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Back to the Keyboard

Recently, I made a casual comment about going back to teaching piano lessons to Mr. Right, and his immediate response was "Yes! Please do!"  I'm going to be honest here, although I have a Bachelor's of Music in Music Therapy, I'm really intimidated by teaching lessons.  Here are my excuses:
  • I'm not the best piano player (I majored on trumpet, and minored on piano)
  • I like the freedom of having my weeks to myself - let's face it, piano lessons have to be done every week on the same days and times.
  • I'm definitely not as good at piano as many of my college classmates.
  • What do I do when I get a student farther than my own skills?
  • It's hard to attend all of my own kids afterschool activities, when I'm tied to lessons every afternoon.

So there it is, most of my excuses for not wanting to teach. On the other hand, though, we need the money AND I have degree in this!  It's my talent, why not try?

I started by offering lessons to local homeschoolers first and then just put up a post on Facebook just for my friends. In just a few days, I was able to start off with six new students!  I was surprised at how many people were interested in having their children in lessons.  There are two things that surprised me the most: 1.) a lot of moms of toddlers wanted their kids in lessons and 2.) Many adults wanted to take lessons too! 

These two things actually got me excited, because although I enjoy teaching beginners, I really love the challenge of teaching music to non-traditional age people.  After doing a lot of research online about piano lessons I was able to find a preschool program that fits my style as well as got excited about doing piano lessons a little different than what I was raised with.  The very best websites so far that I have found for piano lesson ideas are: www.teachpianotoday.com and www.susanparadis.com.  Both of these sites have great resources and ideas for piano teachers to make their lessons fun and exciting. 

So most of my list of  reasons not to teach piano were just fears and excuses.  I've been having a lot a of fun learning about my new students and their needs.  I'd almost wager to say that my lessons are more music therapy than piano lessons sometimes.  I love the challenge of finding what works best for my students, and not necessarily doing "traditional" mold piano lessons.  And most of all, I love to see my students learn to love and make music!

If you are local to the Camas Prairie and would like to learn more about my lesson schedule and Preschool Lessons, please contact me HERE.  Stay tuned for more of my exciting endeavors in getting Back to the Keyboard, too!

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