A weekly round-up of tips and resources for music teachers. I can’t believe January is basically over! This month has just flown by for me. I’ve been working on my teaching resolutions, though I haven’t been as consistent as I wanted to be. I wanted to practice more consistently and, while I have been much […]
inspiration
Your Essential Question: Do Your Music Teaching Methods Match Your Most Important Values?
Teaching violin lessons can be grueling. It’s easy to get into a rut. Say the exact same things over and over. Teach the same songs over and over. Many of us work long hours away from our families. We spend the after school hours with our students and not our children. Most of us don’t […]
5 Things I’m Loving This Week–January 22, 2016
My students had a recital this week, and it was just lovely. Everyone was so prepared, and they all did great. I played a duet with one of my students, Mendelssohn’s “On Wings of Song” arranged by Doris Preucil. Such a beautiful piece. This week I felt especially inspired by a few specific violin teaching resources […]
5 Things I am Loving This Week–January 8, 2016
Things have been a little rough this week. Between sick kids and sick husband, it’s been a little crazy. However, I’ve been feeling good and lessons this week are going great. My students are preparing for our recital on the 19th, and they are all quite prepared. It’s a good feeling! I’ve been staying motivated […]
How to Set Goals with Your Music Students
That Will Last Past February… I love when a new year begins. I love thinking back to the past year, what I did well, what went wrong, how I got through it. I love thinking forward, what adventures are coming, how I’ll grow, what will change, what will stay the same. This time of year […]
Four Resolutions for Music Teachers
This Year Could Be Your Best Year Ever… January is my very favorite time of year. A fresh start. A new beginning. The possibilities are endless! I am trying to keep my goals simple for this year. This year is going to be the year of “health.” Pregnancy was hard on me this last time, and I am […]
The Top Ten Plucky Violin Teacher Posts of 2015
I published my very first blog post on Plucky Violin Teacher on April 10, 2015 and so much has happened since then. I had just had my second baby, and I was feeling burnt out. Plucky Violin Teacher came into being as a way to reignite my love for teaching and for music. I thought […]
Plucky Music Teacher Book Club Schedule 2016
Okay, folks. This book club is going to have to continue for several years because it was way too hard to just pick 12 books for 2016. I tried to do a mix of some books aimed at the psychology of children, some books aimed at the nitty gritty of making money as a music […]
5 Things I’m Loving This Week–December 18, 2015–Violin Teaching Resources
This week we got so much snow. It was probably about a foot and a half total. I have had to shovel my driveway and walk multiple times every day to keep it clear so my students could get into the studio. Not my favorite. On the bright side, it looks so much more like […]
Studio Recitals: What’s The Point?
Why I still hold Studio Recitals even though they can be a pain in the rump… Every so often I come across a teacher that doesn’t believe in recitals, specifically formal recitals. I understand their reasoning. Formal recitals can be intimidating for students; dressing up, the lights turned dimmer, everyone staring at them. That can […]