Communication tips and tricks for “school aged” students:
Communication with the student and parent is so important to keep everyone in the loop about progress. Parents want to feel informed about their child’s musical journey. I notice progress and overall happiness is improved when there’s open communication between the teacher and parent. We are a team with the student and the parent to help make our student successful, so fostering open communication is essential. Here are some of my favorite tips and tricks:
Check ins after the lesson. Briefly let the parent know the main concept of the lesson, what went well and what the student should focus on in practice.
Invite the parent in often. Even if the parent routinely sits in the hallway or car, it’s good to let them know the invitation still stands to sit in. :) Even if they want to come in for the last 5 minutes, this is helpful.
Send a quick email. If you don’t see the parent very often, or if you’re feeling rushed between lessons, sending a quick email is a great way just to touch base and make sure they don’t have any questions.
Explain your process. Many parents don’t have a musical background and the process of learning music is foreign. Explaining your process helps to increase parent’s confidence in our teaching and it assures them that there is a “method to the madness”. Ex 1.) I haven’t moved your student onto the next song yet because I need them to master the rhythm and the bowing before moving on. These are the ways we’ve been working to master these skill ________ Ex 2.) We are reviewing this song this week because I was seeing a little bit of difficulty with staccatos, by reviewing, we are strengthening her staccatos so we will be better prepared for the next song.
Suspect that your student isn’t listening to their song? Email the parent a link. :) This is a great way to remind them to listen and then they don’t even have to go looking for a recording.
Catching issues early. Is something going downhill? Is practicing starting to slack? Is the student starting to get bored? Behavior issues cropping up? Communicate this to parents early. When we catch issues early, usually we can re-route. I always strive to catch an issue BEFORE the parent brings it to our attention. I am always happy to help you construct an email. Respectfully bringing issues to parents attention is absolutely crucial. I have some email formats to help.
Encourage the student to have “ownership” in what they are doing. It’s their musical journey.
Communication tips and tricks for adult students:
With our adult students, having open communication is still crucial for their success.
Ask questions. “How is practice going?” “Are there any frustrations?” “Are you enjoying what you are working on?” “Are you getting bored of what we are working on?” “Are you enjoying the process?” “How can I help you enjoy the process more?”
Many times with adult students if they are getting bored on what they are working on I “re-route”. I find songs that are working on the same technique. This keeps them going, but makes sure that the foundation is still being strengthened and we aren’t moving too fast over crucial skills.
Email them once in a while. If you see a video, article etc. that works on the song they are doing or a topic that would interest them, send it over.
Talk about your own personal musical journey with your adult students. Being able to relate to them helps make them feel heard.
Explain your process. “This exercise is going to develop your up bow staccato and so it will be so helpful when you start______” “I know that we keep going over your dotted rhythms, but I just want you to be super confident on them before moving on, our rhythms are going to get more complex and so having a strong understanding is only going to help you”
Encourage communication “Please continue to keep me posted with your comfort level on up bow staccato” “I’m really hoping you enjoy this piece, I love this piece. Let me know what you think after you’ve had a week to look at it”