Welcome to Music Teachers Insightful Practices (MTIPS) Newsletter!
Written and Published by Nicholas Ambrosino
http://www.musicsimplymusic.com
e-mail: director@musicsimplymusic.com

October 5, 2000

Table of Contents:

1. MTIPS Theme
2. Welcome Notes - (Shameless Marketing!)
3. MTIPS Development
4. Notable Birthdays
5. FREE SPECIAL OFFER to MTIPS Subscribers!

1. MTIPS Theme

Feelings motivate behavior. Recognize the feeling behind the undesirable behavior, provide a way to achieve the desirable behavior and watch your students grow beyond your wildest expectations!

2. Welcome Notes

Welcome to Music Teachers Insightful Practices (MTIPS) Newsletter!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I am excited to announce that MTIPS has just reach its 2000 goal of 200+ subscribers. Welcome to all! And a special "thank you" to all my colleagues and friends who have passed MTIPS onto their friends and colleagues. I consider it an honor that you find MTIPS valuable enough to pass it on. Thanks you for assisting me in reaching my goal... 3 months early!

Shameless Marketing Plug: If you know a music teacher, or a college music student or the parent of a college music student (get the idea?!) who would benefit by subscribing to MTIPS, please forward them this copy and if they choose, they can click on the link below to become a monthly subscriber.

http://www.musicsimplymusic.com/newsletters.htm

MTIPS is a FREE monthly newsletter that's goal is to provide piano teachers (hopefully you!) with insightful practices that will make the career of sharing music with soon-to-be-musicians a more rewarding and successful one. Please let me know how I can be of further service to you. You may contact me at: nickambrosino@musicsimplymusic.com.

Be sure to check our web site at: http://www.musicsimplymusic.com.
We have lots of information, and resources you can use. We're constantly adding and up-dating, so check it often!

3. MTIPS Development

"Oh, I can't do this!" "This is too hard." "This song is boring." Sound familiar? I am certain that if you have worked with young students, you have heard the exclamations above, perhaps even on a weekly basis. Yet, while the statements may change, the feeling that motivates them is the same...frustration.

Unfortunately, somewhere along our paths of education, we have all experienced frustration as an obstacle to achieving our goals. Be it nurture or nature, it does not matter, the monster of frustration will show its ugly face somewhere in our students' studies. As their teachers, it is our job to provide them with ideas to assist them in clearing this unavoidable hurdle.

First and foremost is assisting your student in recognizing the feeling. Thomas Gordan, in his book "Teacher Effectiveness Training" calls it active listening. "You sound really frustrated to me." "What about the piece seems too hard to you?"

Allow the student to show you the specific part, rhythm, note, or fingering that is frustrating him. The more specific you can be the better you will be able to assist him. If a student is not able to focus in on a specific spot, offer him choices. "Is it the right hand or the left?" "Is it the note names or the rhythm?" "Is it the tempo?"

After recognizing the students feeling of frustration, and getting specific about what is causing it, offer him some options. "It's pretty frustrating when you try something over and over and you still don't get it. Isn't it?" "Well the best way I can help you is if, in the future, you simply tell me that you are feeling frustrated." "Would that be ok with you?"

Next, ask him if he wants you to share some ideas on how to accomplish the challenge without feeling frustrated. Or, would he rather put the piece aside for another time? Then, Respect His Wishes! Often, I have seen teachers ask a student what he wants to do and then spend 5-10 minutes proving that the student's choice is wrong. A person's choice is never wrong, at least not from their perspective. Regardless of age, our innate guiding mechanisms are always right. Allow the learner to learn at his own pace. If necessary, abandon the piece, and find a new piece that allows him to feel confident with his ability once again. And then, with the student's permission, return to the challenging piece at a later date.

Connect with your students through their feelings. Feelings motivate behavior. Recognize the feeling behind the undesirable behavior, provide a way to achieve the desirable behavior and watch your students grow beyond your wildest expectations!

4. Notable Quotables

One of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone is the gift of attention. Don't operate on the heart with a hatchet.
Taken from Vitamins for the Mind by Jim Rohn.
http://www.jimrohn.com

5. Notable Birthdays

Niccolo Paganini 10/17
Camille Saint-Saens 10/9
Johann Strauss, Jr. 10/25

6. FREE SPECIAL OFFER!

Few people know how to set appropriate goals and even fewer know how to teach students how to set and achieve their goals.

Last year, in response to teaching many of my students the proper way to set and achieve goals, I created an audio tape describing a goal setting process I designed called STEDS. The tape was short (a little over 15 minutes - today's young people like it short and to the point!) yet, I have witnessed many of my students, as well as the students of many colleagues, achieve great strides in short periods of time by consistent application of the STEDS process.

If you would like copies for you students, I just request that you cover my mailing materials and postage. (This comes to a nominal $5 US charge per tape) I would be happy to share the process and answer any questions via email or phone for those who order the cassette.

To order, just call 631-863-2354ext 62. Or send an email with a credit card number to STEDS@musicsimplymusic.com.

Copyright © 2000 Nicholas Ambrosino. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute MTIPS so long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the author is attached. The author of this article is Nicholas Ambrosino and he may be contacted at:

http://www.musicsimplymusic.com
director@musicsimplymusic.com

To subscribe/unsubscribe, send an email to: Mtips-list@musicsimplymusic.com With either words "subscribe MTIPS" or the words "unsubscribe MTIPS" in the body of the email.

"We enjoy what we do, and so will you!"
phone: 631-863-2354     fax: 631-471-8311

Click here to return to MTIPS archive page