FIRST WEEK OF LESSONS–WHAT TO BRING!
Our first week of lessons begins on September 9th! To the email I sent out, I have attached a policy letter and a calendar of the first half of our year with special dates like holiday closures, masterclasses and recitals on it. You can print it off and place it on your fridge if you like to keep track of all the dates! There will be a limited number printed and available in studio for those of you who do not have access to a printer. NOTE: the date for the Christmas Recital is still waiting to be officially confirmed–if there are any changes at all to the calendar a new one will be emailed out. So, as we prepare for next week, just a couple of things to remember to bring:
All Students: LESSON TUITION, in the form of 10 post dates for Sept 1-June 1, 2 payments or 1 full payment made payable to MICHELLE MILLER, please. If you have not done so already, this is due no later than your first lesson!
Sunbeam 1 students: just bring your enthusiastic selves and a parent (Sunbeams is a parented class!)
Sunbeams 2, 3 and Moonbeams 3 students: bring your bags, tinsheets, castanet. Leave last year’s books at home. REVIEW YOUR NOTES!!! There will be a note quiz! 😀
Private Students: bring a 1″ BINDER as your homework book (this is NEW this year, but VERY important!) and any books you worked from over the summer to play out of for me…and review your notes for a game! Some of the new private students still need to submit their books fee for the books you had me pick up for your first lesson. You can submit that as a separate cheque.
FACEBOOK UPDATE
We are at 38 “Likes” now…getting closer to the 50 mark. At 50 Likes there will be a draw for prizes. If you haven’t already done so, head on over and check out our facebook page which features videos of students, blog posts from my webpage and few fun things including Wednesday Words of Wisdom! Then like it and invite friends and relatives to like as well for a chance to be in the draw for prizes! Thank you to all of you who have liked the page already! It’s been exciting to watch it grow! There are even a few “likes” from across the globe! https://www.facebook.com/mmmusicstudio
BLOG
You can also find my blog with great ideas for working that infamous practice time into your schedule, choosing an instrument as well as regular newsletters (so if you can’t find an emailed newsletter, you can always find a copy there. You can also subscribe to the blog and have it automatically delivered to your email each time a new post is created. Find it at: http://mmmusicstudio.wordpress.com/
NEW COURSES THIS YEAR
There will be a couple of new courses offered this year for all the advancing students. Starting in October, I will be offering a Intermediate Rudiments course. This is for any students who have completed Basic Rudiments and/or Grade 5 Piano–some exceptions will be made for those who are currently working on a grade 6 level who haven’t completed the former two exams. Intermediate Rudiments is a co-requisite to the grade 6 and grade 7 Royal Conservatory Piano certificate. It will be a weekly hour long course running from October to May.
The other course I will be offering will be a little more casual but I am really excited about it. About once a month or so I would like to offer a PIANO PEDAGOGY (how to teach piano) class to all advancing students who have earned a grade 5 Piano exam or higher. I would like to begin teaching these students how to teach! In my studio, I like to really focus all levels of music towards learning life skills that allow us to give back in some way with our music. Some ways we’ve done this is through composing and improvising and learning to harmonize or read lead sheets. I would like my high school students to have the skills to give back through teaching….not because I think they will want to be piano teachers, but so that they have the ability to give back…maybe through community volunteer work or volunteering at a Senior’s home or Children’s Hospital. The inspiration for this came from this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sNLsAbBWl_s as well as from a fellow colleague from Coleman, Alberta who told me all about preparing her son to start teaching lessons right before he entered high school.
Enjoy this week! It kind of feels a little like New Years in some ways! See you all next week!