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At its core, Music Theory is the study of the written music notes. It is the understanding of the dots and scribbles that make up written music, and the ability to effectively translate them into sounds.

An understanding of theory really helps musicians, not because it makes them play better, but because it helps them communicate better with other muscians.

So how do you teach it? how do you get across the important parts of it, without overwhelming or boring the student?

I’ve come up with three important concepts which can help in this area.

Critical Concept #1 – Start with the sound, then the theory.

One thing that nearly all music teachers agree with is that music should start first with sound, and then move onto written understanding. In practice that means we should always introduce something with a sound, then explan why it is the way it is. For example if teaching chords it is very important for a student to understand firstly what a major or minor chord sounds like, the emotion that it is conveying and the reasons why a major or minor chord might be chosen for a particular situation. Once they can hear the sound, and its reason for being the mechanical knowledge will come.

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Critical Concept #2 – Try to understand one thing at a time  Read more...

Do you plan to become an effective teacher on the piano keyboard? If you plan to be one, ponder on this article as we are going to talk about the tips on teaching the piano. This topic is made especially for interested music teachers.

Knowing how to play different musical instruments as well as taking music as a course has seemingly become in demand, challenging and fascinating nowadays. Not mentioning science and technology and the arts, music has become well known – both a profession and passion to all musicians and music teachers all over the world. Thus, music instructors are highly determined to know new techniques, styles and methods of playing more than what they already know. Given below are helpful tips in teaching the piano that can make a teacher like you competent and effective:

Good Time Management to Control Stress

Just like other subject matters, teaching music needs effort, time and other sources. Your work doesn’t end when you go away with the music studio or classroom. You may even end up tackling your unfinished lessons at home – unchecked quizzes, worksheets and other activities you haven’t finished. This sure is a tiresome kind of job. That’s why; you need to learn on how to manage time. If you do, you will be able to eliminate, if not entirely, lessen stress. You need to be organized to your work for you to finish it in the right time. Good time management will bring you to a more flourishing and blissful teaching career.  Read more...

Music teachers surely want their students of all ages to be highly motivated – academically, physically, intellectually and psychologically; therefore, they all need unique and interactive music teaching strategies that their students will truly enjoy. In doing so, they just have to give in much time and exert effort in improving whatever teaching strategies and methods they have in teaching music. They may have a research with just a few clicks over the net – getting into various music teacher websites that offer reliable and useful music teaching tips and resources.

Basic principles of motivation that are applicable to learning music should exist in any private music studios or music classrooms. Bear in mind that when the students are motivated, they are more likely to excel in each academic task as well as to love learning music not just as their subject but also as their passion.

The environment can be used to focus the student’s attention on what needs to be learned. Music teachers who create warm and accepting atmosphere will promote persistent effort and favorable attitudes toward learning. This music teaching strategy will be successful in children and in adults. Interesting visual aids, such as booklets, posters, or audio-visual presentations, motivate learners by capturing their attention and curiosity.

Incentives motivate learning. Incentives include privileges and receiving praise from the teacher. The instructor determines an incentive that is likely to motivate an individual at a particular time. In a general learning situation, self-motivation without rewards will not succeed. Students must find satisfaction in learning based on the understanding that the goals are useful to them or based on pure enjoyment of exploring new things.  Read more...

Music teaching tips should be accurate and precise at all times. No matter how great or little they can be, they should serve their purpose of helping the recipient get the improvement and growth they truly deserve.

The earliest music was probably connected to religion according to historians. Long ago, people believed the world was controlled by a variety of gods. Keeping the gods happy was deemed very important to survival. Singing was among the first things humans did to show respect to their so-called gods.

Singing is still an important part of most religions. Buddhists, Christians, and Jews all use chants and/or songs in their religious ceremonies. The Christian Bible instructs those who love God to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord…” and other religions provide similar instructions. If you have ever sung a song – religious or otherwise – you know that singing is fun. The feeling of joy that comes from singing must also have made ancient people feel happy.

Singing was also done before with different activities. Another time people sang was when they worked. One of the best examples is the mining activity of Snow White’s seven dwarfs. Soldiers likewise sang as they marched into battle. Farmers sang one song as they planted and another when they harvested. Singing made the work less burdensome. People used the tunes to pace themselves. Sometimes, they followed instructions through songs.  Read more...

Most of us music teachers aim to offer the best services to our students and let them learn their chosen instruments in the most efficient manner. Having a good teaching strategy will not only give your students fun learning experience but it will also earn you respect in the field. Thus, I have listed some music teaching tips that will enable you to teach your students effectively.

* Target both your students’ minds and bodies – Especially if your students are still young, you must understand that they may need a combination of physical and mental exercises and activities in learning. Aside from the fun it may bring to them, the possibility of understanding and recalling the lesson you are teaching may also increase.

* Learn how to energize students during boring moments – there will always be some instances wherein you have to discuss some important topics that are somewhat uninteresting to your students. These may lead to an inattentive class or worse, a sleeping class. Being observant and flexible is important to bring back a lively discussion. Why not ask them to do some stretching or tell some old jokes. Detaching fro the lesson plan for some minutes is better that to teach a daydreaming class.

* Provide your students with the best facilities – this is not one of my music teaching tips but rather it is your key to attract more clients and students. If your students learn and practice their instruments comfortably, you may not need to explain some lessons further. Your students may have greater determination and urge to learn any lesson.  Read more...