I do not recall if I have mentioned this before, but I find that it’s helpful to tell the students that you are their “guest musician” rather than their “sub”. I even write my name on the board with the title of guest musician beside it. I also attempt to show my musicianship at the beginning of the class in some way, usually through performing on an instrument. This does three things: shows that you are truly a musician, exposes students to a professional playing an instrument, and will eventually give you a good reputation when you come back to those classes. I often am asked by students who know me, “Will you play Beethoven on the piano?” (The mean Fur Elise — they love that one).
And also remember, “The don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
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About Lady Fair
Lady is a musician with a bachelor's degree in music education. She plays multiple instruments and has participated in numerous musical ensembles, giving her a wide variety of experiences and knowledge to use in her teaching career. Of her ensemble participation, she has fifteen years of band experience, nine years choral, and four years in orchestra. Éowyn's primary instrument is clarinet, with voice and piano being close secondary instruments. Throughout her musical education career she studied voice and clarinet simultaneously. In addition to clarinet, piano, and voice, she has also studied violin and oboe at the college level, and also plays recorder, tin whistle, and other instruments in the woodwind family.
If you ask her, she will say, "I chose to major in music education because I have a desire to use my knowledge and experience in music to share its beauty and foster a love of music in the hearts of my students. I hope to encourage my students to try their hardest, feel like they have accomplished something, and give them a life long passion for music."
Lady currently teaches private lessons on clarinet, sax, flute, oboe, piano, and voice, and recently gained a position teaching orchestra and chorus at a local middle school. She is also a member of the Once Upon a Dream woodwind ensembles.
Adventures of a Music Teacher 