Getting ready for fall is one of the trickiest parts of being a violin teacher. It seems like everything goes crazy in August. New students calling, setting up the lesson schedule, parent education, and more. Not to mention, getting your own personal life in order too! Here are a five violin teaching tips, tricks, and […]
inspiration
Is Your Mindset Sabotaging Your Music Students?
The Growth Mindset and Suzuki Philosophy… June’s book club pick was Mindset by Carol Dweck, so yes, I am incredibly behind! I always expect summer to move at a slower pace than the rest of the year, but then it moves faster? Does that happen to you? Ok, back to Mindset. I have read so […]
How Do I Know if My Child Has Musical Talent?
And Does Musical Talent Even Matter… When I was a kid, every time I perform in the community, school, or church, adults would talk to my parents about “how talented I was.” My parents always responded with, “She works very hard, and practices a lot.” At the time, I was a little annoyed at this response. I thought […]
5 Violin Teaching Tips, Tricks, and Resources — June 17, 2016…
It’s confession time, everyone. I’ve been feeling really burnt out the last month or so. I’ve been tired and frustrated, oftentimes with no apparent reason! Do you ever feel that way? When you start to focus on all the things that are going wrong instead of going right? When you zero in on how far […]
Do You Have Big Dreams For Your Music Teaching Business?
Take Your Music Teaching Business to the Next Level… Do you have a big goal for your music studio? Do you dream of opening your own music school, or hiring another teacher? Do you have a book or composition inside of you that needs to be shared? Are you aching to share your love of […]
The Music Performance Mindset
June’s book club pick is Mindset by Carol Dweck. I have begun reading it and I’m really enjoying it. I love all things personal development, so this book is right up my alley. These concepts are valuable to everyone, but especially musicians. Music performance is such a mental game, and we need to make sure […]
Ten Pinterest Pages For Violin Teachers…
Ten Pinterest Pages Suzuki Violin Teachers Should Follow… Are you on Pinterest? Me too! I used to spend an inordinate amount of time looking at recipes, decorating ideas, DIY projects, and more on Pinterest. It was taking up way too much of my time so I decided to quit for a while. It wasn’t until I […]
“Teaching From The Balance Point” Book Review
The Plucky Violin Teacher Book Club May 2016… For some reason, I thought I had already read Teaching from the Balance Point by Edward Kreitman. It was one of the books I had inherited from my Mom’s stash of Suzuki paraphernalia, and it has been on my shelf for probably six years. Soon after beginning […]
What to Expect When You Enroll Your Child In Suzuki Violin Lessons…
In the last two blog posts of this series about what parents need to know before putting their kids in Suzuki violin lessons, I discussed the Suzuki Method Philosophy and the Suzuki Method Curriculum. If you missed those, you can check them out here: Part I: What You Really Need to Know About the Suzuki […]
What You Really Need to Know About the Suzuki Method Philosophy
If you’ve had any exposure to the music education world, chances are you’ve heard something about the Suzuki Method. This method, pioneered by Shinichi Suzuki, has been both deified and vilified. Perhaps you read the article by Mark O’Connor a few years ago calling the man and the whole method a fraud. Perhaps you’ve heard that […]