Highlight 2017 – Teaching Piano

This year I’ve been pretty quiet on the blog front but I’ve been totally absorbed with playing, arranging for choirs , singing, designing artwork, managing choirs and….teaching piano to a growing number of students.

This has involved creating a business name, business cards, signage, setting up a website, a marketing plan and embarking on teaching …at the weekends,  on top of that my day job which keeps me on my toes!

I made the decision to return to teaching as part of reviewing my music making and accompanying and have stepped back a little from one of my choirs. The choir “family” I work with continues to grow and with 3 of them now it was the right thing to do. We are working with a talented young pianist who is doing well. I play for the Hutt Valley Singers from time to time so am not completely without them and I also sing Sop 2 with them most Monday nights at rehearsal.

After a bit of a gap from teaching, I am absolutely loving it and I really look forward to my Saturdays. My student numbers are growing more than I imagined.

I am planning for 2018 and setting personal goals…. as are my students.

My students are aged 6- middle aged (like me). All but one are beginners and I am fascinated by their determination and the amount of work they put in at home.

I love the door in the room that I teach which has a poster for the younger students “Whats New in My Musical Mind”. It is a treasure of their learning and highlights approx week to week and they love seeing what the other students write. It’s become quite competitive in a supportive way and they love knowing the names of the other students even if they don’t meet them at their own lessons.

bmd

 

Two of my students are sisters who have back to back lessons and the older of the two wanted to learn after she heard her sister playing and had done music at school. She’s a natural. I’ve taken a different approach to her tutor books than her younger sibling.

One of my students aged 11 had no teacher for 18 months and has motivated herself to play all this time. She is hungry for music and knowledge. This month she is singing Adele’s “Someone Like You” and accompanying herself on piano at her school talent quest. She had been working on it for weeks before she showed me and she is doing very well. She performed this in front of an older student this week who was amazed at how well she did. Her goal is to read the dots, and she is really putting in the work.

Music theory teaching is fascinating. Some of my students aren’t so keen but it is the sign posting for their playing and I am experimenting with different ways of teaching it- flash-cards, internet games, workbooks, music analysis. The internet is becoming really popular with the younger pupils.

I am super lucky to be able to share my love for music and the piano with others and to see how inspired they are to play.

Can’t wait for 2018!

One of my adults is going to sit exams and there could be more. Am also considering planning a Soiree with another local music teacher.

Mrs C my piano teacher and mentor- taught without all the technology we have available now and turned out some amazingly skilled musicians. That would be my dream to do the same.

To see my pupils enjoying their instrument and the music they are creating is a real privilege and a challenge to teach them well.

 

KB