OPERATION REVAMP
A NEW STUDIO COMMUNICATION HUB
I began the summer with the purpose of strengthening my piano studio. I began brainstorming ways of restructuring Piano Lessons PLUS. I also wanted to do something concrete to strengthen the teacher-student-parent triangle.
What could I do? First, I thought of making a communication hub with my Piano Lessons PLUS website. I also thought of making several pages on my website to list my students’ musical achievements. I thought that my website should not only serve to promote my studio to the public but also be a place to serve my students and their families.
Completing that hub I created a new email account solely for studio use. This email account would alert students and parents of any new information or content that I posted on my website.
This summer I created 88.61.pianostudio@gmail.com 88 because there are 88 keys on an acoustic piano. 61 because the standard size of most electronic keyboards is 61 keys. I wanted to emphasize that my studio specializes in teaching both acoustic and electronic instruments.
INCENTIVE PROGRAM – My Very Own Musical Journey
I thought that reviving my Incentive Program would be a great way to use my website. As students complete their incentives I can publish those achievements on dedicated pages on my website.
My Incentive Program rewards students through stickers, Mini Certificates and Large Parchment Certificates. I designed about a dozen areas in piano study where students can earn rewards.
Piano Practice is of prime importance. Without practice nothing can be achieved. Beginning students are rewarded with a Mini Certificate for practicing only six hours. Other areas of earning rewards are in reaching goals in Technic – in Recording their pieces – in giving In-Home Recitals – In Memorizing pieces – in Sight Reading – in mastering large amounts of music (Creating an Anthology) – and several others.
The Incentive Program is organized into a book I put together I called – My Very Own Musical Journey. In this book we keep track of their progress in each of the Incentives they choose to participate. It’s a sticker book of achievements.
And as they achieve their Incentives students will find themselves on the Honor Roll pages of my website.
MAJOR REVISION – Keyboard Kids
I’ve been involved in teaching music to preschool children since the 1980’s. It was somewhere in that decade that I began an 8-week class I called Keyboard Kids. That class developed into a book. That book developed into two books
.
Through the years I tweaked those books and this summer I gave those books a major revision. I found that students enjoyed playing on my inexpensive rhythm sticks and drums than my hand crafted imported Petrof studio pianos costing thousands.
Because of that I added a brand-new section to Keyboard Kids I called Piano and Percussion. This section is a series of duets between piano and a rhythm instrument.
In all the pieces in Piano and Percussion the student and I exchange places. Sometimes I’ll play the piano part, and the student will play the rhythm instrument. At other times the student will play the piano part, and I will play the rhythm instrument.
This is excellent exercise in helping students keep a steady beat. I designed the little duets to progress in their degree of challenge as I develop their sense of rhythm. This was one of the major goals I had in this revision; to give more attention to rhythmic development and establishing a steady pulse.
Other improvements I made were to simplify the book. I made the pages less cluttered. I put less information on many of the pages giving a more spacious look. I simplified the written work so the lessons would flow better.
I also added a colored cover making the book more attractive. I’m looking forward to using this new upgrade of Keyboard Kids with my new class of preschoolers.