Greetings from the Teacher:
Hello friends! I hope you are all well rested and have enjoyed your Summer. Many of you have been traveling and I have not seen you in a long while. I look forward to meeting with you again soon and having the opportunity to work with you closely as the school year gets underway. In an attempt to keep everyone informed about the studio "happenings", I have decided to publish a quarterly neweletter. I hope I can find adequate time to devote to its creation. I will do my best during what will surely be a busy year.
I will be contacting you by phone or email sometime in the next two weeks to inquire about your preferred lesson time for the fall. I know all of you are just starting with your new schedules and need some time to get your bearings. Regular weekly lessons will resume after Labor day (Sept. 4). A hard-copy of this newsletter along with the latest info-pack will go out in the mail sometime in the next two weeks as well. Please take the time to read through that information. I would appreciate your signing and returning the enclosed approval form at your first lesson.
What's New?
Student Notes:
(Please feel free to email any submissions for
this list. I would like this area to ultimately be linked to
stories rather than just a list)
Teacher Thoughts:
(I would like to reprint an article here that recently appeared in the neweletters of Santa Rosa High, Petaluma High, and Carillo High. I hope you find it valuable and in some way, thought stimulating.)
What are the benefits of taking weekly private music lessons? There are a variety of benefits to and motivations for taking private lessons. Discussing these ideas with your child may help them to clarify the reasons behind their desire or decision to study privately. As parents, this may help us determine if such study is warranted and, therefore, something we can and should support.
Some of the obvious student motivations for studying privately could include the immediate: "to get better," "to do well on my next playing test," "to win a scholarship competition," "to become first chair," "to get into youth orchestra," "to make it into honor band". These are immediate and worthy goals. We should also be open to the possibility that we might not want to limit our quest to these "ends" but use them as a starting point on our musical journey.
As parents, we may wish to consider some of the less obvious benefits of private study that do not exclude our child's initial motivations but could be beyond his or her initial grasp. These might include "learning to solve problems independently," "learning to work within timelines to complete projects," "learning to cope with stress," "learning how to get back on the horse after we fall off," "learning how to take pride in an accomplishment," and "learning how to work as a member of a team".
It should be apparent that all of these items listed begin with "learning how to…". This is extremely important. In a private lesson situation, we have the opportunity, as teachers, to work individually and directly with a student, at their own rate of progress, with the process of learning. To me, this is the key to good teaching and the cornerstone of private lessons. As private teachers, we act as a guide to the process of self-discovery through music. If these are not foreign ideas to us, then we should applaud our child's desire to seek lessons with a private teacher and support him or her in that undertaking whole-heartedly.
It is my sincere hope that at least some of the ideas presented here will stimulate your thought process regarding private music lessons.
Future Topics:
More Parental and Student Information:
Student Thoughts:
(In future newsletter issues, I would welcome articles (subject to teacher review and approval) that address issues relevent to students involved in the many facets of our local music scene and private study. Some topics might include: "How I deal with finding time to practice", "What I thought of when our band director...", "What I think of this new Bach 3c mouthpiece", "Is anyone else struggling with getting up at 5:30 am for Jazz rehearsal?", etc.)
Teacher Performance Schedule:
More Website Changes: