Whatever happened to...'If at first you don't succeed......'?

'If at first you don't succeed, try try again!'

Isn't that the wisdom of our childhood? Why don't kids hear that anymore? I'm constantly surprised that my piano students haven't heard this simple expression!

Little Miss J, aged 6, had a 'brain freeze' during Hush Little Baby this afternoon. Poor little possum cried as she couldn't even work out where she'd stopped in the music.

For the non-musical readers......it's called a 'brain freeze'! It happens! Usually during a performance or exam when you'd really rather it happened someplace else...like NEVER! It's that awful inner panic that happens when, usually triggered by a small mistake (called a 'slip'), you lose your place in the music & have no idea where you stopped! It's AWFUL!!! It's often accompanied (in my experience) by severe nausea, light-headedness, wobbly legs or the feeling that your heart has decided to go camping inside your brain.

Poor little Miss J, who has also been sick & is one day away from the end of Term 2 of school, just needed that brain freeze on another day. She cried. So we talked for a few minutes about school, being tired, making mistakes & how to 'try try again' after a brain freeze. Then we decided to leave Hush Little Baby & do some drawing & clapping (Theory) instead. She was perfectly happy & chose this week's favourite colour texta (purple) to complete the activities in her theory book. She left with a big smile & a skip.

Awesome arvo with...cha-cha-cha!

What a fantastic arvo I had teaching Miss R (aged 9) the 'Cubanera' - a Cuban Cha-Cha!!!

Rhythmically it's a challenge to teach a little child. For Miss R I often make up little lyrics for her music so she can aurally remember a rhythm. For the Cubanera today we would 'dance....cha-cha-cha...and sing...cha-cha-cha...and hop....cha-cha-cha so we can skip...cha-cha-cha..'

As, between the hands, we had two people dancing it was a bit tricky considering each hand had more than one note to play. So, as we often do, we were 'playing swappo'. This is where she plays one hand while I play the other hand. When she's mastered that we 'swappo' so she can master the other hand. When that happens she then finds it relatively easy to then synchronise the hands.

This afternoon while she played one hand, I was playing the other hand at the same time as I was singing the lyrics with the strong syncopated rhythm so she could hear it & get her timing right. It was so fun that she was getting more & more excited as she improved. By the end of the 30min lesson she was laughing & bopping on her piano stool while we played it. It was like she & I were dancing the cha-cha in real life!

I LOVE lessons like this! I don't care what anyone says about teaching! If a child has a challenge to meet, find a solution & then work with it. Miss R is extremely strong aurally (I've taught her since just before she turned 4) so I use that to help her develop. I'm really pushing her by getting her to learn this piece. It's on the edge of her technical ability however my belief is that the only limits children have are those in the head of the adults in their life. My viewpoint is 'give it a go' - if it doesn't work we can just find something that does. Miss R is having fun whilst overwhelmingly exceeding my expectations right now! That just thrills me!

So in my head I'm still dancing.....cha-cha-cha!  ;)

Who knows what's good music?

For me the ultimate judges are the birds in the trees opposite.
I can teach ALL week & the birds don't sing & twitter. When I finally find a moment to play the birds' chorus begins...without fail! I used to wonder, now I just accept. Occasionally the birds will chorus a student who's doing something well. I always take the time to tell the student that they have just been judged positively by the birds in the trees opposite. Unfortunately the students just see that as further proof of my insanity. As the 6yo girl greeted me as she was leaving last Thursday afternoon, 'You're MAD!!!'

What do you get when you combine a...

Bubble wands - what else???

Piano Teacher with a Counsellor???

Some teaching days are better than others. Being able to swap glasses helps...

Below you see part of my preparations to teach this evening.  I have a list of tasks that I do to prepare for clients. Today it began with some self-care combined with 'thinking outside the square'.

You see my brunch after just returning from the gym, my self-care & the beginnings of the 'inaugural ancient concentrating ritual' planning for this afternoon.

'The Counsellor' teaches self-calming in children using bubbles. 'The Piano Teacher' wants to teaching 'concentrating', in other words, leaving everything else outside the door when the piano lesson begins.

My bubble bottles lose their wands as easily as oestrogen-fairies lose their sanity. So a visit to my meter box for some fuse wire this morning was part of the routine. My piano now sports a tiny crystal vase of bubble wands just waiting for the next ancient concentrating ritual.

I'm hoping that 'The Piano Teacher' will get through the afternoon without too much of the oestrogen-fairy going la la la....

Preparations to teach

Rocket Challenge Update

Mr M is on his SECOND column for the year!!!  EPIC!!!

Oh My Goodness!!!  Miss U-C is now on her SECOND column of the rocket!!!  EPIC!!!

Hogpiano Cup Scoreboard Update

It's NEVER over until the fat lady sings!!  Every term at least one student learns that old lesson!

After I see Miss E in about 4 mins time, I'll attempt to update the numbers...

Sharing the simple joy of music with preschoolers

I adore teaching preschoolers! Even though some days I find it exhausting! LOL When they finally gain the confidence to actively initiate activities & 'get' the passion, I find that one 30 min lesson takes a LOT of energy. LOL

Today little Miss H came for the first time. She's 'almost' 4 & today was more of an introduction & 'environmental inspection'. She was introduced to the shiny piano whilst sitting comfortably on granma's lap. I played Twinkle Twinkle & Old MacDonald Had A Farm & her eyes lit up a little. The smiles started to come & she finally verbalised when I played the 'Grouch Song' from Sesame Street!
(Note to self: the Sesame Street Grouch is a window to encouraging active participation.)

Then we were introduced to the percussion instruments - Santa's Jingle Bells got a beam of excitement, the castanets making horse sounds got her clicking her own pink castanet....

THEN the characters..........Mozart Mouse, Beethoven Bear, Puccini Pooch, Clara Schumann Cat, Elgar E. Elephant. Sadly I don't have J.S. Bunny :(  Miss H loved the characters, who are each going to teach her things about music & playing the piano this year through a musical related story.

When Miss H reaches big school she's going to have a head-start. She'll have learnt about the fun of music, she'll have more confidence at the keyboard than other 5year olds, she'll also be ahead with her sense of rhythm & she'll have a wider & more confident understanding of the wider keyboard.

This is early childhood music - she won't be reading music fluently but she'll be clapping in time, dancing in time, understand the repeating pattern of the keyboard, know some notes & keys & rests, understand waltz time & foxtrot time.....most importantly she'll have the confidence to TRY when she gets the 'big kid's' lesson books.

I love my job!  :)

I'm so excited...!!!

New little 4yo girl coming this morning for her first lesson accompanied by grandma. SO excited!!!   ME....I mean!!! ;)))

Yes I teach from age 4, however I use a different method until the child starts big school. I've found that the children develop a stronger sense of rhythm, confidence & actually learn how to have FUN with music from the beginning!!!  LOVE IT!!  They also have greater confidence with the wider keyboard.  :)

We do lots of singing, dancing, percussion instruments & I also use the 'Little Mozarts' books.

Appreciating the little things..

Today was hard. Being unwell, it took until just after midday to get vertical today. From then until 3pm I focussed on being able to teach from 3 - 7pm. It was hard, but the best decision I made today.

I had excited little possums with big smiles at 3pm - Miss K is getting very clever with 2 hands, Miss S is just flourishing under some steady but patient confidence-building & teaching her some independent problem-solving. She's starting to initiate extending herself which is so exciting for me! It was a hard slog when she was scared to try. Now, slowly & carefully learning how to break a problem down is starting to pay off. I'm so proud of her!

Miss S (oh that beautiful just 14yo) decided it was time for The Swan today (Carnival of the Animals). She was learning the 'bridge' - the middle bit. At the end I wanted her to make the swan 'swoon', then recover with 'smelling salts' (LOL this is the young lady who says that Shakespeare is 'so romantic!'). We had to discuss what a 'swoon' was & why a lady 'swooned' in the past (tight whalebone corsets etc with a graceful faint). Then she had to know what 'smelling salts' were.....LOL!!!  Oh dear!!  But anyway....finally she got the message that I really wanted a ritenuto with a diminuendo combined with the careful placement of the last 2 dotted minims! Miss S just kills me laughing & she was SUCH good therapy for me today! I wish I could record her every lesson as I forget all the 'gems' that come from her beautiful lips!

Mrs M was worried about being in the 'naughty girl corner' for not practising! I told her I had it all ready for her. Instead she shocked me with her playing of a Ragtime Eccoiaisse!!  It was the best I've heard her play! In fact, I gave her an 'EPIC' stamp on her music which just thrilled her to bits! So funny! We often forget that as adults a little reward is just as pleasurable as when we're children!

Mrs M (the other one) came &, as usual, started giggling before she even started to play her 'Alpine Melody'. Poor thing....I usually have adult students seeing themselves in a 'glass half-empty' light. She just needed tonight what she needs every lesson....some clarity & a suggestion of another way to see her perceived problem. I'm really happy with Mrs M as she's a fast learner. Tonight she was very excited to take home a copy of Alouette! It's a duet version so....oh dear.....I better just run through it myself I suppose. LOL  Doing a duet with a student while teaching & watching their part & my part & counting or singing at the same time as following their tempo with breaks in flow is like being an octopus with 50 legs!!  LOL  I love it - wouldn't have it any other way.

Regrets & thankfulness

Oh dear....forgive me as it's been a long time since my last confession.... ;)
Much has happened & I can't be certain that it wasn't from those Grumpy Lambs in my last post.
Got busy - got sick - have been in hospital twice, including 2 different hospitals inside a week. My health is still not great but I'm feeling a bit cranky today about that. From my point of view cranky energy is energy so lets just go with that.....
OK....that's the regrets ticked off the list!
Now the thankfulness.........
I've expended SO MANY tears in the last 2 weeks! Those damn tears are continuing to have a mind of their own I'm afraid. This beautiful photo is one reason for many of the tears this week! After a week in hospital after an emergency ambulance ride, & not being able to contact some of my students (who turned up to an empty house much to my distress!), I've been overwhelmed by the kindness, support & simple joy shared with me at getting back to normal.
I arrived home in my nightie & dressing gown (apparently witnessed by Miss R & Miss M as they were turning up for ballet over the road at Hype) & found in my letterbox a lovely card with a freddo frog inside from a friend.
In my letterbox next was a beautiful card from Miss J, her mum, sister & Lilly the dog.
The next day I got home from a day of doctors feeling exhausted to find another card under my front door with cash inside from Mrs J (who is the most special lady). I can't say how teary that made me since being sick = a lack of $! Also her special message & offer of help was just so beautiful!
On Monday Miss K (aged just 6) arrived shy & teary with beautiful flowers in her hand for me. Mummy carried her in to the piano like she had last year during the first few lessons when she was excited but shy. After I shared my 'secret chocolate' in the non-descript sugar basin with lid (a strategy to get me through 4 hours of teaching but camouflaged so I wouldn't be sprung) & we briefly discussed the best thing that had happened at school that day (during which she popped that little square of chocolate in her mouth & started to smile & chat like she normally does) things improved & she excitedly showed me her favourite song - 'A Little Boogie'.
Big sister Miss S presented me with the beautiful smiley faced balloon which you can see on top of my piano. She was excited to share what she'd also been working on at the piano in my absence! I'm SO PROUD of Miss S because she's working SO hard at 'keeping trying' & 'being brave' when things look a bit tricky. We are getting better at recognising repeating patterns in the music, or identifying how far the notes are apart.
Miss C (aged 14) arrived with a 'how are you feeling now?' which was just so special. She again apologised for not practising as much as she'd like due to school commitments but Miss C is one of those girls like me who tend to not see our glass half full sometimes....  ;)
Miss S (aged 14) came & wanted to 'mix things up' with an Adele song. I'm happy to accomodate as she's learning & progressing well even though we can never focus long enough to complete a whole song yet (LOL). I'm pretty sure it will happen some time. Her advice for me re my nightmares after a bad experience in hospital was to tell the protagonist in my dream 'oim gonna sik a ninja on yaw airse!'. She made me practise saying it (LOL) & kept telling me to try again as I still couldn't master the stance & accent!!!
Miss A came with mummy & both were very special about making sure I was OK. Mrs K said I was to phone her anytime I wasn't OK. Miss A was VERY excited about getting 100 points for every time she practised her scales at home during the week! She is such a very special little girl!!
Mrs M helped me to laugh as I do with adult students.
Mrs L was SO special about being flexible with her lesson on Wednesday! I was so appreciative!
Ah...then Miss R & Miss M arrived skipping up to my front door so excitedly! Miss M had a little present in a pink chinese bag with bling. Inside were a packet of chocolates & a collection of letters & drawings all full of special little messages to me, including 'glad you are back. I love you.', 'you wood Mis me a Lot. you Love we Sheren. you Mis me.' & finally 'I mist you a Lot. I foundede uot that you have gorn uot of hospool. I hop you don't get sick agen. Love from Mia'. Miss R had to play me 'Mary had a Little Lamb' on her flute except she didn't know how to do the end yet. LOL She was so excited to learn some more of the cha cha we are working on!
Miss A (aged 5) told me my breath stunk (I'd just had my first peanut butter sandwich in over 2 weeks!!!) whilst holding her nose. LOL We contracted that she'd play a song for me whilst I went to have a mouthwash.
Master A ran inside my door & started playing his scales & tallying up each 100 points whilst I was still speaking with mum on the verandah. He'd tallied 2 200 points by the time I came inside. He wanted 'something new that was harder'. We decided to re-contract his Term Goal (which had been Summertime from Porgy & Bess) to be forward in his lesson book up to 'Crispy Chips'. He thought that was 'realistic'.
Master M followed with quiet pleasure & great excitement over his tallies for scales practice over the 2 weeks.  Whilst he'd marked the tallying strokes he was unsure whether he had to count in 5's or 100's. We decided to count in 5's then times that number by 100. He hadn't done x 100 at school yet, but we learnt to put two zeros on the end of the number for the number of points. LOL SO sweet!!!  By the end of his lesson Master M had amounted 20 000 points!!!  Truly an AMAZING effort & he deserved every point! I can't see when that score will be passed again by anyone - it was just one out of the box!!!
Miss J came next very quietly but with excitement. She was really excited to have earnt 2 squares of the rocket chart!
Mrs M returned for another lesson saying that 'she was OK now' - meaning moving her hands from position C to position G was no longer a complete confusion.
On Friday sweet Miss E arrived. With her normal quiet cautious confidence she played her little songs & was pleased to earn another 2 squares on the rocket chart. She's quietly developing & I'm really pleased to hear that she thinks she can teach mummy a few things on the piano, including when to play a 'sh'.
Miss U-C arrived happily & full of energy. With a little encouragement she managed to accomplish playing ALL her songs in the lesson book with the CD accompaniment on 'performance tempo'! I was SO proud of her as she was of herself! With time this little lady will be a good piano player, as will many of my other little ones if they stick at it.
So....my first full week after getting out of hospital is now complete. I feel fortunate & I feel loved. All of the cards, messages, drawings, flowers, balloon & gifts have helped my spirit to begin to heal. Thank you.
Thus....this post ends with thankfulness.....  xxxxx