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 for about one whole year (approximately). At this point, when he actually has beautiful posture and well positioned hands, it is a little bit easier. Group lessons are also a big help, but they are every two weeks – and we do need to skip some occasionally. I thought being a violinist myself helps, but am not sure anymore. I taught so many kids (pretty well, I would have hoped), but since I started my own child, I doubt my skills :-). I should also mention that he will be turning 5 soon.”
Any of you teach your own children? I don’t have any experience here, so please share your tips in the comments!
Okay, without further ado…
Five Violin Teaching Ideas I am LOVING This Week…
1. I am so lucky that Utah has such a thriving Suzuki community, we’re actually the largest chapter in the SAA! My local group is planning a big Star Wars themed play-in for October, and my students are sooo pumped. (There’s going to be glow sticks, characters from the movies will visit, so yeah, it’s going to be pretty awesome.) But what my students are the most excited about are the supplemental pieces we will be playing from the Star Wars movies. We are going to play “The Imperial March,” and the “Star Wars Theme” from The Very Best of John Williams For Strings: Violin.
2. I’ve never used google adwords to advertise my violin studio, but this blog post has opened my mind to the possibility! One of the huge pros of using google adwords is that you only pay if someone clicks on your ad, and the ad is only shown to people searching for your keywords (like violin lessons Kaysville Utah, or violin teacher in Davis County). The people that see your ad are actually interested in violin lessons. That’s huge. For more advertising tips, I recommend this book: The Handbook of Marketing Strategies for Music Teachers: 88 Free and Low-Cost Ways to Book Your Studio Full by Bree Lewis-Fennel.
3. Heather Figi of Music for Young Violinists is offering a new free music download. The Spring/Summer Sampler Pack has some great resources including a fiddle twinkle, Boil ’em Cabbages Down Solos, and my personal favorite: Backwards Mystery Pieces! Have your students practice their sight-reading while they try to decipher what well-known piece they are playing…backwards.
4. You may remember Alison from her hilarious guest post about practicing with three-year-olds a while back. Well, a lot of you wanted more about working with young ones and this blog post on Alison’s blog is spot-on!
5. I am a weeper. It’s true, I cry a lot. (Especially when I’m pregnant. Which I’m not, this isn’t an announcement!) So if you don’t tear up in this Ted Talk, I won’t feel bad. Although it’s directed mainly at public school educators, the message is the same. Every kid needs a champion, and who better than a Suzuki teacher that they see every week for years? My favorite quote from the video: “Minus eighteen sucks all the life out of you, plus two said I ain’t all bad!”
Thanks for reading, everybody! I appreciate you taking the time to comment and share your thoughts (especially answering the reader question at the top of this post!)
The book from John Williams is a huge hit among my students too. About the glowsticks…any idea what kind we need and how to attach to the violinbows?
We are going to use the necklace kind, I can’t take credit for the idea, another teacher did it with her students. I’m not sure how they are attached–I think she said electrical tape…
Thanks Brecklyn!!!
I teach my own child Suzuki cello and we have our moments. I have learned to be more patient with him and that it takes longer for me to teach him a concerpt. There may be many reasons: 1. I am his Mom and not his teacher…I have 150 string students every year. (public school) Why is it harder? 1. Time of the day for practice is after dinner and he is tired ( so am I) 2. I expect him to learn faster because he is my child (It really doesn’t work that way) so…I have learned to br patient and firm with him. I started teaching him when he was 5, he is now 9 and finally told me last night I love the cello and has started looking at you tube videos of cellist! Yeah!!! I now have a new perspective as a Suzuki parent and teacher.
Great tips! I think that teacher/parents who aren’t teaching their own child need to remember these things as well. I bet most of us have that unspoken expectation that our children will progress more quickly because WE are so knowledgeable. Thanks for your thoughts. So insightful.
Concerning teaching your own children: I had my daughters leave the house with their music books, notebook, etc., come in the “student’door”, address me as Mrs. J, tell me how her week went and I treated her like any student. She felt very special and loved the “new” attention. (She graduated from college with a music performing degree.)
About practicing: One of my families has a very large jar. The student gets to put a marble in every time he plays a piece or spot practices a line 5 times. If he plays a piece 5 times in a row he gets an extra marble. When the jar is full they go out for ice cream and start all over. He is very motivated.