Useful Stuff
Useful resources, practical tips and small ideas that make life easier for instrumental music teachers. From teaching materials to simple solutions for everyday problems. Nothing revolutionary. Just things that might actually be useful.
What’s In My Teaching Bag?
Every instrumental teacher has a bag. Or a case. Or, in some unfortunate circumstances, several bags, a carrier bag full of books and an instrument case that keeps falling off their shoulder. Mine is currently a silver aluminium flight case. It’s reasonably sturdy, looks quite professional and gives the impression that I’m transporting something terribly…
Teaching Contracts: The Boring Bit That Might Save You a Lot of Trouble
Missed lessons, unpaid invoices and awkward cancellations. A clear teaching agreement can prevent a surprising number of problems. Here’s what to include.
A Simple Lesson Notes Template for Instrumental Music Teachers
I have written a lot of lesson notes over the years. An awful lot. Some have been detailed. Some have been brief. Some have been written in a hurry between lessons, occasionally while trying to remember which pupil I’d just taught. And some, particularly in my early teaching days, were probably not much use to…
A Free Management System for Instrumental Music Teachers
You don’t need specialist teaching software to organise your pupils. You don’t need a subscription. You don’t need a database. And you definitely don’t need to spend a weekend building an elaborate Notion workspace with seventeen different views and a colour-coded dashboard you’ll stop using by Christmas. For a lot of instrumental teachers, Google Drive…
Stop Answering the Same Parent Questions Every September
Every September, the questions begin. What do I need to buy? Which book should we get? What size instrument do they need? Can you recommend a music stand? Where can I buy one? What was the name of that app you mentioned? Which one of these seventeen almost-identical things online is the right one? These…
The Best App For Music Teachers Might Not Be A Music App
There are a lot of apps for musicians. There are metronomes, tuners, notation apps, backing track apps, recording apps, practice apps, rhythm trainers, ear trainers and probably an app that will tell you that your paradiddles are disappointing. Some of them are brilliant. But some of the most useful technology I use for teaching wasn’t…