Teaching

I discovered a neat trick in my private school guitar classroom last week…notation on the big screen.  Every student was engaged and reading or trying to read and I could walk around the classroom and look at their technique and make suggestions while the others played along to the music. I have been searching for a more intelligent way of teaching a group of students in...

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The majority of my vocal students consist of hopeful musical theatre enthusiasts. They’re immediate singing goals revolve around preparing for the show in which they’re currently cast, being ready for the next audition, or finding a new show to audition for. It would be easy and logical to spend lesson time building a knowledge of theatre repertoire, but I like to incorporate classical singing, specifically...

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Parents ask me all the time how to get their child interested in practicing and how to stop having to nag them to practice. While simple bribing and small incentives may work, they often only resolve in short term results. In my opinion the best way to get a student interested is to also show interest in the lessons yourself. Showing interest in your child’s music...

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A student walked into her lesson a few weeks ago and the first words out of her mouth were: “Ms. Sarah, the metronome is an amazing thing”. I was so dumbfounded by the wisdom of what this student said (being so young, I was shocked she would ever admit it), that it nearly knocked me over. Unfortunately, most of my students do not share this sentiment....

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