5 Things I am Loving This Week–January 8, 2016

This post was originally published on the Plucky Violin Teacher Blog on January 8, 2016 so links and resources may not be current.

Things have been a little rough this week.  Between sick kids and sick husband, it’s been a little crazy.  However, I’ve been feeling good and lessons this week are going great.  My students are preparing for our recital on the 19th, and they are all quite prepared.  It’s a good feeling!  I’ve been staying motivated and excited about teaching this week (despite the illness in our house) and here are five reasons why!

Five Violin Teaching Resources, Tips, and Tricks

1.  The Savvy Music Teacher by David Cutler.  This book is blowing my mind.  Whether you are in the Plucky Music Teacher Book Club or not, you need to read this book.  It is powerful.  I’m not able to sit and read for much longer than five to ten minutes (because of the babies) but after each little reading session I feel so empowered.  Not only does this book share how independent music teachers can make a decent living doing what we love, it shares why we should.  David Cutler succinctly and clearly states how important our job is (without being touchy-feely or cheesy.)  It is a must-read.

2.  This video is old, but I love it so much.  It captures the playfulness of Bach’s Gavotte from the Partita in E Major so well.  I love showing it to my students who are beginning this piece.  It’s just fabulous. Thank you, Lara St. John!

3.  I have the first group lessons of the New Year coming up tomorrow and I am so excited.  Group lessons are my favorite!  Here is the theory game we are going to play.  I found this game on Color in My Piano, and it is so great.  It’s inspired by the “Who am I?” games where you put a piece of paper on your forehead or on your back, and you have to figure out what famous person you are by asking everyone else questions.

4.  I am preparing for an audition at the end of this month I have been ramping up my practice efforts.  To be honest, I don’t know if I even want the position.  It’s just nice to have something to practice for.  I have been tracking my practice efforts in the TimeTag app.  I love this app.  It’s basically a timer, but you can tag each session with a name or category.  For example, I have tags for every one of my excerpts and concertos.  This way I can look back and see which I’ve spent the most time on, and which probably need some extra love.  I also recommend this app to my students, so they can track their own practice times.

5.  In honor of one of the first great violinists I ever saw perform, here is a video of Joseph Silverstein sharing some thoughts at the Jascha Heifetz Symposium.  I love that he explains how he comes to technical conclusions.  I could do a better job explaining why we do what we do to my students.  Farewell, Maestro Silverstein.

Thank you all so much for sharing the blog with your friends, and for following me on Facebook. I really appreciate it. You are just so awesome.

​Stay plucky!
Brecklyn

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