Classroom Teachers
« Previous Entries Tuesday, February 26th, 2008Practice Motivation in a Class Setting
In a perfect world, students would practice consistently and effectively in order to achieve personal success and satisfaction and to help optimize their ensemble’s performance. Unfortunately, this is more the exception than the rule.
For 3 years, I have taught an after school non-graded Elementary Orchestra program. Finding ways to motivate these students to practice has […]
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007Improving Intonation for String Players
All string players, regardless of experience struggle with intonation to some degree or another. A violin (or viola, cello or bass) doesn’t automatically produce a correct note when a button or key is pushed (like a piano), but the fingers must make constant adjustments to achieve the correct pitch. Here are some tips […]
Wednesday, September 26th, 2007How to teach memorization
Many teachers simply say to a student, “Memorize this piece by your next lesson.” Without guidance, students can feel overwhelmed by such a daunting task. Teaching a musician how to memorize music is an important skill.
It wasn’t until I was in college that my private teacher taught me memorization skills. Having these skills […]
Objective-Based Teaching
As a string teacher, I’ve found that there is an overwhelming amount of information to teach beginning students. Most beginners go home unsure of what to practice so they end up trying to play songs with incorrect position and technique.
One remedy to this is to give students “homework” that can be completed […]
Practice Techniques for String Players
Often when students begin taking lessons, or attending a group class, they believe that the teacher has some “magical formula” to make them great players. I always emphasize to my students that the real “magic” happens at home in their practice sessions. With this in mind, it is important to teach students proper […]
Saturday, September 15th, 2007Practice Makes Perfect?
When asked to complete the following sentence, “Practice makes ____________” most students will answer with confidence “Perfect!” After shouting “NO!” (this always gets their attention!), I demonstrate the following:
I play a passage of music very poorly (poor posture, intonation, rhythm, etc).
I play the passage over and over (students are usually annoyed by the […]
Teaching Tone to String Players
When teaching a string class or a private student about tone, the first priority should be seeing that students understand what tone is. I usually demonstrate a good tone, then a poor tone. All students can hear the difference, but it may be difficult for them to put into words. Point out […]
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007Buying or Renting a String Instrument
As a public and private school teacher, I often deal with student instrument purchases and rentals. After years of frustration with substandard selections, may I offer a few suggestions to parents and students considering purchasing or renting an instrument.
1. Go through a local, reputable dealer. Although you may get a great deal on […]
Choosing Repertoire
Choosing music can be one of the most difficult tasks for any music teacher. When I first started teaching junior high, I spent hours sifting through files of music that my school owned. I found it very overwhelming and frustrating. Here are a couple of suggestions for any orchestra teachers trying to […]
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007Motivation in an Orchestra Class
Most students begin playing an instrument are fairly motivated. They want to know everything there is to know about their instrument and constantly push the teacher to challenge them. After a few months, this motivation can wane as students possibly become frustrated or bored. Having taught both in a junior high (where […]
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