A new adventure....

I hear a lot from people around this time of year reflecting back on how fast time flies.  I'm a staunch denier of time passing faster toward the end of the year, as we get older, etc.  Time goes the same rate throughout our lives, it only feels like it is speeding up or slowing down depending on what we are doing.  At least this is what I keep telling myself.  (Tee hee!)

Within the past couple months, I have gone through some big changes, in both my personal and  professional life (the latter being all good changes).  I have had about 6 or 7 new students sign up for piano lessons, and have gotten closer to plans toward expanding my piano teaching business to the point where I can hire teachers.  In addition, I have gotten hired onto one very interesting and involved composing project that I am excited about called The Elements Club http://www.kysrealm.com/.   I've also gotten great news about future potential projects with people whom I've collaborated with in the past.  So all good things.

Another thing I am doing that is completely new to me, is signing up with the IronTeam which is a part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training.  Team In Training participants work toward fundraising and training in various endurance sporting events to support cancer research, provide patient services for those fighting Leukemia, Lymphoma and other blood diseases, as well as support their families while their loved ones are undergoing treatment.  I am going to be the Vineman Ironman next year in July.  Yes, a whole Ironman.  Any of you that may have read this blog in the past know that I am a runner and that I often compare the time and commitment required in endurance athletics (well, any sport really) with that required to excel at music.  So now I am embarking on what I think will be an incredible journey, training and fundraising alongside some really amazing people (several of them I've already met and gotten to know a bit) as I prepare for the mother of all triathlons.  A full Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and 26.2 miles of running.  Yes, that's right, a full marathon.  It's a big undertaking.  

And here is where I can tie it into piano (of course you knew this was coming, right?).  Learning any instrument requires a great commitment of time, effort, grit and heart.  There are times when you might sit down to practice, and nothing comes out right, the notes are confusing, you can't get your fingers to play the rhythms correctly.....you know what vexes you the most.  Going back to the topic of my Ironman training and fundraising efforts for the LLS, I know there are going to be times that I will be tired, frustrated, unmotivated and feel like throwing in the towel.  But it will be important to remember my end goals, as I do with piano, and through this, I will be able to keep myself going till the race comes, raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society so that they can keep doing the great work that they do. 

Something else new I'm just trying for fun-- I decided to learn every song from "A Charlie Brown Christmas," here is the picture of my brand new shiny book.  Enjoy!

One final note, anyone that would like to donate to my fundraising campaign can do so here.  I would be very much appreciative, and it is tax-deductible!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/VineFIrn13/mbezzeride

It's that time again!

While it is still blazing hot in Los Angeles (actually it's finally cooling off a bit, but it has been quite the scorcher the past few weeks), September is also the marker for the end of Summer and the beginning of Fall.  Which means, of course, back to school!  Maybe not for many of us, having bid adieu to our school days, but for many kids across the city, this is the month when the lazy days of summer are becoming a distant memory, and the new and exciting opportunities await as they embark on a new grade, get acquainted with a new classroom, new teachers and crack open some books exploring new subjects.  This is also the time when people begin to sign up for various extracurricular activities, or continue on with the ones that they may have taken a break with over the summer.  This is of course, a prime time for starting up piano lessons!  And this is where someone like me comes into the picture.  As a piano teacher with a large student roster, I believe I can offer some great advice on what to look for in a teacher based on my experience, and my understanding of the LA lifestyle and interests of kids (and the expectations of parents!)

First of all, I would like to mention that I have a few spots left in my schedule and would be happy to speak with anyone interested in trying out a trial lesson to see if we're a fit.  You can check me out on Yelp.com and look under "Piano Teacher Girl" to see some great reviews from past and current students.

Now that my shameless self-promotion is out of the way, here is some of my advice on picking a piano teacher for your child (or yourself!) 

The first thing is to figure out what your and your child's goals are for taking lessons.  Do you just want your child to learn the basics of playing so that they can have some fun while learning?  Or do you want your child to gain a fair amount of skills so that they can become very adept at playing in a few years?  Are you just looking for another activity to see if it fits, or do you think they have demonstrated some musical talent already and you are interested in seeing how far lessons can take nurture this talent?  Some parents are just interested in having their kid do an activity to broaden their horizons, and maybe gain some useful skills along the way.  Some parents are interested in honing their child's talent and really want their musical abilities to blossom for the long haul.  Both of these are completely valid, and it doesn't really matter what camp you fall into.  The important thing is getting a sense of what kind of experience you want for your child, and finding a teacher that you believe would be a good fit for him or her to achieve these goals. 

Once you figure out what your expectations are, you will have a better sense of what type of teacher would be a good fit.  A teacher that tends to be rigid and have a set way or methodology of teaching may be good for a more advanced student who is goal-oriented and believes a structured approach will help him or her advance further.  I believe an advanced student would be more willing to adjust their learning habits and practice skills for a teacher if they believe the teacher's vision and methods will get them toward a better playing field (pun intended).  But for beginning students, sometimes this rigid and structured approach is not going to work.  Young kids (and even just elementary-aged students) have a lot of activities going on and have a very diverse set of personalities, so one method of instruction may not be very effective.  A teacher with a more "organic" and "holistic" approach (sorry if that sounds new-agey and from a natural foods grocery market) will be better suited to most beginning students as they will take into consideration the complexities of teaching young children something that is inherently abstract, and breaking it down into manageable bits of information.  This is why its usually better to find a teacher that doesn't ascribe to a particular methodology or structured way of teaching.  This is not to say you should pick a teacher that seems to have no approach, because that, ultimately, is not going to work either.  Like many things in life, there is a balancing act for everything good.

Finally, once you have figured out what your expectations are, and you try out a few teachers to find a good fit (most teachers will offer a first free lesson so there's no commitment), it is now time to start taking lessons and practicing, following the teacher's advice and guidelines, and start enjoying and learning piano!  This may seem easier said than done, but it really can be if you do a bit of research, speak with a teacher on the phone, meet them in person, and see how they click with your student.  A good indicator of how they will be is also their emailing behavior.  I am a big proponent of proper email communication, and I always take the time for my 'please' and 'thank you's' as I believe that is a great way to start off any communication right.

Good luck with your piano teacher search, and for any specific questions, please feel free to contact me!

Marianthe Bezzerides, Head Teacher/Owner of Piano Teacher Girl
hello@pianoteachergirl.com
www.pianoteachergirl.com

Back to School time!

I am not a big clothing shopper, so I don't frequently find myself in stores.  But I have to say, the moment when I start to see fall fashions overtake summer clothes while its still 85 degrees outside, is always unsettling to me.  I have always loved summer more than any season, probably from having grown up in a state where there actually are seasons, and from fall to spring just feels cold and well, cold.  But the one nice thing about school starting up again, is that its the time when a) I start to get more phone calls for lessons and b) Its time to start up new ideas with my lessons, whether it may be a new set of songs to teach, or for the young beginners, some new game ideas.  But don't take my word for it, maybe you should see for yourself!  I'm running a daily deal right now through YP.com, for only 4 more days!  Take advantage and get back into the fall swing of things with me!

Click here for Piano Teacher Girl's Daily Deal!!! Purchase before September 7th!

We Are Young Tutorial!

Hey all,

This is a quick post...(I know my posts are kindof longish- working on that!)

I am teaching one of my students the song "We Are Young," which I know is quite popular right now.  I'm teaching him from the sheet music, but we first starting out listening to the original song and seeing if he could pick out the notes by ear.  It's a hard skill to learn, so thankfully there are people who do these tutorials for all types of songs.  Enjoy!

"We Are Young" Piano Tutorial

Marianthe
Piano Teacher Girl

And with that, we look to Rio 2016!

As many of you know, the Olympics came to a close this Sunday.  I was able to catch some of the Olympic events, unfortunately not everything that I'm interested in, but that's the way it goes sometimes.  I did get to see the entire Trampoline competition, which was really awesome.  The truth is, I don't even own a TV, so unless I was visiting a friend that had a TV or was in a bar, I couldn't really catch much of the coverage.  But anyways, sad sob story for my lack of a TV aside (I only miss it SOMETIMES, like when there's a show on that I like, or every night when the Daily Show and the Colbert Report are on - *sigh*) the Olympics still made me think a lot about my own experience growing up with sports and music lessons.

I have a few students who are very involved with multiple activities.  At certain ages, this seems to be more common for obvious reasons, i.e. kids start to get more coordinated as they get older, and obviously gain more interests in things.  When I was growing up, I don't recall that there was quite the same emphasis placed on multiple concurrent athletic activities.  I wanted to swim because my older brother swam, but that really was the only sport I could focus on at one time because it required every day practice.  Correction, I believe I begged my parents to let me swim, seeing how much of a seemingly fun involvement my brother had with his team.  Sadly, I didn't quite click with the girls on the team (maybe because I was a really shy dorky girl? I don't really know) so my experience being on a team didn't quite match my brother's.  I did join the cross country team in high school, and that seemed to be the place for me, where many of my friends were already involved, and it was exactly the type of experience I was trying to get when I was a swimmer, but was always lacking.

My point (yes, there's a point!) is that while I watched the Olympics, it made me think about the choices people make as to what to focus on intently in life.  It seems that many of my students are spread thin with school, various sports, sometimes another instrument, and my piano lessons on top of it all.  Sometimes I feel guilty piling on an activity during the week, because maybe piano just isn't really a priority.  But if there is something that you want to be good at, it needs to be a priority.  Once any of the Olympic athletes showed any prowess and interest in an activity, that became their passion and their priority in life, and many other things probably had to fall by the way side.  Not because other activities are less important, but because one needs to decide whether they want to be a Jack-of-all-trades and a Master-of-none, or an aspiring Olympic athlete, aspiring concert pianist, or an aspiring [insert one activity] ....... something.

I imagine this is how my parents thought, that maybe it would be best to focus on piano because that's what I showed the best promise in, while I had to beg to be put into swimming, something that I was ok in but would never be great.  Or maybe it's because I grew up in small town of 17,000 and one activity was really all you could get.  I'm writing this while smiling because, it all works out in the end.  Michael Phelps gets to be Michael Phelps, and Gustavo Dudamel gets to be "the dude".....and they'll never have to compete with each other because they only wanted to be the best at their one thing, their passion.  Now all I have to do is explain that to a 9-year old.....

Another tip!

In general, I wouldn't consider myself a super affectionate person.  I'm not cold, but I definitely refrain from being overly huggy and touchy with people, even with friends that I've known for years.  Guess that's just one of my quirks!  For the longest time, I also refrained from being even remotely affectionate with my students....it's just not my thing.  But having taught young kids for several years, I've learned a couple things.  One, little kids are rather friendly and affectionate naturally.  Two, I've come to realize, especially with little boy students, a simple touch on the back can help to reel them back into what's going on in the lesson.  It seems like as adults, we've lost the permission to do this, because we've been trained in other ways to maintain attention for our conversations, work, and tasks.  But this is a whole other topic altogether.  From these observations, I've learned that being a bit physically engaged with a student can be very helpful.  For one, oftentimes if I'm trying to explain how a student should place their fingers on the keys, sometimes explaining is not enough.  It's best to just help their little hands out and place their fingers where they need to be.  And two, engaging in this type connection can also help in another way.  For example, when a student has a tough time feeling the tempo (which happens a lot, tempo and rhythm might be the hardest things for students to feel innately), I have noticed that this technique can really help their understanding how to play in tempo.  For one student who understands rhythm, but sometimes has a tough time feeling it, I tried tapping her shoulder while she was playing.  I had tried other things before that but thought that since rhythm and tempo is something that we feel more than think about, it would make sense to communicate the tempo in a way that her body could feel versus having it explained verbally to her.  Well, after tapping the tempo on her shoulder while playing a piece, she made a huge improvement in understanding how to play according to the beat I was giving her.  I told her dad about the technique and suggested he could also try it, and the following week he told me that it worked when he tried it as well.  This just goes to show, sometimes its a good idea to break out of one's box and not be afraid to try new things, as well as get that human connection back....sometimes it yields great results!  Happy Piano-ing!

Running and Piano Have a Lot in Common

I see many parallels in sports and exercise with learning an instrument. Lots of people can probably see them, but no matter, I’m writing about it right now from my perspective. It’s very easy to rationalize and talk one’s self out of doing something that is not immediately gratifying. On the flip side, it’s very difficult to talk one’s self out of doing something immediately gratifying, such as eating a big ice cream cone, or hitting the snooze button an extra five times.

When it comes to exercising, and in my case, I’ll discuss running, because I’m a pretty diligent runner, it’s very easy to convince myself to go out for a run later in the day than would make sense, or bargain and negotiate with myself about skipping it altogether. After all, there is always tomorrow to run. When it comes to practicing an instrument, the same scenario can apply. It’s easy to put it off, skip it altogether, and justify not practicing one day by saying “oh, I’ll make up for the missed time by practicing more tomorrow.” The fact of the matter is, regardless of whether there is always going to be a tomorrow, today is now, and today is what we should be concerning ourselves with. Tomorrow is when we reap the rewards of not giving into the temptation of skipping today. But there will be no tomorrow if we skip today.

When I get to this type of thinking, I remember that what is important is putting in consistent time on a regular basis into the things that aren’t immediately gratifying, but yield the greatest rewards. Because today’s chocolate cake will be quickly forgotten, and that extra 10 minutes of sleep will be water under the bridge, but today’s run and today’s time spent at the piano will be remembered and built upon today and every day after. With that thought in mind, I’m able to tie my running shoes or set the timer on the piano….and build on tomorrow’s satisfaction…..today.