March 30 th, 2020
Good Morning LAPTF members. I would like to reach out to members, and touch base. In our personal lives, and our professional lives we are now challenged by so many changes to our daily lives. We simply shopped at the grocery, visited friends, grabbed coffee and lunch and had a steady stream of students come and go from our studios. Life as we have known it has
changed for a time being. I would like to open a dialogue through the use of a blog. For those of you unfamiliar with a blog, it is a community forum. We can comment and reach out to our
community. This blog will be linked to our website.
Of course, there needs to be some guidelines when we have a community blog:
- I would like to keep this blog focused on our daily and professional challenges,
inspirational moments, thankful moments and humor! (to name a few). - Everyone is welcome to participate.
- Comments may need to go through a blog administrator before being posted. In which
case, I think I will take that job.- I will not correct spelling, or grammar.
- I just will make sure it’s appropriate. So, as much as I would like to insert colorful
language in my posts I need to refrain. - I think it best to KEEP Religion and Politics off this blog to create an atmosphere of inclusion and respect.
So, this is my Frustrating First Time, managing a blog. From the podcast of Brene Brown, FFT’s are what many of us are experiencing. I am having several FFT’s daily. Let me share a few:
- I am ordering my groceries online. I wanted 5 bananas’ but received 5 lbs. I wanted 5
potatoes and received five, 5 lb’s bags. Yep! - I am teaching remotely. I use Zoom, and FaceTime. Potential Challenges (to name a
few): - Internet speed both mine and my student.
- Device used for hooking up on my end and my students end.
- Studio set up..the list is endless
I have organized all my computer documents so I can easily share and searched the internet for
additional downloadable resources. My studio consists of elementary-advanced. Needs of
these students vary.
I really want to hear from you. I have been an active member of LAPTF for a long time. I
appreciate the diversity. I appreciate the varying skills our members have and what each of our
members bring to our organization.
So, it’s time for a blog! Let’s give it a try and see if we can manage another FFT!
I am thankful for the medical personal on the front lines and good health to each of you.
Janice Derian
LAPTF President
Thank you, Janice! Here’s a helpful video tutorial from my former teacher who has mastered piano lessons via Skype.
https://youtu.be/aVCGnAQt-N0
I believe he has another older tutorial on this subject as well in his You Tube channel.
Best wishes! Melissa
I would like to send a few links that may help with your on line teaching.
For zoom audio settings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eb3UcdQVMg&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR24eSQrxft90zrwJo-OewtlPH1G3hOaGau4ogCcHyRAsMMxRYhNl61gj_A
A hand out to your parents on how to set-up zoom: https://www.glendabates.com/zoom-tips?fbclid=IwAR2dkUyw2Y8vClC-duztl3guouBAInUL8syHa5mwCIgA9Hc1ujS0zgDVfc0
Carly Walton on line teaching: https://www.teachmusic.online/
Annie’s Music is open for ordering music either to be mailed or for drive up pick up. I thought you might all want to connect on this and let membership in MDML, LAPTR and Camerata support our one brick & mortar music store.
What’s one to do when a new era has squarely placed itself in the path of my life? Walk confidently through it with the help of inspiring friends. So I am writing my first blog after a very inspiring chat with our president, Janice. Understanding the virtual tools was enough to clarify my day’s To Do List. Although my goal was to embrace Zoom technology to the fullest in my studio, I knew I first needed to organize and declutter my disorganized Google drives, be sure my Android and iPad were properly syncing in this regard, and learn how to quickly find what I sent there when using Zoom. Anybody “feeling me” on this point? In fact, very much like the closet and home file cleaning mission I have been on thanks in larger part to Covid-19, I decided to do the same with the organic cluttering of my drives. In the early days I didn’t understand how to set up a personal google account separate from my studio account. Four years later, need I say more.
It was a great sense of accomplishment that I was able to quickly find sheet music while testing Zoom’s white board, am thankful for the earlier investment in an Apple Pencil of which I had no practical need until now (cool feature), and am anxious to try this with my grandson student and tech professional son-in-law before using it with another student/family. I look forward to returning to the former ways of teaching with my students. As painful as this continues to be for me I know the benefits will be realized for years to come. I’m realizing that teaching piano and the love of music doesn’t really change. It’s the means in which we pass this traditional art to the next generation that will always change.