I have this running to-do list on my iPhone and at the veeeery bottom of it..

MAKE ASSIGNMENT SHEET.

(It's been there for awhile....)

Now it's done. I got tired of drawing weekly practice boxes now that we award points for practice in our new incentive program for piano students.   

The first assignment sheet I made contained typical items like "Assignments", "Practice time", and "Questions/Notes for Teacher". I don't remember what sparked this but I went through and changed everything to start with "I" because I wanted the students to take ownership of their assignments & accomplishments. 

Plus, I just think it's more fun & personable for students to fill this out than...."Assignments". 

Also notice the word "work" in the assignment sheet ;). It ain't all rainbows and ponies honey. There's a reason for everything on this assignment sheet!

So what are all the different parts of the assignment sheet and the thinking that went behind all of it?

Is your son ready to start piano lessons? He’s shown interest in music, he’s exploring the piano/keyboard at home, he’s got friends taking piano lessons and you want to find a piano teacher for him.

Here it is, #1 mistake parents make choosing their children’s first piano teacher: play well = teach well.

It’s so easy to make this mistake I used to think the same thing. Here was my checklist for why I’d be a great piano teacher back in college:

Not so fast young grasshopper. The graduate program in piano pedagogy opened my eyes to just how much there is to teaching piano. 

First order of business, just wanted to wish all the mothers, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Our family is meeting up with my brother and his wife near where they live to eat dinner together and celebrate :)

So in a previous post, I've written about why piano is the best instrument to begin music studies and private lessons with.

You can learn about the different reasons here: Best First Instrument.

Here's a different perspective! A guest post from Joseph Primavera, a guitar teacher and performer in Philadelphia. He brings insight and expertise on the guitar that I don't have and make comparisons between piano and guitar that I've never even thought of; he also points out things about the piano that I've just taken for granted. 

Back in 1996, when my family first moved from Taiwan to California, I didn't speak much English. Despite the language barrier, I made a lot of friends through basketball. 

In fact, I had dreams of playing in the NBA--until I found out the growth spurt I had in sixth grade was going to be my last. HAHA. 

As part of my initial interview with students or just during lessons I like to find out about my student's hobbies. Knowing what they like to do helps me think of different analogies that put musical and pianistic concepts into more familiar and tangible terms for them. 

For my students who are into basketball, I often point them to these two videos about practice as I'm very into efficient and effective practice habits. 

What better way for a student to learn how to practice than to watch the two greatest shooters in the history of NBA practice shooting?