Hey all!

Not sure if this is the right community since it's geared towards private lessons, but I thought in my experience it's helpful to have resources of different exercises you can give to a student when learning an instrument.

Some walk aways I've had-

Direct the lesson towards a practice plan. A student's progress does not happen in the lesson, it happens when they practice. My job as a teacher is to make practicing as easy, accessible, and fun as possible. Always begin the lesson asking "how was practice this week?" and if they say "I didn't practice", do not shame them. I start with "Hey, that's okay, it happens. What do you think made it difficult to get practice in?" Sometimes it's lack of motivation, sometimes they have competing schedules like school and math homework, sometimes it's something else altogether. I had a 6 year old ukulele student who said she didn't practice and when I asked why not, she pointed to the wall where her ukulele was hanging on a hanger 8 feet in the air. Sometimes it really isn't their fault for being unable to practice. Understanding why can open doors for solutions.

When developing a practice plan, I use this 4 point strategy that we create during the lesson.

• Set an intention for their practice. What do they want to walk away with that they didn't have going into it?

• A technical exercise. These should be geared to making the instrument more physically accessible to the student. These could be scales, long tones for horn players, stretch exercises, even simple hand workouts for guitarists.

• Something to perform. Give your student a goal, and see if you can create a date for a performance. I've had my students hold a small concert at a cafe, and it really gave them the push to be better players.

• Something they love. Ask what their favorite thing to do on their instrument is. This may also unearth some issues if motivation is the problem. They should play their instrument, not work it. This should be fun.

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I also make sure to send follow up texts to the parents. This is a good way to keep them in the loop, and make sure they are able to be part of keeping your student accountable to practice. Parents have a huge influence over a child's schedule and are also the ones with the pocket book, so it's important they understand the value of the lessons so they keep scheduling you for more. If you are private practice, this is also a good opportunity to remind them to pay you.

-------------------------------- If you are going private practice and need some help with the business side of things, here are some things I've found.

I have set my prices in a two tier system. I have a price for one off lessons, and then a reduced price for bundle purchases. This means I give a good 20% off if they book 4 lessons at a time. Even though this may seem like a hit, I've found the biggest hole in my bucket are cancelations. For me, my one off lessons are $100 for an hour, but with the bundle it drops to $80.

If I am offering lessons to someone who is lower income, I have also figured out other ways to help lower the cost on them without reducing my rates. I travel to my students, so if they come to me, I may give an additional discount. Another one would be to offer a group lesson with multiple students with another discount.

For Marketing, Facebook is a great place to post advertisements. Join a neighborhood group and make a post ~once a week depending on the activity of the group. You don't want to spam them, but you also want to make sure you don't fall off the algorithm. If you add in a video of you giving a 60 second taste of what you teach, that also can get you some interest.

--------------------------------------- In a lesson, I make sure to have improvisation games as it can take the pressure off the student to read music. I reserve the last 5 minutes to cool down where I will lay down a bass line or chord progression, and give the student a few keys they can play to make a solo. As they progress I give them more and more freedom. It's amazing what they can do!

There are some games for technique- I created a little game called "pianist's-monte" where the student has to conceal a small paper ball in a hand and then start playing the piano. I then have to decide what hand is holding the ball. It does exaggerate the "claw" needed to have good technique, but it can really help undo the spread fingers that a kid could develop.

For horns, I play mouthpiece games where we imitate different animals. Reed's can be geese and brass can be ducks. We then have a conversation as a geese or ducks. It's hilarious and it can help with some embouchure practice.

That's all I can think of now! Hope this helps someone!

As we wrap up the school year I've been thinking about gamifying my classroom next year. Does anyone have any experience with it?

Season 1 of the Galactic Cow launched in 2023, and we're starting work on Season 2. It's a great time to revisit your favorite episodes, or listen for the first time. If you are interested in what role education could play in our growth as a species ♥

(PS - you should definitely subscribe to our Substack!)

\#EmergentStrategy #Education #HigherEd #AdultEducation #Teaching #Learning #Transformation #Joy \#Imagination #Teacher @edutooters @edutooter @teaching

https://galacticcow.substack.com/p/introducing-the-galactic-cow

Do you make a weekly newsletter for your parents? If so, what do you put in it?

First year teacher? Veteran teacher with good advice? This is the post for you.

I think it would be helpful if we have a few posts this time of year to help new teachers.

So, what are some of your favorite procedures?

With all the upheaval at #reddit I've been looking for #teacher-related groups in the #lemmy / #kbin #fediverse. Two I've found are : @teaching and @australian\_teachers

Have you found any others?

@edutooters #australia #teaching

Any interesting manipulatives that you recommend in your teaching? I've recently got excited waiting for these Magnetic White Board Blocks from Bozeman Science: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bozemanscience/switch-its-magnetic-dry-erase-blocks

I really like a game I made up called Hot Seat (although it's not special or anything)

Here's how you play:

1. Randomly pick one student to come up to the front of the room to fill the "Hot Seat"
2. Randomly pick another student to ask the Hot Seat a question.
3. If the Hot Seat student gets the question right I reward them with a piece of candy or something and they stay in the seat.
4. If the Hot Seat student gets the question wrong they have to leave the seat and the questioner sits in the hot seat.

I have students write their own questions and it becomes a great review tool.

What are your favorite methods for review?

Usually using flashcards is quite isolated activity: you compile your own list of terms, you study it, and that's it. There's very little engagement with either your teacher/mentor or peers.

Could it be different? Do you know how to share flashcard studying with others? Any tips how to encourage your peers in their flashcard progress?

Bonus question: do you know a card game that utilizes flashcards?

I've been looking for a couple of books to read this summer to change up my practice. I'd love some recommendations.

Here's a few that I recommend from previous summers:

• Make it Stick https://www.retrievalpractice.org/make-it-stick - Making learning "sticky" for students
• Teach Like a Champion 2.0 https://teachlikeachampion.org/books/teach-like-champion-2-0 - A great book for sample procedures (the book also comes with a little video for each procedure so you can watch it in action)

Here's what I'm reading so far this summer:

• Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics https://buildingthinkingclassrooms.com/

I really like digital labs they're no mess and it's really easy for students to make them up when they're absent.

Here's a few places that I get mine:

• whscience.org - I especially like the Bug in the Meadow lab. Since I started using it, I haven't had to clean up bits of paper off my carpet. I also really like his Pedigree Tree Diagram Maker
• PhET - Great simulations for students to try things out without blowing things up.

What are some other great ones?