Thursday, November 17, 2011

November's Unexpected Surprises

Good morning! I wish you all the best as we enter this season of winter and Christmas.

Do you invite guests to come into your class to watch? I hold a "bring a friend day" once a year and occasionally an auntie might come to watch a lesson. Grandmas and grandpas are also always welcome to visit, especially if they are from out of town.

This past week, Sydney, age 5,  brought both her grandma and grandpa along to sit in on her lesson. I brought out stools for them to sit on and watch our class. I had heard that the grandmother could play piano quite well but didn't think much about it. While she was visiting, I asked if she would like to play after we had finished with her granddaughter's lesson and she readily agreed. I hoped she was able to play reasonably well and would play something with which the children could identify.

When I asked her what she intended to play, she replied, "Chopin's Winter Wind Etude."

Really? I thought, but I actually meant, oh, my goodness! Either this is going to be really good or it's going to be really long and  my five little five year-olds will be squirming around.

To  my surprise and delight, we were taken on a wonderful winter trip through Chopin's beautiful piece with its whirls and twirls musically depicting a stormy winter day. The entire performance was amazing and no one wiggled or peeped during the whole time. 

After we applauded in appreciation and admiration, I asked Sydney's grandma about herself (though forgot to ask her name). She replied that said she regularly tours around the world performing  and playing with symphonies. What a great honour it was to have her in our class! 

This incident reminded me that you never know who will come and bless you and your students when you open the door to visitors.

Have you ever thought it would be fun to join a virtual choir?
Check out this one http://www.liquidchurch.com/virtual-choir/

  Keep warm and keep singing merrily along.
       Musically yours,
 
         Mrs. Lois

MYC Certified Teacher
Solo Time Music Games
info@solotimemusicgames.com     
Game of the Month
Bee- for, Bee-After and Bee in the Middle
Bee - For, Bee - After and Bee in the Middle
Bee- For, Bee- After and
Bee in the Middle

Use this fun game to help your students understand the
Musical Alphabet!

There are  seven pockets on this game in which the students place the flashcards in.

Quick and easy to set up to play with up to 6 students. This game takes only 3-5 minutes to complete.


If you are a new teacher contact Lois for special pricing on an order of 10 games which includes FREE shipping.
To Market To Market -  Metronome Apps

I am having such fun with apps on the iPad and iPhone.
 
I loaded several metronome apps to try but the greatest one I've tried put the fun in counting. It features a dog barking or a duck quacking on the first beat. The students had lots of fun in class and several reported going home and having their parents download the metronome, too and then actually use it!

Now, you if own the Midi Roland, it also has a metronome and if you can find it, it also has the dog and duck sounds for the first beats. My problem has been how to find them for quick use.  Using the iPhone or iPad is a lot quicker.
Resources
Go Ahead, Make Me!
A new multi - level teaching aid to help your level 2 and level 3 students write their intervals.
Starting off with Intervals of 2nd and 3rd's
Moving on to Perfect intervals , then major and minor 6th and 7th's.
 Easy to print off and place in a clear envelope or laminate
Hand out the white board markers and students can practice and erase
until they understand the concepts.    

Friday, November 11, 2011

        October 2011This fall season has been a busy one for me. I have been preparing for lessons and traveling; getting orders ready to ship out and attending a wonderful MYC conference. On top of all that, I decided to go back to school and finish my degree.If it seems like a lot, it is, but I have found that when I arrange all my tasks in order of priority I do a pretty good job of getting everything accomplished.

My husband very generously gave me an iPad for my birthday (which helps!) and I have been using it in my classes and with my private students.  (See below for ideas from teachers who have created apps for it.)

Now that fall schedules are in full swing, I trust that your routine has fallen into place and life is as normal and calm for you as it can be!

In other news, my little grandson, Jakob, has been in our family for one year now and has brought us all much joy and pleasure. I am delighted to report that I plan to spending Christmas with him in Alberta this year. Oh, and with his parents, too.                                           
 
Jakob



Musicallyours,

  

Mrs. Lois

MYC Certified Teacher
info@solotimemusicgames.com 


Game of the month - Pyramid Triads
           
  Intervals are an important part of music and are used in
sight reading, composing and playing.


pyramid triads
Using this featured game, children familiarize themselves with theory concepts like intervals, inversions, and root positions  through a fun, hands-on experience. Once they have grasped the concepts they can then apply them directly to analyzing a piece of music and playing it with confidence.

Check out the new teaching aids available for you to print
 for your students.


To  Market To Market - iPad
The iPad is a great resource and the more I use it the more comfortable I become with it.

I am finding that I use it most with private students working through the Christopher-Norton American Popular Piano Series.  Many of my students have not listened to a lot of jazz, blues, swing or Latin music and consequently have no concept of the musical style. So out comes the iPad and off to YouTube we go. After a quick search we find music in the style we are studying and the student has the opportunity to quickly get a feel for that musical genre.
 
In my MYC classes last month I allowed students to play major and minor thirds on the iPad app called Virtuoso. Not only is it fun for today's techno-savvy students, but they can hear and see the change from a major 3rd to a minor 3rd.  Of course, they can also play it on the piano but when you can play it on the iPad, why not use the technology?

I have uploaded and used Wendy Chan's and Anne Crosby's creations to put more fun into teaching musical concepts on the iPad. Take a look at their websites for more ideas you may be able to use with your own students.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Happy Autumn and Registration Blues

Happy Autumn!

September is here again and suddenly all my classes are full.  For some reason this new music season began slowly and I had begun to wonder if the world had suddenly lost interest in music. Okay, not really, but until a few weeks ago, even after all my advertising, only three new students had enrolled.  This is highly unusual for my programs.

In a moment of weakness, I decided to open up to accepting some private students, something I haven't done in many years.  I had been busy with Solo Time Games and I decided to go back to school this fall and finish my degree. Consequently, I was hoping for only a couple of new classes to fill in last year's time slots so I could make it all work.

When the week of September 13 rolled around I had my schedule set and thought everything was good to go when suddenly, I was inundated with phone calls. All of my classes filled up! Oh my, it has been crazy. I'm still getting phone calls from last-minute students anxious to get in a class! I don't know what the hold up was but it is great to know that people are still excited about being part of MYC.

I'm off to the B.C. MYC conference in Princeton soon. This year the event is being held at a resort in the mountains. In addition to seminars and great speakers, the conference includes activities like zip-lining, hiking, canoeing, and swimming.  I can't wait!

Don't forget to check out the Resources page at www.solotimegames.com  for teaching aids that are brand new this September.

I hope that your fall classes have filled and that you have a great start to a happy and successful musical year.

Musicallyours,
Mrs. Lois Dicknoether (dicknader)  
MYC Certified Teacher
Solo Time Music Games
info@solotimemusicgames.com 

Game of the Month
COMPOSER TIME PUZZLES
Check out this great, new teaching aid!
Composer Time Puzzle - Bach
Fun Facts and Trivia about Bach
  Check out the new teaching aids available for you to print
on you own printer for your students.


To Market To Market - Google Plus
                        Google+ is the next phase in social media.
Your friends are now grouped in circles.  On Monday nights I enjoy a feature called "Hangout", where I meet with ten friends for a book study.  We're currently reading a book called, Linchpin, by Seth Godin.  I find Google+ superior to Skype for this type of discussion. It doesn't cost anything and up to ten people can be part of your chat room conversation. 
Want to join?  Send me an e-mail and I will sent you an invite!
info@solotimegames.com 
  

Friday, August 12, 2011

August Webnairs

Summer Greetings!
August is upon us and preparations for September have already begun. Whether working on marketing or starting lesson preparation, everything that needs to be done can seem a bit overwhelming. Nothing new in this idea but make a list of things that need to be accomplished. Then mark them off as they are completed. A sense of accomplishment does follow as you see the size of that list diminish. 

Solo Time Music Games will be having two webinars this month!  Google +(plus)  is a new feature on Google. It's like Skype with up to 10 people in a conversation.  This mini- webnair is on August 28th at 4pm on Google+.  Send me an e-mail for an invite to join Google +.

The second webnair is August 30th at 9 am with Wendy Guimont hosting. Keep an eye out for an e-mail for more information from your coordinator. And just for participating in either webnair you will receive a free metronome teaching aid for your studio and students.

I recently took part in a two day seminar with Forrest and Akiko Kinney of the Pattern Play series. Forrest impressed upon our group the importance of teaching our students to play intuitively and why scales and chords are so important in developing these skills. Improvising in a group was a growing experience for me as we were taught how to use the Pattern Play books effectively in a group or private lessons.  If you ever have the chance take a seminar with Forrest and Akiko I am sure you will come away inspired to pass along this gift of confidence in improvisation to your students.  

Have a wonderful August and all the best on your preparations for the fall.  
Jakob 

Musicallyours,
Mrs. Lois
MYC Certified Teacher
Solo Time Music Games
 Don't forget to check out the "Resources" page at www.solotimegames.com/resources  for new teaching aids.
Game of the Month
A great game to help your students review or
 learn the musical alphabet!
To Market To Market

An Idea about Flyers: Hire a couple of older children to distribute your flyers with you at the local water park or in your neighbourhood. 

An Idea about Try-it Classes: - Have a Musical Instrument Petting Zoo Try-it Class: Charge $5.00 per family. After all, your time is valuable.

An Idea about what to charge:  You are worth your monthly price! Don't undervalue your services. Read this article!
  
         Solo Time Music Games 
    August Special!
   Order 5 games and
     Receive 5 FREE Term posters 
Andante, Moderato, Allegro, Adagio, Presto  
"Tempo and Music Term Cards"
These colourful cards will brighten any studio and   
help young musicians  remember their terms.  
  
 and receive a PDF Metronome to print off for your students!
Metronome
Metronome with 7 tempos
 
   Order your games NOW for pick up at your
Fall conference and SAVE on postage! 

For this offer: Order through facebook or DIRECTLY from me (info@solotimegames.com)
and NOT through the website or you will be charged postage.   
 
 ORDER DIRECTLY FROM info@solotimegames.com

Forward to a Friend
Do you know a new teacher?  Why not forward this newsletter to them! 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Constant Contact : Emails : Sent Email Summary

Summer Time Greetings!

I trust that you are enjoying your summer so far. A break from a busy studio is always needed. My summer has been filled with camping trips and a visit to Alberta to visit Jakob. What a joy he is to be around! Nine months old already and I love watching his personality develop. We even played out of Pattern Play books at the piano. Jakob reacted differently to different genres but the blues sections he stopped banging and listened carefully. I think he might be a future blues man. A grandma can always hope.

And speaking of Pattern Play, I'm off to Seattle to take part in a two day intensive seminar with Forrest and Akiko Kinney of the Pattern Play series. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm hoping that it will bring out my inner "improv" talent and give me more ideas and confidence to pass and develop the skills in my students. I'll blog about it next month to let you know how it went.

"Tempo and Music Term Cards" have been a huge success! These colourful cards will brighten any studio and help young musicians remember their terms. Please order them through facebook or order directly from me (info@solotimegames.com) and NOT on the website. (I haven't got the postage thing figured out yet.)

Have a wonderful and rejuvenating summer with friends and family!

Jakob

Musicallyours,

Mrs. Lois

MYC Certified Teacher
Solo Time Music Games

Don't forget to check out the "Resources" page at www.solotimegames.com/resources for new teaching aids.

Game of the Month

New Product!

Bright and colourful music term cards for your classroom

Only $1.25 each!

Choose from over 15 different musical terms

(size 8 1/2 by 11)

Andante, Allegro, Moderato, Presto, Adagio

Fortissimo, Pianissimo

Grazioso, Dolce, Forte, Piano, Accent

Legato, Staccato, Da Capo, Fermata

Moderato
http://on.fb.me/jtoZyG
To Market To Market - Facebook Marketplace
Have you joined the Piano Teachers Federation yet?
It's a free website site where you are able to post a small biography of yourself, prices and classroom policies. Check out my site http://bit.ly/p4etSq

Have you listed your business on Facebook Marketplace?
Another FREE resource to market yourself in your community.



Order 6 games and
Receive 5 FREE term posters

http://on.fb.me/jtoZyG

for your classroom!
Andante, Moderato, Allegro, Adagio, Presto
Postage FREE on orders of 6 or more games until the end of August 2011

ORDER DIRECTLY FROM
info@solotimegames.com

Forward to a Friend

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Friday, June 10, 2011

June 2011 Newsletter

Good Morning,
I don't know what the weather is like in your area but we have had the rainyist season on record! Spring passed us by but I'm hoping summer will be different. And marketing will always be there on the back of my mind. Is your website up to date? Don't have time to do it? Check out "To Market To Market" for some quick tips.


How have your year end recitals been? Mine was simple this year. We had some unexpected changes that put our lives on hold so I chose to keep my recital simple. Usually, I go all out but parents and children didn't seem to mind that there weren't any boomwackers and xylophones numbers. It was a simple recital with solo's, ensembles and goodies at the end that was completed in an hour.

There is a new product coming out for the summer! "Tempo Term Cards" are now available and they can brighten any studio and help young musicians remember music and tempo terms. Read about them further in the newsletter!

Have a sunny and warm June! Go Canucks Go! (I'm praying!)

Jakob and Nana

Musicallyours,

Mrs. Lois

MYC Certified Teacher
Solo Time Music Games

Don't forget to check out the "Resources" page at www.solotimegames.com/resources for new teaching aids for your students.

Teaching Tip - My iPhone!

My iPhone in the Studio

I've blogged about my iphone before and the more I use it the I realize what an awesome tool it is in the studio. As students worked on their recital pieces over a period of three weeks this spring, I videod their performance on my iPhone. Immediately after recording, they listened to it and were able to self judge their performance.

It quickly occurred to them where they needed to fix the spot that was highlighted from the week before? Could they hear dynamics and slurs in what they played? Also, video close ups of their hand position was an eye opener for some of the students who thought their hand position was okay.

No more nattering from me, the video said it all!

Each week the recordings showed improvement and the children could see and hear their progress. No child wanted the first videos posted to YouTube or sent to them during the first couple of weeks!

The iPhone was a great tool for reinforcement and encouraging them to continue on in the pursuit of good practice habits.

Game of the Month

New Product!

Bright and colourful music term cards for your class room

Each term card is $1.25

Choose from over 15 different musical terms

(size 8 1/2 by 11)

Andante, Allegro, Moderato, Presto, Adagio

Fortissimo, Pianissimo

Grazioso, Dolce, Forte, Piano, Accent

Legato, Staccato, Da Capo, Fermata

Moderato
http://on.fb.me/jtoZyG
To Market To Market - Website

Is your website up to date?

New clients were phoning and requesting the times I had posted on my website for their children. Opps...

I hadn't looked at my website for quite some time but quickly realized that I had last years levels and times still posted. It wasn't current for new parents to make decisions regarding their child's activities in the fall.

Bad marketing mistake.

Take the time to update your site soon.

It's really important for your business to be current.

If you don't have the time to do it, hire a programmer to do it for you.

From personal experience if your budget is tight:

1) Ask for their hourly price: This way you can determine if it is in your budget.

There are lots of programmers out there,

keep looking until you find someone in your price range.

2) Get a quote and ask how long it will take them.

Don't accept a price for work without the hours stated!

Have them do an hour of work on your site and then take a look at what they accomplished in that hour. If you are happy with the work and the amount accomplished then continue with them.


Lois' Tip: My time is sometimes worth the cost of having someone do it for me. It might take them an hour but might take me two hours of frustration to do it.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Yahoo! Canada

May is here!

I've just finished a wonderful visit with my grandson Jakob. Oh my, he is so adorable.


Recital venue secured and pieces are almost memorized. Only a few more weeks, a bit of vacation and thinking about the fall begins.

I trust your registrations are going well for the fall and I would like to share an encounter I had with a parent and how their not filling out the registration form affected my opinion of their child.

I'm always grateful when parents choose to stay home when their chldren are sick. We don't need to spread germs to everyone in class. One week, Daren, was the only student who attended a class of four students, the rest were sick.

Daren, what can I say about Daren, he's one of those students who speaks out of turn, yells at inappropriate times, I could go on, we all have had a student like him. He could play the piano but some days I wondered if he was there to create havoc not music. But we perservered.

As we progressed through our now private lesson, I noticed Daren was calm, playing well and with confidence. He didn't squirm or yell. I was so pleased. It was an enjoyable lesson and it was a positive experience for him and myself. This time together, one on one, displayed all the efforts the mom had put in at home. It was wonderful!

Afterwards, I remarked to the mom about the positive experience the lesson was and she mentioned he has a hearing problem! What?

Being loud and anxious were his ways of coping with the noise and busyness of the class. I was shocked. On my regisrtaion forms I have a place for parents to let me know "something special about their child" so I can be aware of any issues. I checked his registration to see if I had missed this very important fact. It wasn't there.

Well, It's neither here nor there as to her reasons for not informing me. Perhaps she thought I would judge or favor her child but had I known, I would have been able to meet his needs.

Now that I'm aware I look at his outbursts a little differently. I still respond in much the same way as I did before, in firm kindness, but now my heart responds with understanding. It's one of those things about teaching, sometimes you just don't know the full story of a child's situation.

Last month I blogged about using balls to help with hand position but Jan Jenkins from Kelowna wrote and said she reminds her students to "Not burst theiJakob and Nanar Bubble!" Such a great idea and and a great reminder for young students. I wonder if there is a game idea behind that!

Have a wonderful sunny May, great returns on registrations for the fall and awesome recitals.

Musicallyours,

Mrs. Lois

MYC Certified Teacher
Solo Time Music Games

Teaching Tip - Articulation!

Articulation!

We teach it, We demonstrate it, We highlight all forms of articulation in our students music but can they identify different

types of articulation when they hear it?

Use this fun resource to help your students hear the difference.


I used this game with great success but the parents kept helping the students find the correct answer!

Why not print a few extra pages for parents so they can play along also!

Game of the Month

Rhythm Sports

My favourite game to use as the year winds down!


In this fun rhythm game individual music students or two teams compete (clap their way) to the finé line.

Each team must correctly clap and count their rhythm card then determine the time signature to see how far to move their game

piece around the gameboard.

If any member of the team makes a mistake, the other team gets a chance to steal the other teams turn!

GREAT for sight reading rhythms and counting

together as a team or individually.

Various levels of difficulty in which the cards

are labeled easy, medium and hard.

Time signatures are in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time.

To Market To Market - Advertising

Registrations are in and now the search is on for new students.

There are expensive ways to market your studio:

Newspapers, Direct Mail, Rec Guides

Or cheaper ways:

Door to door with flyers, Phone calls, Posters, Try-It and Bring a Friend classes.

Have you done a Google search of yourself lately?

Find out where you rank when people type in music lessons in your area.

Create a profile on google!

It's a another very inexpensive way to get your name out there.

But whatever the means it's important to be out there.

People need to see you!

Whatever the form of marketing you do - be it big or small,

Be active in any way that is within your budget.

Don't be Discouraged and Keep Perservering!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Mrs. Lois' Blog: Spring Flower Greetings

Mrs. Lois' Blog: Spring Flower Greetings: "Spring Flower Greetings! March went out like a lamb and April came in depending on where you lived either wet or snowy. To make the b..."

Spring Flower Greetings

Spring Flower Greetings!

March went out like a lamb and April came in depending on where you lived either wet or snowy.  To make the best of the weather I chose to go to the mountains for a bit of skiing and was grateful for fresh powder and spring skiing conditions. I know many of you are tired of the snow and the last snowfall just tipped your patience on the snow bank metre but  to perk up your spring check out these resources for some spring time review with your students.

Do you ever wonder when your students will accomplish that perfect hand position?   I've shared a few ideas in the teaching tip section on how I accomplished (or tried to accomplish)  this basic  technique over the last few weeks.  

Also, Amiee Rau from The Music Box Studio in Ontario, blogged a wonderful article to parents called "Loosening the Apron Strings."     An upside and encouraging letter on how to make music lessons and practicing a positive experience.

Jakob is coming for a few days at the end of April.  I'm so excited. Grandmother "hood" has been an unexpected pleasure and joy.   I recommend it! 

Jakob and Nana

Have a wonderful Easter! 

Musicallyours,
Mrs. Lois
MYC Certified Teacher
Solo Time Music Games


  

  
Teaching Tip  - Balls of Fun!
Trying to get my students to understand correct hand postion when playing the piano has been somewhat of a frustrating journey. 

What to do?  All the little tricks that I've done (like taping rubber snakes to the underside of the piano to remind them to keep their thumbs out of the snake pit) have just fallen on deaf ears.  

Recently, I ran across this video on YouTube and thought I would try once again to have parents and students understand this important technique.  

I sent the video to all my parents to watch and share their children.  It shows a young student who plays with almost perfect phrases, slurs, staccatos and finally ends the song with hands placed nicely in his lap.  I realized that hand position can be taught to young children and it can be done well!   

First of all, perhaps I hadn't demonstrated it well enough, I had certainly talked about it but had I really shown them with a visual and hands on lesson. My first step was to send  the video out for everyone to view.

At the next lesson, I spent time with each student working with the two balls bought from Dollarama. The balls I had always used for hand, finger and arm exercises but now I used them to help each child form a great hand position.  Students gently grasped the balls and then still retaining the hand position,  let go and placed their hands at the piano in the same position.  

Students often lost their hand position by the time they put their hands at the piano which was a matter of a few seconds.  But we just went back to working with the balls.  For the technique lesson that week I only required one simple exercise using perfect hand position and for most students it was a hands separate exercise.

The results have been wonderful!  Not every student has complied with my  instructions in regards to hand position but most have.  But what was accomplished  was that everyone understood the procedure and the reasons  for practicing good hand position.   
hand position
Hand Position
Hand Position - 2
Right Hand Position

Game of the Month
 This Basket Ball themed game helps older students understand the value of the dot.

Games other teachers have used this month
and sent wonderful comments back to me!
Young musicians determine the patterns and place the card with the correct monster

Determine the correct rests in each measure

Students collect note values in 6/8 time to build two measures
The winner is the one who can clap and count his measure correctly.
To Market To Market - Value Added 
What do you say to potential parents?  
What do you say to draw parents into a conversation about the wonderful music program you teach or that you are an awesome teacher?

My opening line is: "I bring the happy habit of music to children and families." 
That almost never fails to bring a parent or grandparent
into conversation about music.
 
If they don't want to hear more music and the program that I teach that's okay.

 But  what's important is have your one line introduction 
ready to say at anytime anywhere.

What if they don't want to hear more?
  
Then ask about them or their children, show interest in what ever topic comes up next.
Show you care even if they are NOT going to be potential clients. 
It doesn't have to be a long conversation  but...

Give them a bit of your time so they know you value them in the smallest of ways.

This small effort to show you care and value what's important in their world will be
remembered for a long time to come.

This one conversation, this one moment of interest that you gave and took the time to  place some value on  them has a long term effect that could quite possibly
have them remember you and recommend you to other people they come in contact with.
It's only a few minutes of your time. 

Value the relationship (short term and long term)
 for what future possiblities there might be.