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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1
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Hi everybody! Picking up from what Josh was saying a few months ago, I just found this webpage which seems a fine way to advertise ourselves. www.jukeboxlessons.comI’ll be back in a couple of months to comment on the results. Cheers
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 135
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I think music is equivalent to reading. No one says that you are a reader or not a reader. We expect everyone to read. It is just that some enjoy it more than others. I think that everyone should learn music. Not everyone will become musicians, but all will benefit from it. What an interesting way of putting it; I like it!
Private piano teacher since 2003 Member: ASME (Australian Society for Music Education), ANZCA (Australian and New Zealand Cultural Arts), KMEIA (Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia).
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Joined: Feb 2012
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Hello everyone! I too am a new member, although I have been teaching for 40 years! - I only discovered this forum today, and it looks good. At the moment I use The Music Tree but only the first two books (Time to Begin, and Book 1). Towards the end of Book 1, I begin to introduce The Russian School of Piano Playing, and also pieces from Mikrokosmos (Bartok). I also use some Rock pieces by David Helliwell (only available on the web: www.mdmusic.com) and various other pieces by various composers. I find that this "diet" avoids two pitfalls: hand position problems, and only learning one kind of music. It gives the kind of mixture of repertoire which is progressive, whilst having sufficient variety in style to keep pupils both interested, and open to different kinds of music. Does anyone else use The Russian School, or Mikrokosmos? - I haven't noticed them mentioned here, but I have not had time to look at everything yet! I would be interested to hear how others get on with them.
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Joined: Feb 2012
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Spend time building up your resources, your 'toolkit' so to speak. To market your tuition we started out with local leaflets and a basic website. Aim to focus on keywords on your website so that Google picks it up and focus on using them well in your home page. Think about how to retain your early pupils. Feel free to look at www.primavolta.co.uk for ideas.
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 53
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In my 60yrs on this planet I've learned that everyone has to make a living. However really good music teachers do it for the love of seeing a person progress not making money. IMO
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 82
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I found this thread rather interesting, as I myself plan to begin teaching in a couple years in much the same age group.
This is great!
Last edited by Mozart'sGal; 05/18/12 01:40 AM.
Student/teacher Student of 5 years
“It’s not what your are, it’s what you don’t become that hurts.†~Oscar Levant
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 320
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I've just been asked to teach a 5 year old girl the piano ( I already teach her older sister). If anyone has any suggestions for resources/activities/music to help with this I'd be very grateful. She enjoys art and seems unable to concentrate for longer than about 10-15 mins.
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 19
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Are you looking for a good piano teacher? Great! Nothing can be more rewarding than learning to play the piano. Plus, there are many real benefits to playing piano. Players often talk of the stress relief of playing their piano and about “getting lost†in the experience for hours.
There are three keys to having a successful experience with piano lessons.
First, you need a good instrument in proper working condition. Many people have failed at lessons due to a poor instrument, mistakenly thinking that they “just didn’t have the knackâ€
Next, you need a firm commitment to faithfully go to lessons and practice at home.
Give yourself at least a year or two. There will definitely come a time when a tricky exercise or difficult new song will frustrate you and make you (or your child) want to give up. But imagine the sense of accomplishment that you will get when you finally master that troublesome piece of music.
The third key to succes is finding the right piano teacher.
But, not all piano teachers are created equal. Some teachers specialize in teaching children; others prefer adults. Many take on beginners while a few focus only on advanced students. Some teachers use a classical-based curriculum, but others teach jazz and pop music. Armed with the right questions, you’ll be able to filter through the choices and find the best piano teacher for you.
Piano players in Monsey, New York have relied on Charles Flaum since before 1990 for piano tuning, piano repairs and sage piano advice. Monsey, a family oriented village in Rockland County, is full of piano lovers with cherished pianos in their homes..
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 19
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I looked around and found a few links to threads that discuss this topic. You can probably find others by doing a search. http://www.pianosupplies.comAll the Best.
Last edited by Ken Knapp; 02/09/13 06:46 AM. Reason: REMOVED ADVERTISING LINKS
Piano players in Monsey, New York have relied on Charles Flaum since before 1990 for piano tuning, piano repairs and sage piano advice. Monsey, a family oriented village in Rockland County, is full of piano lovers with cherished pianos in their homes..
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Joined: Mar 2014
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Film youtube videos to help your students remember what they learned after each lesson!
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Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 40
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For complete beginners I have been using the Piano Adventure series. I think they are better than Thompson and Alfred, and the other similar ones, but all in all I'm not happy because you are really limiting your students to play only music in C. At the beginning it's useful because they can't read well so they rely on finger numbers and they can start playing very quickly but once they're used to playing in C position , the right hand stays there for the preparatory and good part of level 1... It's very difficult to make them transition after more than a year being stuck in this hand position. I try to only use the preparatory and level 1 books and once they're on level 1 I start introducing pieces such as Denes Agay The Joy of First Year Piano, which has pieces in different positions but as I said, even then, it takes a lot of time and resistance to get used to other positions. I've been wanting to find a better way to get them started. At the very beginning you can pretty much get them used to whatever system you think it's best but which one to choose when there are so many? I really admire the Russian school because they are able to transpose very easily.
Last edited by BostonTeacher; 04/09/14 09:46 PM.
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 206
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For complete beginners I have been using the Piano Adventure series. I think they are better than Thompson and Alfred, and the other similar ones, but all in all I'm not happy because you are really limiting your students to play only music in C. At the beginning it's useful because they can't read well so they rely on finger numbers and they can start playing very quickly but once they're used to playing in C position , the right hand stays there for the preparatory and good part of level 1... It's very difficult to make them transition after more than a year being stuck in this hand position. I try to only use the preparatory and level 1 books and once they're on level 1 I start introducing pieces such as Denes Agay The Joy of First Year Piano, which has pieces in different positions but as I said, even then, it takes a lot of time and resistance to get used to other positions. I've been wanting to find a better way to get them started. At the very beginning you can pretty much get them used to whatever system you think it's best but which one to choose when there are so many? I really admire the Russian school because they are able to transpose very easily. Exactly! I was using Alfreds for a couple mos. before starting lessons. It does stay in middle C for way too long! My teacher has me using that exact Agay book bostonteacher mentioned, for this exact reason. And in fact, I'm now just starting to use other hand positions, and to be honest, it's still hard to move my hand and know where I am.
Yamaha P105, Ravenscroft275, Ivory II Am Concert D, Sennheiser HD650.
New sound setup: Midi out to macbook, FW 800 to Metric Halo LIO 8 DAC to HD650's. Very Nice.
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 262
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I'm not a teacher, but thought I'd add my 2 cents. My teacher started me on the John Thompson books together with "Dozen A Day" and "Fingerpower". The latter two consist of short technical exercises. As I've progresses we've dropped the Thompson and I now mostly work on pieces, supplemented with Dozen A Day and Fingerpower.
Btw, +1 to the "mystique" of piano. Had it ever since I was a kid.
Last edited by Silver Keys; 08/16/14 10:48 AM.
So much music and so little time! ----------------------------------- 1916 Mason & Hamlin BB Yamaha P155
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 167
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When I started I just tried to emulate the teachers I loved. Just jump in and start teaching. Check out all of the resources here there are a lot. Best of Luck Doreen Hall www.palomapiano.com
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 167
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 167 |
I have tried many piano methods including the Suzuki Method. I really liked Suzuki but the delayed reading aspect did not work so well for my students. I do recommend their teacher training, it is excellent whether you are a Suzuki teacher or not. They have high standards and you have to send an audition video to be accepted at the training. I really learned a lot I went to 5 training sessions. A lot of the other method books (this is only my opinion) use too many fingering numbers, the students rely on following the numbers instead of reading. So I ended up writing my own music and using it for my students. You, or anyone can check out my website and get some free music. You just have to try different programs and see what works for you.
Doreen Hall wwww.palomapiano.com
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 13
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Posts: 13 |
Marianne,
I've done summer camps before with the Little Mozarts curriculum; as far as I understand they also have small stuffed animals you could order to help make the teaching more interactive:). Because there is such a need for a high quality curriculum for age 3 through 5 I created my own. The link to my launch site is in my signature section. As far as lesson charge that could be determined by whether or not you're doing private or group lessons. I've seen studios charge $99.00 per month for groups of 6 or more, at about 45 minutes long. In my own studio for ages 3 through 5 I'm charging $59.00 per month plus materials (these are group class setting lasting 30 minutes).
Congrats on your immediate entrepreneurship right after graduation.
-Ryan
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 13
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Dipsy,
Have you researched Simply Music? You have to get licensed to teach it but it is very rewarding. The founder created it originally for an 8 year old blind boy, using shapes, patterns, and musical sentences. They have an amazing track record and their premise is that every human being - without exception - is deeply and profoundly musical. Their endorsed program for ages 4 through 5 is called, "Musicopolis". All that being said, I have my own curriculum being launched in August (link in signature section).
Best to you on your search, Ryan
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 13
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Karen, Thanks for posting the www.musicacademysuccess.com site. I'll check it out! -Ryan
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 13
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Great advice for mrscosto! Everyone else in the saturated market is doing the same thing, which makes it easier for her to stand out. Sometimes the competitors do all the hard work for us:)
-Ryan
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Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 15
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I agree with others who have mentioned Faber and Faber (I use it myself). Although with any method book, it's important to discover outside repertoire as well (if nothing else than for the sake of the students not getting bored.) For this, it gets more difficult. I've been looking myself for some time for a list of the very best repertoire pieces. I guess this is hard because it's so subjective, but still would be a nice place to start. Anyway, I like the Piano Adventures by Faber and Faber as a starting point for method books.
Piano Teacher - Classical, Contemporary, Jazz
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