The nice thing about teaching strings is, unlike band instruments, all the instruments are the same… almost! The double bass is somewhat of an oddball, being played standing, only able to play two notes per string, and tuned in fourths … Read More
It’s the beginning of the school year and there is so much to do. Did you know you can download a bunch of helpful free teaching materials at Smart Music Teacher? Teach beginner tunes by ear. Download a note-reading reference … Read More
Looking for the perfect teacher planner? Tired of agendas that don’t meet your needs as a music teacher? Perhaps you are someone who ends up scribbling things in different notebooks or scraps of paper, or somewhere in your agenda only … Read More
It’s winter, it’s dry, and… it’s the season for slipping pegs. Or it’s summer and humid, and pegs are stuck. You try to start class, and you are regularly interrupted by peg problems. It is such a time-waster! So … Read More
Have you been winding your strings properly on your violin, viola or cello? It’s not just about aesthetics or neatness. Properly wound strings create forces that can prevent pegs from slipping. If a string is not wound properly, the … Read More
Highschoolers…. They seem to live and sleep in their hoodies these days! But they get in the way of holding the violin and viola properly. Finally, tired of reminding my violin and viola students to remove their hoodies, I made … Read More
When I started to teach by finger pattern, one of the first activities I had my students do was to draw the fingering charts for each of the keys they were learning. This is a great way to give students … Read More
Wow, what a week! It started last Monday and Tuesday with my school’s two-day music retreat. Then on Wednesday, Halloween night, exhausted from teaching and from the retreat, I was offered a last-minute table for Friday and Saturday at the … Read More
