Saturday, October 24, 2015

Practice!

Practice . . . the dreaded word for every music student. Well, usually anyway. I don't think it has to be. I try not to use that word too much or introduce negative connotations with it. But whatever you call it or however you approach it, we all still need to do it! I'm constantly looking for ways to improve my student's (and my own!) practice habits and effectiveness. Here are a few articles I've come across on the topic (not in any particular order).

The Nonpracticing Student by Ed Pearlman on Music Teachers Helper

Remind Students How to Practice by Yiyi Ku on Music Teachers Helper

Practice Tips by Dr. Robin Kay Deverich on Violin Online

Ten Top Practice Tips for Young Musicians on Teachers Pay Teachers - this is a great page of condensed practice tips to hand out to your students!

Creating a Structured Practice Routine by Cameron Mizell on MusicianWages.com - this one has some excellent tips, maybe even more so for us teachers to apply to our practice sessions!

Ten Tips for Practicing by Timothy Judd

How to Practice a Musical Instrument by Peter Spitzer on Hope Street Music Studios

Practice Technique: Up and Down by Kerri Green on Music Teachers Helper

Friday, October 23, 2015

Beginner Violin Ensemble Music

This coming summer I hope to do an ensemble with my violin students. I think it will really boost their note reading and rhythm abilities. Besides, I think it will be SO much fun!

I plan to have a beginner group and an advanced beginner group (all of my students except one have been playing for less than two years.) Here are a few of the books I've been looking at using.

Primo Performance (Violin) by Robert Frost
Primo Encores (Score) by Robert Frost
Artistry in Ensembles, Book 1 by Robert Frost and Deborah Monday
First Things First: Elementary Level Ensembles by Robert Frost
Strings Extraordinaire! by Deborah Monday and Janice McAllister
More Strings Extraordinaire! by Deborah Monday and Janice McAllister
Beautiful Music for Two String Instruments by Samuel Applebaum
Music Plus! Incredible Collection for Violin Ensemble by William Starr
O'Connor Method for Orchestra, Book 2 (1st Violin) by Mark O'Connor
O'Connor Method for Orchestra, Book 2 (2nd Violin) by Mark O'Connor

Welcome!

I'm excited to finally have this blog underway! I have been dreaming of something like this for a while; a place to organize all of the bits of cyberspace that I have found helpful in my music teaching. Enjoy your visit and I hope you find something useful. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment on a post or contact me using the form to the right. 

Happy music teaching!