The cinnamon rolls & milk were a hit, and so were all the things we talked about!!
Some of the ideas from conference:
Picture a graph and a student's age starting at 8 and going to 18 across the bottom; the progress of their piano skills being measured from bottom to top. In theory, we see progress from the bottom to the top by a diagonal line...as the student gets older, they get better at playing the piano. It was pointed out that this is seldom the case: Reality is more like a curvy line progresses and regresses at different intervals, as it, hopefully makes a general progression. As teachers, we need to be aware of the students needs, the things taking place in their lives, their struggles, their triumphs, that will impact the piano learning. When we are able to do this, we facilitate their learning!!
Do we point out the little things that we sometimes take for granted that our student knows, or should know...like pointing out that the key signature not only tells us what flats/sharps will be in the piece, it tells us what SCALE will be used by the composer, and therefore, which notes will be primarily used. This may see obvious, but try pointing it out to your students and see if they say, "Duh!" or if they have an "Ah hah!" moment!!
There were lots of teaching tips shared and some good discussion on ways to help certain problems. If you weren't able to attend, we missed you, and you missed a really good meeting! Maybe next month!
Mark Gubler also shared some information about SUPAF being rekindled. Registration is open! Piano registration closes January 31, 2018. All other registration closes December 31st! Please contact Mark if you have any questions about it!
