Occasionally parents in my studio complain that they are sick of the Suzuki pieces. “My child is so sick of their pieces, so we haven’t been doing our review.” More often, I ask for a review piece and the result is a lot of fumbling fingers and memory slips. Why, when it would be so […]
Practice
5 Violin Teaching Ideas I’m Loving This Week May 13, 2016
Before we get into the Five Violin Teaching Ideas I’m Loving This Week, I wanted to share a reader question with you because I would love to get your input! Here it is: “I struggle to get my “newly” twinkle to practice. We are getting so much better as I was getting so many tears […]
5 Things I’m Loving This Week: Violin Teaching Ideas May 6, 2016
Here’s this week’s round-up of violin teaching ideas! 1. If you want to build and strengthen your studio community, then this tip from composecreate.com is just for you! Having the students write down a compliment for all the students in the recital would be a great way to encourage active listening, and boost morale! 2. […]
Resources for Suzuki Violin Teachers: 5 Things I’m Loving This Week April 15, 2016
The review recital last week was so much fun. Everyone had a good time playing old favorites, and I thought it really energized review in my students’ practice sessions. I love using review to practice and perfect technique points. How do you use review in your studio? Though the review recital was great, it was also […]
Five Things I’m Loving This Week–March 11, 2016
This week, I wrote my first-ever guest post. I would love for you to check it out. It’s called, “The Top Seven Things Your Suzuki Teacher Wishes You Knew,” it’s published over on the Lovenotes Suzuki Parent Blog. Check it out, and let me know what you think about it in the comments there. I’d […]
5 Things I’m Loving This Week–March 4, 2016
Remember last week, when I said the boys were sick? Well, now I’m sick. Super stuffy nose. I’m a mess, but I really don’t want to cancel students. I always feel like they get so derailed if we skip a week of lessons! What do you do when you have a cold? Skype lessons? I’d […]
Five Great Music Apps For Helping Kids Practice
I love my iPhone and iPad, a little too much you could say. I’m a wee bit addicted, and I just love keeping track of everything in my life on my phone. I track my steps, my food, my goals, my journal, my finances, my to do list, everything on my phone, even my practicing. […]
How to Help Your Children Develop a Love for Music
When we put children in music lessons, oftentimes, one of our main goals is to help our children develop a love of music. Maybe your child expressed an interest in the piano or violin, and were excited to begin lessons, but they soon realized, “Hey, this is work!” How do we develop their love of music […]
Help! My Suzuki Teacher Won’t Let Us Go to the Next Piece!
When You Feel Your Progress is Too Slow… How many times have you heard first variation of twinkle this week? I know. For some of you with beginning students, you’ve probably heard your child or the recording of “variation A” hundreds if not thousands of times. It’s enough to make you lose your mind. It’s […]
Five Things I’m Loving This Week– February 12, 2016
Five Awesome Resources for Violin Teachers from around the Web! 1. I loved this blog post by Heather Figi titled “The Brain is Not a Computer (Ask, Don’t Tell.)” It’s all about the power of asking questions. Our brains are problem-solvers, not data storage. Asking questions is a great way to engage the brains of […]