... bringing the joy of music to students and their teachers
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You've enjoyed reading these books and appreciate how they've recharged your studio and performing. Now share the inspiration with your friends this holiday season!
Buy the books for a friend, a deserving student or your own child. Or put them on your own wish list! Order now
for free shipping and special discounts.  | | Don't miss out! Order before December 31 to receive free shipping on all books plus special holiday discounts. |
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| The Funnies |
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Knock Knock
Who's There?
Knock Knock
Who's There?
Knock Knock
Who's There?
Knock Knock
Who's There?
Philip Glass
What do a violin and a lawsuit have in common?
Everyone is glad when the case is closed!
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Greetings!,
Music gets cut from the schools to make way for the "important core subjects." People wonder why you don't have a "real" job. Parents don't want their children to end up "just being a musician." Ever wonder why we may sometimes doubt the importance of music and what we do? For me, music has made the good times better and helped me through the tough times. I'm sure you all have your own stories about how it has shaped your lives. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to appreciate how lucky we are to have music in our lives. Thank you for making the world a better place through your performing and your teaching. And, of course, I don't have all the answers, so I'd love to hear your ideas too. This newsletter is for all instrumentalists and singers but, flutists, there will be a special article in every issue just for you.
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What Keeps Me Inspired
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I found this speech so moving that I copied it for all of my students and their parents. The True Meaning of Music: Excerpts from Dr. Karl Paulnack's welcome address at the Boston Conservatory. "One of my parents' deepest fear, I suspect, is that society would not properly value me as a musician, that I wouldn't be appreciated... I was good in science and math, and they imagined that as a doctor or research chemist or an engineer, I might be more appreciated than I would be as a musician. I still remember my mother's remark when I announced my decision to apply to music school. She said, "You're wasting your SAT scores!" Dr. Paulnack tells riveting stories about the power of music in Nazi camps, in the aftermath of 9/11, and a tear-jerker about playing for a World War II pilot. He concludes: "I'm not an entertainer. I'm closer to a paramedic. I expect you to not only master music; I expect you to save the planet. If we were in medical school, and you were here as a med student practicing appendectomies, you'd take your work seriously because you would imagine that some night at 2 AM someone is going to waltz into your emergency room and you're going to have to save a life. Well, my friends, someday at 8 PM someone is going to walk into your concert hall and bring you a mind that is confused, a heart that is overwhelmed, a soul that is weary. Whether they go out whole will depend partly on how well you do your craft." Read the whole speech.
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Make Learning Fun with Composer Cupcakes
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 | | Celebrate Music History! |
Celebrate composers' birthdays by bringing cupcakes into the lesson.
Sing "Happy Birthday, Dear Ludwig" or "Happy Birthday, Dear Wolfie" then let the student blow out the candle.
While the student eats the cupcake, put on a CD, talk about the composer and end with the student playing one of the composer's pieces.
Your students are sure to love Beethoven and Mozart after a lesson like this!
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| How Watermelons and Pizzas Can Teach Rhythm | | 
Use words to teach beginners rhythm and to help advanced students check for evenness.
Try these:
- quarter note = "pie" or "Ta"
- 2 eighth notes = "apple," "pumpkin" or "Te Te"
- triplet = "pineapple", "chocolate" or "tri-pl-et"
- 4 sixteenth notes = "watermelon" or "huckleberry"
- dotted eighth and sixteenth = "pizza"
And my favorite, devised by my student Luke who is allergic to EVERYTHING....
- dotted quarter, eighth, quarter = "glu-ten free"
Learn more rhythm words and songs incorporating them in
String Rhythms, by Sally O'Reilly -- a great book for all instruments (comes in treble, alto and bass clef.)
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| What My Messy Kitchen and My Mother-in law Taught Me About Practice | |
 | | Where do you begin? |
A few years ago my mother-in-law stayed with us for a week. One day, she stood in the middle of the kitchen and exclaimed, "I'd really like to help you clean this up, but I have no idea where to start!"
After my initial defensive reaction of, "I thought it was pretty clean," I wondered, "Isn't it obvious what you should do?"
Then it struck me that this is how our students feel about practice.
Just as my mother-in-law "didn't know where to start," our students don't either if you just send them home to practice but don't tell them how to practice. Here's a step-by-step practice plan for beginners that will get them going from the first lessons.
In the following newsletters I'll give you more practice tips to give your students direction and get them out of the practice room faster.
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Flute Flash: Kissing
| |  Teach beginners to blow across the flute and keep a steady airstream.
With the parent seated across the room, have the student blow the parent a kiss.
Kissing the fingertips forms the perfect embouchure and teaches the student to aim the air forward... and the parent loves it!
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Mailbox
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This month's mailbox features common questions I receive. You may recognize some of these problems:
Q: I've seen the covers and titles of both your books. What's the difference between them?
A: Book One, Making Music and Enriching Lives: A Guide For All Music Teachers, is written directly to the teacher, while Book Two, Making Music And Having A Blast!, speaks to students of all ages and abilities. Both books give you and your students a mentor and help you speak the same language about goals and strategies.
If your budget only allows for one book, I would suggest you start out with Book One to learn the Music For Life philosophy and teaching tricks. Book Two also has helped me so much in my studio -- when a student has a question or problem about practice, getting along with parents, wanting to quit or wanting to become a professional, and the hundreds of other questions they ask us, Book Two has all the answers!
Q: I'm going to graduate from college this year and don't know how to get started teaching. What do I do first? A: Being a private music teacher means being an entrepreneur. Step one is to create a business plan. Where? What? Who? How? do you want to teach? Answer these questions before you hang out your shingle. Q: This down economy has got me down. I'm almost at the point of giving up private teaching to get a "real job." What should I do? A: Your first step is to realize that being a music teacher IS a "real job." If you don't value our profession than no one else will. You must act, talk, and walk like any other professional and work harder. Teaching can be a lucrative career if you plan it right. Q: I've been teaching for thirty years and am starting to burn out. Are all jobs like this after so long? A: If you've been teaching the same way for thirty years then no wonder you are feeling unhappy. You need some new ideas-and your students do too! Q: My students come unprepared to lessons. How can I make them practice longer? A: The trick is not to make them practice longer but to make them want to practice and to give them the tools for "microwave practice" that gets them out of the practice room faster. If you see yourself in any of these questions or if you just want some new ideas to spark up your teaching, you can find detailed answers in Making Music and Enriching Lives: A Guide For All Music Teachers. There is something for everyone! |
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Upcoming Events: Speaking Engagements
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 | | Bonnie and her sister Cindy Acree, who helped her write both books |
A special thank you to all my new friends in Greenville South Carolina. You were a wonderful audience!
November 16th, 2010
Clark County Music Teachers Association
Vancouver, Washington
10:00 a.m. - noon
"Transform Your Teaching"
February 18th, 2011
MENC Northwest Division Conference
(learn more)
Bellevue, Washington
"Tips and Trick For Teaching Flute"
February 19th, 2011
MENC Northwest Division Conference
(learn more)
Bellevue, Washington
8:00 - 9:15 a.m.
"Jump Start Your Teaching"
July 25th, 2011, 1:30 p.m.
World Harp Congress
Vancouver B.C.
Learn More
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If you've found this newsletter fun and helpful, please forward it to your friends, teachers and colleagues. I'd love to hear your comments and any ideas or suggestions you might have about content; we can always learn from each other. I promise more tips, tricks and stories in the coming months. And don't forget to check out my cool new website.
Sincerely, Bonnie Blanchard
bonnieblanchard.com
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