have a need to move away from it, others learn better when we don’t use a method book at all. I try to have all the students earn special pieces from time to time, since it exposes them to new and different things and gives them motivation to succeed. It never fails to amaze me how a favorite song can inspire a student all over again. One of my favorite resources is the Adventures of Fearless Fortissimo from www.pianomusicforboys.com.
Instruments. My students enjoy getting to try the keyboard out from time to time, rather than playing all their music on my piano. They keyboard is an easy vehicle to drive a little fun because the student can choose from a plethora of different sounds to explore. You could use any instrument related to the one your student plays. If they play trumpet, have them try out a French Horn. If they play clarinet, see if they can test an oboe. A saxophone player can probably manage a few notes on a flute. It adds some fun and experimentation to the lesson.
Media. When all else fails, don’t be afraid to employ the help of a little bit of media. Videos, especially YouTube videos, are a great way to have your student experience different kinds of music, or even other interpretations of a piece they already play. And it always helps to hear a new piece before you play it. For safety sake, always preview any video you are going to show a student.
Also, iPad apps and online music games will help those electronically advanced students enjoy their lessons.
Music games. Musical bingo, music Sudoku, worksheets, or coloring activities are a great way to reinforce musical concepts or just have fun. One of my passions is to help students love music, so I find that just spending time having fun with music is essential during lesson time, even if it isn’t directly related to the lesson material.
Review. It never hurts to review. If you find yourself with a few empty minutes at the end of a lesson, go back and review some old pieces. Students usually enjoy playing something they already know since it feels easy after working hard at something new. I like to use the time to refresh older concepts that the student may have forgotten.
If you find yourself consistently struggling with filling up lesson time, you may need to be a little more proactive in creating lesson plans. I try to use the same activities or work sheets with all of the students around the same level, so that I can maximize the time I spend working on lesson plans. In any given week, I’ll have a beginner, intermediate, and advanced plan, whether it includes worksheets, games, or composition. That way, I create about three plans a week as opposed to one for each student.
As a final thought, a great pediatric physical therapist that I know once told me, “Everyone loves a paycheck. Even children.” A small reward- a sticker, a pencil, or even a (parent permitted) lollipop will make a great incentive to keep students working hard for the duration of their lesson. When they feel good about the work they have done, they’ll feel good about themselves, too. And the satisfaction of a job well done is a great lesson learned.

About the author, Amanda Furbeck

Amanda has been teaching private piano lessons for 15 years. She plays piano, keyboard, and organ, and has worked in church music for 17 years. Amanda received a B.A. in music from Eastern University. She has written and recorded music that is available on iTunes and amazon.com, and writes CD reviews for Worship Leader Magazine. She is the author of “Clef Hangers,” a book of devotions for worship teams.

Amanda’s goal as a piano teacher is to share a love of music with her students. She uses innovative teaching methods, enjoyable materials, and liberal amounts of positive reinforcement to help her students love the piano.

World Voice Day - April 16th

Every year on April 16, otolaryngologist—head and neck surgeons and other voice health professionals worldwide join together to recognize World Voice Day. World Voice Day encourages men and women, young and old, to assess their vocal health and take action to improve or maintain good voice habits. The American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery has sponsored the U.S. observance of World Voice Day since its inception in 2002.

World Voice Day 2012

The theme for World Voice Day 2012, “Your Voice Counts,” reminds us that our voice is essential for any number of basic activities that might be done on a given day - speaking with family or colleagues, placing an order in a restaurant, or just saying hello to a friend or spouse, etc. Your Voice Counts!

http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/worldVoiceDay.cfm