Welcome to Music Teachers Insightful Practices (MTIPS) Newsletter!
Written and Published by Nicholas Ambrosino
www.musicsimplymusic.com
director@musicsimplymusic.com

October 5, 2004

Table of Contents:

1. MTIPS Theme
2. Welcome Notes
3. MTIPS Development
4. Notable Quotables

MTIPS is sent only to those who have requested it.
To Subscribe, please send an email to mtips@aweber.com with the word “subscribe” in the subject line of the email. Or go to http://www.musicsimplymusic.com/newsletters.htm

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1. MTIPS Theme


Think about it, one small adjustment in your teaching, even once a month, will be twelve adjustments in a year! One adjustment today will make an exponential difference in the impact you have with your students over the next year.


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2. Welcome Notes

Welcome to Music Teachers Insightful Practices (MTIPS) Newsletter!

It is a brisk beautiful autumn morning here in New York! I awoke to find the heat in my home had turned on, as the temperature outside was 47 degrees! The changing of the seasons is always a marker for me. A marker that says all things that grow must make small “seasonal” adjustments. So guess what the theme of this edition of MTIPS will be?! That’s right, small “seasonal” adjustments. Read on to find out more!

In addition to welcoming the 13 new MTIPS subscribers as well as the 650+ MTIPS veterans, I would also like to thank the Cleveland Piano Teachers Organization for inviting me back in September to do a workshop for their group. It is always a delight to be asked to speak about my passion and it is a special honor when I am asked back! (I don’t quite know how that last sentence will be interpreted, but I meant it in the light of celebration!) This last workshop was an introduction to the “Scientific Art of Doodling at the Piano” and I enjoyed all of the collective hands on music making. Thanks for a wonderful time and your supportive feedback! SHAMELESS MARKETING PLUG: If you would like to arrange a workshop with me for your group please contact me at nick@musicsimplypmusic.com or give me a ring the old fashioned way at 631-863-2069 ext. 62. I would love the opportunity to fuel the fire of musical passion for you and your colleagues!

My goal for MTIPS is to provide you with practical tips and insights that will make your career or education in music, more fulfilling, rewarding and enjoyable. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to see a certain topic covered in an upcoming issue of MTIPS. My email address is editor@musicsimplymusic.com

And a REQUEST: If you enjoy MTIPS, please encourage your friends and colleagues to subscribe. Our growth over the years simply comes from "word of mouth." Anyone can subscribe by simply sending an email to: http://www.musicsimplymusic.com/newsletters.htm

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3. MTIPS Development

I recently started working with a nutritionist to make some adjustments to the ever-decreasing speed of my metabolism. (I’m gaining weight!) I must admit that as first I was a bit apprehensive because I dreaded counting calories or points and reading the nutritional labels of everything I consumed. I was pleasantly surprised.

The only thing she has had me do for the past week is to keep, what I like to call, an “in-take journal.” I had to write down everything I ate or drank. That small “seasonal” adjustment made all of the difference in my diet. Instead of just reaching, unconsciously, for an Oreo cookie (I can eat an entire sleeve without even blinking!) I had to first think and be aware of what I was consuming. This small adjustment has already made a exponential difference in how I feel.

Think about it, one small adjustment in your teaching, even once a month, will be twelve adjustments in a year! One adjustment today will make an exponential difference in the impact you have with your students over the next year. y will make an exponential difference in the impact you have with your students over the next year. 

How about smiling or laughing one more time in a lesson? Or perhaps you could try standing throughout the entire lesson (it makes your mind more active and acute.) Maybe you could change what you wear to the lesson. Try a different book with your student or if you are a student, a different style of music. How about, just for today, telling a student what you liked about his performance and never saying what needs to be changed? (He probably knows what it is anyway!) Start the lesson with something creative instead of scales, arpeggios, exercises and warm-ups. The small, almost unnoticeable changes that can be made are infinite! Yet their impacts can be incredible!

One of the interesting things about making small adjustments, is that when you start to see results, you are motivated to do more and more creating a snowball effect. The small adjustment starts to gain momentum and begins to gather more energy, propelling you to even greater successes!

Keep it simple (K.I.S). Just as the seasons sneak up on us, one leave falls from the tree at a time, one bud flourishes on a bush, so can the growth in our teaching lives evolve. Slowly, gently and consistently, yet with infinite impact.


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4. Notable Quotable

Question: Do you know how old I’ll be by the time I learn to play the piano? Answer: The same age you will be if you don’t.

From “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron

Copyright © 2004 Nicholas Ambrosino. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute MTIPS so long as this copyright notice and full contact information about the author is attached. The author of this issue is Nicholas Ambrosino and he may be contacted at director@musicsimplymusic.com or reached by telephone at 631-863-2069

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