Archive for November 2019

Some teachers teach reading music notation to young children, but do not check if the student has understood. Or if the child is able to independently read music notes. When new beginner level music is taught to the student, sometimes the pieces do come back well played after a week of practice, but teachers need…

I get a lot of transfer students who come to me at grade 6 to 8. I usually audition these students before I take them on. And one of the items in the audition is scales.  Playing scales at an audition is sort of like the ‘handshake’ that you give your interviewer when you enter…

I teach piano teachers and one common lament I get from them is that there are components in the Aural test where their previous teachers never fully explained to them the strategy behind ‘how’ to arrive at the answer. What should they be listening to? How to work out the answer? If one does not…

Some people think that a piano is just a piano. It does not make a difference on which piano you are learning from. I once encouraged a parent to buy an acoustic piano for his child who is starting to learn piano. But the parent said that an electric piano will do the job as…

It is my custom to interview new and potential students before they sign on with me for piano lessons. At the interview, the parents will be invited to accompany the student to my studio. My intention is for the kid to see me, their potential piano-teacher-to-be, in the safety zone of their parents by their…