Questions tagged [teaching]
For questions about the knowledge of music theory and musical practice and the methods by which they are to be taught.
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How can I teach a student who seems to have no rhythm?
I've been teaching a highschool kid acoustic guitar lately and even though everything related to the left hand is progressing well, he is having major problems with his rhythm.
To give you the full ...
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How to help students remember Half vs. Whole rests
The symbols for the half rest and whole rest are pretty much the same and in the literature my students play we rarely encounter them.
Is there a good, memorable way to describe which is which to ...
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Teaching a student to match pitch
I'm a piano teacher and I currently have a student that is taking voice lessons from another teacher. Our lessons involve me accompanying her and discussing interpretation and style. She has some ...
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Why don’t piano teachers teach the chord method of playing to young children and adults?
I have been playing piano since I was 10 and now I am 43. I have never really been good at sight reading sheet music. I have recently been researching alternative methods of learning songs fast as ...
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What are the problems in teaching guitar via Skype?
I have taught guitar one-to-one for several years and would now like to start offering lessons via Skype.
What are the major problems in teaching guitar by Skype and can they be overcome? Are there ...
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Why would a teacher ban the metronome altogether?
So when I was a kid I had this piano teacher who was completely against even owning a metronome.
He was adamant that using a metronome to practice was a bad habit and insisted that pupils always ...
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Should sight-reading be emphasized less for piano instruction with new developments in technology [closed]
I realize this post may be controversial. I've been playing for about eleven years. I'm somewhere at the amateur/intermediate level. When I started sheet music was the only medium available. Since ...
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Becoming a good guitar teacher
I am thinking of starting guitar teaching and, of course, I am aiming to become a good guitar teacher. I don't think it will happen in the near future, because I don't have enough skill level yet, but ...
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Is there a recorder-analog for the flute?
I have used soprano baroque recorders for students aged 8-10 as a "pre-band" instrument. I find that most students enjoy practicing note-reading, and the average student is able to progress ...
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How can we effectively teach schoolchildren theory?
Background Reading: I thought it was worth extending the recent discussion about music theory to the topic of teaching theory.
I think our default approach to teaching theory is sometimes too ...
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Why is Schenker so influential in US academia? Is it the same elsewhere?
Adam Neely's recent video on race and music theory focuses in part on the views of Schenker and the limits and biases of his system of analysis. It seems that Schenker has had a very strong influence ...
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Expectations from a violin teacher towards an adult learner
I am an adult student learning the violin. I have have been playing for slightly more than a year. I can play most of the pieces in Suzuki book 1 now and have progressed up to book 2. I do not know if ...
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Should fingerboard tapes be used for beginner violinists ?
Some teachers use them and some don't. I've heard that they can become a crutch and cause delayed ear training development, but others say they are necessary at the beginning.
Can they really cause ...
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Piano scales: Why bother with hands together?
During my first ten years studying classical piano, the scales that I played were hands together, parallel. But the only literature that actually has scales in both hands, for more than one bar per ...
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How can I help a piano student who doesn't slow down to read the notes
I have a student who, when he tries, can figure out what notes he's looking at on the score at a decent pace. He couldn't sit down and sight-read something fluidly, but the foundation is there.
The ...
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How to teach a Piano Student with Hand Mobility Issues
I have recently started teaching piano to a student. They had been learning with another instructor and have a few years of experience.
The students parent let me know in advance that they have ...
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I'm a musical novice. Can I start my child off on piano?
I'd like to help my six-year-old son try out starting on a piano. At this point, I'm not prepared to invest the money or scheduled time necessary for formal lessons. So, I'm interested in trying to ...
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What is the best way to introduce my 4 year old to harmonica?
My 4-year-old son just got a standard 10 hole harmonica in C from his grandmother, and I would like to give him a good start that will encourage him to enjoy playing.
I myself started out just like ...
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Teaching young kids (7-9) basic piano and music fundemetals.
I've been teaching a 9 year old kid piano for about 10 months and it has been going pretty well, but recently I was asked to teach a few more kids (one as young as 6) to play piano. Teaching the 9 ...
Dom♦
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Dyslexia and sheet music
I was quite dyslexic as a child and struggled through elementary school where reading was concerned. However my math was pretty good so I had no trouble grasping rhythms and identifying scales as ...
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How do I teach a five-year-old violin?
I just got a request from a mom who would like me to start teaching her five-year-old violin, and I really need some help. I've been teaching piano and violin for three years now, but I've never ...
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Does movable do modulate with the music or stay with the initial key?
When using the movable do system in a piece that modulates, is the standard practice to stay with the initial key (i.e., a "locally fixed" do) or to modulate the solfege to match the new key?...
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In what order shall I introduce traditional music theory concepts to adults using solfege?
I have 24 sessions in which to deliver basic music theory to university-age students. Although they are likely to do some singing in their future careers, they are unlikely to receive further musical ...
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What can I do about a parent who is discouraging their child from learning violin, a child who really wants to learn, so that the child will drop out
The child really wants to learn but the parent isn't interested and employs tactics such as forgetting the instrument, keeps them busy all the time so there's no time to practice and has arranged ...
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What are some of the tips for musicians starting out as teachers?
What are some of the pitfalls and tips for starting out as a teacher? What do you need to start your own successful music teaching business and what are some of the things you should avoid?
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What is the difference between the classical and contemporary method of teaching instruments?
Ever since I learned that you could learn to play instruments through a classical or contemporary method, and that musical teachers are taught classically or contemporarily, I've been asking myself ...
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Tips for a New Teacher
I'm an intermediate guitar player. I've been playing for a few years, mostly teaching myself with a few months of lessons in the middle. I'm not a great player, or even particularly good; but I can ...
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One-to-one techniques for improving ability to sing in tune
There are a number of questions on this site from singers who want to find software so they can work, on their own, on their ability to sing in tune.
However, I am hoping to do some one-to-one (and ...
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Is a teacher necessary?
Many times in answers, (including mine), we exhort the OP to 'get a teacher'. I've got to wondering if that's actually the case. I've played with hundreds of musos - mainly the guitarists - who have ...
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Can you request songs to learn from piano teacher
My piano teacher mostly teaches me pieces in the genre of classical/children e.g. the last piece she taught me was Entrance of the Gladiators. I'm getting bored of these songs and I want to request ...
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Why don't key signatures indicate the tonic?
It's always seemed strange to me that key signatures don't indicate the tonic. I feel this has two main drawbacks:
Beginners (and more advanced students, it has to be said!) often find it difficult ...
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How does one teach a subjective art form like music composition in an objective manner?
As someone who has never taken composition lessons, I've always wondered how one teaches composition without straying into the purely subjective. In other words, how does one teach composition in a ...
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Playing Separately with Hands and Feet on Drums
I'm training playing drums for about 3-4 months, but I still can't control my feet separately from my hands (i.e. when I play some rhythm with my hands I can barely play some other rhythm and keep it ...
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How can I encourage a soloist to play louder?
In the training band I conduct, we sometimes choose pieces that focus on one player as a soloist. Many of the players have no previous experience of playing in public. Often, the children's natural ...
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Games for the young piano student?
I've been teaching violin and piano to beginners for a couple years now, and I'm starting to notice that piano tends to be a little less fun for my younger students. In violin I have several fun and ...
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Teaching a group of people of varying skill levels
I'm volunteering at my high school, teaching violin/viola to beginners so that they can join the school orchestra, and I've run into a bit of a stump: they all started out as complete beginners, but ...
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How did students remember what to practise between lessons without any sheet music?
Before the time when sheet music was popular people were good at playing keyboard instruments. I am referring to the time when printing books was expensive.
How did the students remember what to ...
user20754
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Is it possible to learn how to sing properly without a teacher?
Can you learn to sing with correct technique only using videos and online courses - without feedback from a teacher that guides you? How much of a difference would it make?
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What can I do to help my guitar student get off the ground faster?
About me: I'm an intermediate guitar player whose preferred style is extreme metal. I've never given lessons before. I only read tabs but I have a basic understanding of music theory.
About the ...
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How to give classes on improvisation
I'm giving a 6 times 3 hours workshop on musical improvisation. The participants are 5 to 10 mostly classical musicians, skilled with their instruments, slightly interested in jazz, and all keen on ...
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How is (male) falsetto taught?
I've encountered men and boys who are seemingly unable to sing in falsetto. They sing as high as their chest voice will allow, straining at the top, but are unable to slip into falsetto.
Presuming ...
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What does a piano teacher do?
I have never taken piano lessons. I can read notes, not fast, but I can. I took tonal harmony course (just for fun) when I was at the university. I mean, I know the basics of harmony. Also, I can play ...
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Note duration in Hindemith's "Elementary Training For Musicians"
On the recommendation of a friend (and Nadia Boulanger), I am working through Hindemith's "Elementary Training For Musicians", with an eye to using a small selection of its exercises for some of my ...
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When working on a excerpt that is difficult for one section, what should the director do to not waste practice time with the rest of the sections
When MDing, if a section has an excerpt of the music that is quite difficult and may require 10-15 minutes of work in order to build understanding of that section, what should the Music Director do so ...
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Approach to teaching a conducting class virtually
This question is more vague than I would prefer, but I am really struggling with this issue, so any help would be appreciated.
So, due to COVID, the school where I teach has gone virtual for the first ...
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Teaching a lefty to play drums
I've been asked to teach someone to play drums. I noticed that he's predominantly left-handed. I play right-handed, and feel that for his future, he'll be better off learning with the kit set up ...
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Overcoming the "we're not good enough" syndrome in amateur choirs
I've seen this in pretty much every amateur choir I've ever been in; the director will avoid putting certain pieces in front of the full choir (or any of them), the major reason being some sugarcoated ...
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Clever mnemonics for clarinet pinkies
I teach a beginner band program. I'm a brass player myself, although I can play most of the band instruments with a fair degree of success. When beginner clarinet players start to learn B/C/C#, or ...
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What letters are used for guitar chords in Ukraine?
There are Ukrainian refugees in my town and I may have the opportunity to give some guitar or ukulele lessons. Language is going to be a bit of a problem but I expect music to transcend that.
If I ...
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Should very young bassists use a German bow?
I play bass with a German bow, and teach this to my students. Recently my school aquired a 1/8-size bass. Should I get a German bow for this one, or would it be too big? Should I rather use a French 1/...
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