“Good recovery,” someone said to me after the recital was over. I already knew I hadn’t played my best. The mistakes piled on, and each one made me play worse, like a domino effect. To have someone else acknowledge it as well didn’t help. Others gave me the generic “good job”, but that also deepenedContinue reading “How to Recover from a Bad Performance”
Tag Archives: Parent questions
How to Audition
Auditions can be scary. They are packed full of nerves, which in turn makes you do the two exact things that are counterproductive to playing music: 1) losing your sense of time, and 2) not breathing. How do you combat that? Well, you might think “duh,” play slower and breathe more. Yes, but there’s much moreContinue reading “How to Audition”
5 ways to get a student to stick with music
Which is worse? “I used to play the flute and then I quit in sixth grade. I’ve always regretted it.” or “I was forced to play the flute all throughout my childhood, and I hated it. I’ve never recovered from the psychological damage that ensued from being forced to do something I didn’t enjoy andContinue reading “5 ways to get a student to stick with music”
How You Learn
In a flute lesson with a student recently, we were working on a section of music that involved a lot of long notes tied together. At a fast tempo, it was challenging to count and stay on track simultaneously. So, we tried it a few different ways. First, she counted out loud while I playedContinue reading “How You Learn”
How I Teach
Assessing Individuals As a private teacher, I enjoy being able to approach each student as an individual. Some want to win competitions while others want to focus on learning songs they know. Balancing fun with growth, technique with musicality, and achievement with confidence are my ways to success as a teacher. I can assess eachContinue reading “How I Teach”
Elizabeth Erenberg 