Category Archives: Experiences and Stories

7 Tips for saving Money on Music!

Posted on May 12, 2017 by Lady Fair

Hello everyone! Check out this post for some excellent tips on saving money on sheet music. Some things I do personally: Only buy copies of books you know you will use frequently. For me, this is usually the primer level … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching Private Lessons, Tips and Tricks | Tagged copy, lesson, money, music, piano, save, sheet, teacher, teachers, tips, voice | Leave a comment

What do I give my music teacher: Holiday Gift Giving Guide for Music Teachers

Posted on December 13, 2016 by Lady Fair

Hi all! It’s that time of year when we ask ourselves, “What can we give to our music teacher to show our appreciation without breaking the bank or giving them something that they may not like?” I have not taught … Continue reading →

Posted in Informational, Positive, Uncategorized | Tagged candles, Christmas, gift, gift card, hannukah, holida, holiday, music, present, starbucks, teacher, what, what do i give my teacher | Leave a comment

Don’t Do That! (Try This Instead!)

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Lady Fair

By Dr. Matthew McCutcheon This is a list of common pitfalls that many school ensemble directors unknowingly fall into. While directed more toward wind ensembles, these can be applied just as easily to chorus or strings. The basic concepts are … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching Band, Teaching Chorus, Teaching Orchestra, Tips and Tricks | Tagged bad habits, band, chorus, conduct, direct, directions, do, don't, ensemble, habits, help, high school, how-to, listen, mccutcheon, middle school, music, orchestra, pitfalls, practice, school, teach, tips | Leave a comment

12 Quiet Rituals of Successful People

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Lady Fair

We all look for that quick fix that will help us to be successful, and most of the time those “miracle pills” and instant successes leave us feeling like we’ve just run around in circles and accomplished nothing. While there … Continue reading →

Posted in Tips and Tricks | Tagged ?, advice, article, can, career, choose, color, finance, how-to, intuition, jobs, journal, lesson, marc and angel, mindful, music, pick, positive, romance, romantic, routines, steve, success, teacher, tips, wisdom | Leave a comment

Handling Make-Up Work

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Lady Fair

We all have had that student, the one who misses class and then does not get the make-up work. He doesn’t ask for the work, he forgets what day he missed, or he whines to you that he needs the … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Management, Tips and Tricks | Tagged back, collect, hand, help, homework, how to hand out makeup work to students, idea, make-up, makeup, pass out, process, students, tip, turn in, work | Leave a comment

Orchestral Strings Tips or “Bag of Tricks”

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Lady Fair

Some brief tips that I have learned in teaching orchestral strings classes. This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but it is a start. Please add your own comments and I will add them to the list. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Practice Techniques, Teaching Orchestra, Tips and Tricks | Tagged bass, beginning, bow, cello, class, double, ed, education, elementary, French, German, hair, help, hold, ideas, middle school, music, orchestra, posture, room, Russian, shadow, string, strings, suggestions, teach, tip, tips, upright, viola, violin, wrist | Leave a comment

Article: Saving the Private Teacher’s Energy

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Lady Fair

Article: Saving the Private Teacher’s Energy An article written by David L. Jones, a professional voice instructor in New York. He writes many helpful articles and I have learned a lot from reading the information on his website http://www.voiceteacher.com I … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Teaching Private Lessons, Tips and Tricks | Tagged david jones, David L. Jones, energy, Jones, lessons, Matt, McCutchen, music, new york, NY, piano, private, save, studio, teacher, voice, voice teacher | Leave a comment

Bad-a** Light-flippers !@#$%^&*

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Lady Fair

In my adventures of subbing for music classes I have come across a couple of classes with students who seem to think that flipping off the lights at the end of class somehow makes them hard core rebellious children. My … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Management, Experiences and Stories, Humor | Tagged classroom, discipline, ink, lights, management, music, students, tape | Leave a comment

Love and Logic Solution: Turn Your Word into Gold

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Lady Fair

Found this on the facebook page “Teachers with a Sense of Humor.” Not sure yet if there is more to this “Love and Logic” program, but I’m going to try to find out. Thought this was a good way of … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Management, Tips and Tricks | Tagged band, children, class, classroom, classroom management, education, Elementary Music, expect, expectations, humor, kindergarten, lesson, love and logic, middle school, music, pencil, quiet, respect, solution, students, talking, teacher, teaching | Leave a comment

Not a Sub

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Lady Fair

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Management, Tips and Tricks | Tagged care, guest, guest musician, music, musician, perform, respect, sub, substitute | Leave a comment