077 - A New Approach to Teaching Group Classes

An inside look at one of my recent studio classes

Episode 77 of the Field Notes on Music Teaching & Learning podcast, hosted by Ashley Danyew, titled "077 - A New Approach to Teaching Group Classes" was published on October 30, 2024 and runs 12 minutes.

October 30, 2024 ·12m · Field Notes on Music Teaching & Learning

0:00 / 0:00

Summary

I have a love/hate relationship with studio classes. I love the idea of them, and I love being able to offer them to my students. But I’ve never found a structure or approach that works. At the school where I teach, I’m limited to a classroom with a single piano, which means students have to take turns or do activities that don’t involve an instrument. In addition, having a group of 6-8 students in a room together for 45-60 minutes (again, with one instrument) was challenging. It’s difficult to keep everyone engaged and focused, give directions, facilitate meaningful learning activities, and assess each student individually. As an introverted teacher, it can feel a little chaotic and overwhelming. This year, I was committed to figuring this out. I decided to offer more classes than last year, limit the number of students in each group, and plan more level-specific musicianship activities. Today, I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes look at one of my studio classes from this month and as always, a few things I’m experimenting with this year.

Episode Description

I have a love/hate relationship with studio classes.

I love the idea of them, and I love being able to offer them to my students. But I’ve never found a structure or approach that works.

At the school where I teach, I’m limited to a classroom with a single piano, which means students have to take turns or do activities that don’t involve an instrument.

In addition, having a group of 6-8 students in a room together for 45-60 minutes (again, with one instrument) was challenging. It’s difficult to keep everyone engaged and focused, give directions, facilitate meaningful learning activities, and assess each student individually.

As an introverted teacher, it can feel a little chaotic and overwhelming.

This year, I was committed to figuring this out. I decided to offer more classes than last year, limit the number of students in each group, and plan more level-specific musicianship activities.

Today, I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes look at one of my studio classes from this month and as always, a few things I’m experimenting with this year.

For show notes + a full transcript, click here.

Resources Mentioned

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Teaching Piano in Groups (Christopher Fisher)

Frances Clark Library for Piano Students

The Music Tree, Part 1

Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style (William Gillock)

Chord Inversion Worksheet (Chrissy Ricker)

Preludes in Patterns (Kevin Olson)

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >>

Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew