So this Tuesday, we’re switching things up. We’ve shared so many Tuesday Teaching Tactics in the past few months that we wanted to mix things up. So if you remember, we presented in March at the Music Teacher’s National Association Conference in Baltimore. Spring and I (Whitney) presented with our amazing colleague Sara Alexander on the topic of “The More the Merrier: Creating Collaborative Experiences for Students of All Ages”. We LOVE this topic and created a presentation full of ideas to include more collaboration and ensemble music in every teaching setting.
So our goal has been to share these ideas with those of you who didn’t make it to the conference. With the new year coming up, I’ve begun pondering what I want to make my goals for next year. I use this amazing calendar to set goals for myself called PowerSheets and since they’re doing a prep week next week to get ready for the new year, I’m starting to think about my piano teaching goals. What should I include more of next year? What teaching habits can I adopt or what can I change this year?
As you begin thinking about your goals, consider including more ensemble music. This month we’ll be sharing several ideas about including ensemble music in every student’s lesson and more. We hope you’ll be inspired to add more ensemble music to your studio in the new year!
Today I wanted to make a case for ensemble music. Now you may be thinking, “Oh another thing to add to the already full private lesson? I don’t know if it’s worth it…” But I can assure you the benefits of collaborative music far outweigh the time and preparation it may take. Maybe you can make Spring of 2018 the Year of the Collaborative Music in your studio! Try sending this out to parents to get them excited about all the benefits their student will be finding as they experience more ensemble music next semester! Here’s my favorite new infographic on why you should use more ensemble music!
Author: Whitney
Whitney Hawker, NCTM, teaches group and private piano at Weber State University, Utah. She loves surprising students with the perfect piece or a new exciting game! After graduate school, she missed sharing ideas and resources daily with colleagues so she and her friend, Spring, began blogging together at 4DPianoTeaching.com