Bonnie's Blog

Hire A Professional

bonnieb — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 20:56:28 +0000

My husband and I are building a beautiful new house, and like everyone, trying to watch our budget. We hired someone who is very inexpensive to do our tile and guess what? The tile looks like it was done by someone who is very inexpensive. Some other contractors who came in at a low bid did some of our framing and when we went to paint we found crooked walls and the wrong size windows. The lesson we learned? Yes, you already know it, if you want something done right, hire a professional. The extra money you spend will be well worth it in a superior product. Cheap equals cheap.

We music teachers also offer a product. When parents are shopping around for the cheapest price, we need to remind them of this lesson. And if we ourselves try to get students by being the cheapest teacher in the area, our work will also be devalued. Do you want to be know as the teacher with high quality students or the the Walmart of music teachers? It may be fine to decide on which pizza you buy by shopping based only on price but music lessons have a life long impact and the cheapest teacher may be the reason a student quits.

I Have An Easy Job!

bonnieb — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 20:42:22 +0000

My son Kyle and I went out to a tiny Thai restaurant last week. We sat at the bar beside the stove. The cook, wearing a muscle shirt, had 6 burners going at once. He never stopped as he put spices in one dish, fresh ingredients in another, swirled the pan over the arching flames, and plated another. By the end of our quick lunch I was overheated from sitting so close to the gas flames and totally exhausted from watching him. And just yesterday I had been thinking that I work hard! Every job has its ups and downs but being a music teacher is mainly ups. All you need to do is have a menial job or watch someone in another field work their tail off to further appreciate being a music teacher!

Want to build a house? Ask a musician!

bonnieb — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 19:50:13 +0000

My husband and I are building a new house on a little lake in Seattle. Don has been an independent contractor and for the last 22 years a construction supervisor at The U of Washington. Naturally I thought he would use all his connections to find trades people to build our house. But no-
We bought our windows from my cellist friend’s neighbor. The framing was done by my opera singer friend’s brother. The lights are bought from my recording studio friend’s associate. The tile guy was a recommendation from a flute student’s mom. The landscaping is being done by my bass player friend. So really, this is the house that musicians built!

Keep Learning

bonnieb — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 19:42:07 +0000

My sister and co-author Cindy and I just returned from the Music Teachers Association of California convention. One of the most inspiring teachers we talked to was about 75 years old and wheelchair bound. But that didn’t stop this lady. She told us with enthusiasm about her thriving studio and she bought both books because as she said, “You want to always keep learning and bringing new ideas to your studio.” I wish all teachers had that same great attitude (and also bought both books!!)

Practicing- it works!

bonnieb — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 19:37:46 +0000

My student Katy Ladner transferred to me when she was in 8th grade. Her tone was bad, her technique was bad, and musicality?? I set out to “fix” her but nothing seemed to work for the whole first year. Then she attended the winner’s recital for the Seattle Flute Society Horsfall contest and heard some of my other students. Katy was transfixed. “I want to do that!” So she practiced 2-3 hours a day. Every day-even when she went on an Alaskan cruise. The next year Katy won 3rd place in the contest, the following year she was 1st, the last year she won 2nd place in the MTNA nationals and a nice scholarship to Eastman! Katy later received her Master’s degree from Rice and now, having won three auditions, will be the new 3rd flute/picc player for the Nashville Symphony!
What are the lessons learned?
1)The playing of your older students can influence and inspire your younger students so plan events where they can mingle
2) Wow. Practicing works. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” Luckily, Katy had both.
3) There are jobs out there!

Winning

bonnieb — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:06:57 +0000

My student just won 2nd place in the MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) national contest in NYC. She had a strong program: last movement Taktakishvilli sonata, last movement Reinecke sonata, and that devilishly tricky Ballade by Frank Martin. When she called to say she had won 2nd I was so surprised at the conflict in my initial reaction which was, “Not first??” The same thing happend this week when my student got 1st alternate to play a concerto with an orchestra.

Wow, just the trap I tell my students not to fall into. I’ve had a few parents who were unhappy (and very vocal) unless their child won first place and I have no time or patience for that and now I felt it in myself. But not for long. I took two deep breaths then came back to reality and am happy and proud of not only their accomplishments but that they worked so hard and play so well and love it so much. That’s what counts. I won;t forget.

Emotion in Music

bonnieb — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:00:35 +0000

I have a student playing the Khachaturian flute (violin) concerto. He is very musical with strong ideas of his own which he easily communicates. (His heart is on his sleeve.). When I asked him what feeling or image he had for the slow section he said II think it is a feeling of loss” I imagined him thinking of his mother dying or a beloved dog running away but he added, “I think of how I would feel if I lost my i-phone!”

I Love My Boss

bonnieb — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:19:14 +0000

Recently I was in a conversation with two of my friends, one who works for a major corporation and the other for a university. Both were whining about the politics of their jobs, the unnecessary busy work, and their belittling bosses. I sat there silently thinking. “I love my job- and my boss: ME!” Though being an independent entrepreneur has its drawbacks (such as my non-existent vacation pay, sick leave, and retirement plan), I thrive in an atmosphere where I get to choose what I do in my work, whom I work with, how much and when I work. Oh, and you can’t beat my commute! Besides being able to hear music and interact with wonderful people, my job as a private music teacher certainly have its perks!

Coming back to music

bonnieb — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:44:01 +0000

My younger son Kyle started cello and piano lessons when he was in second grade. He stopped cello in 9th grade (which was like a knife to my heart!) and continued piano until he graduated. Since then he has seemed more interested in video games than classical music. Now he is a senior in college and asked me if I would pay for him to take piano lessons. Would I! I’m so thrilled he’s interested again. So parents, take heart, just when you wonder if all the lessons meant anything to your child, they just may surprise you!

Big Brothers and Sisters

bonnieb — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:40:07 +0000

My annual Flute Festival retreat was last week. It was magical. I had 22 of my students for 4 days in the mountains. The youngest was 7 and the oldest was 17.

One of the best ideas I ever had was to have “Flute Buddies.” Each day I paired a younger and older student. They had to eat one meal together and perform their piece for each other. My older students were so sweet to the younger ones and the younger ones fell in love with the older ones. When I asked one little third grade girl,. “How was your swim today? She enthusiastically answered, “I swam with Fred (age 17) almost the whole time!”

Try to find some ways in your studio to pair kids of different ages. When the younger ones hear the older students play they can easily visualize what they can sound like in a few years. They also see these older students having fun with music and it makes them think that music is pretty darn cool. The older kids really take an interest in the younger ones and they too can see how far they’ve come and get a little practice being teachers themselves.

We talk about the students in my studio as being a flute family and last week they really were.