A couple weeks ago, I shared a post on Teaching SMART Goals. Shortly after I published that post, I realized that I really wanted to do an official music teacher tip on this subject. In this tip on teaching SMART goals, I go through what the acronym S.M.A.R.T. means...
Using Music Lab Task Cards in Tonara (now PracticeSpace)
*UPDATE! Tonara is no longer available. I now use PracticeSpace which is very similar to Tonara but has even more features you will enjoy! Save 50% your first two months after the free trial when you use the code: foxx50. Check out PracticeSpace here. (affiliate link)...
Jukebox Journey; A Practice Incentive Program
Are you ready to have your students travel back in time? Jukebox Journey is our newest practice incentive program. As students practice, they will travel back in time, exploring the roaring 20’s all the way to a sneak peak into the future. "Great job, Jennifer, and...
Behind the Scenes of Organizing My Online Studio Summer Program
In a normal summer my students would choose between attending an in person camp workshop or a practice packet which included recorded video lessons or for an extra fee they could do both. But as you know, with COVID-19, this isn't a normal summer... I knew many of my...
Free Independent Music Activities for Students
With so many teachers transitioning their students to online or video lessons right now, I wanted to share some of my free music activity resources that work perfectly for students to use at home. These are all resources that can easily be done independently. If...
Keep Calm and Teach On
This is the time of year where sickness is bound to happen. Colds, the flu, strep throat… these are all things we don’t want to bring into our studio. Add to the fact, a big concern right now being the coronavirus. Teachers have been sharing that they are starting to...
Mid-Year Practice Boost
The holidays have come and gone and the school year is now half over, winter blues may even be setting in which means it's time for a mid-year practice boost! Last year, I mentioned that I did a spring semester kickoff for the first time. A semester kickoff is the...
Strive for 5! (Music Teacher Tip #23)
Strive for 5 is something I started last year (2018) with my students to boost practice slumps. You can read the original post here, but I wanted to share a little bit more in depth about Strive for 5 and share what I did last year in comparison to what I am doing...
The Importance of Listening
One of the most important skills a student must have when practicing is to be able to listen. Have you ever had a student that can play through a piece and it sounds completely off? They might be playing in the wrong key, or wrong position or just missing all the...
ASMTA Conference Sessions: Tradition and Innovation Part 1
I just returned from our state conference in Flagstaff, AZ. If you are not familiar with northern AZ, it's where the rest of the state goes to visit when it's too hot. Arizona is quite an amazing state because you can go from 115 degree weather in the middle of the...