Musicians, Is Your Home Practice Space Holding You Back

Musicians, Is Your Home Practice Space Holding You Back Suzy S. Youve got your instrument,  your  sheet music, and your books. Youve found a great music teacher to guide you. But lets take a look at your home practice space. Could it be holding you back? Learn how to improve it with these tips from piano teacher Eric B A few years ago I had a student who was struggling to improve. She was practicing more than I asked, but every week brought in mediocre versions of the songs I assigned. We tried different techniques for months with no success. A few months passed and we did an online lesson when I was on tour. I was shocked to see where she was practicing: the piano was in a hallway, and her siblings were running back and forth by her while she tried to play. Because the space was too tight, she was squashed against the keys. The only light came from a bare bulb in the hallway, and there was a massive pile of toys on the piano. This poor girl had one thing standing between her talent and becoming a great musician: a terrible practice space. Having an amazing practice room that keeps you focused is essential to consistent improvement. Here are seven  ways you can spice up your music practice space: 1. Get great lighting. Make sure that the room you practice in is well-lit. I love practicing in naturally lit rooms, with a simple piano stand light  on the piano so I can see my sheet music. If it’s too dark in the room you may fight fatigue sooner than if your room is brightly illuminated. 2. Have a cell phone shelf outside your practice room. Get a cheap wall-mounted car key holder  and place your phone on it each time you go into your practice room. This will keep you from getting distracted during practice sessions. If you place a charger by the wall holder, you’ll have the added reward of a fully charged phone when you leave. 3. Declutter. The fewer items in the room, the less likely you’ll be to get distracted. Move all items that don’t relate to music to other rooms, and your mind will relax and focus on the task at hand. 4. Get a kitchen timer. Now that you’ve decluttered your room, you’ll need to keep track of your practice time. Use a cheap kitchen timer to help you stay focused while you’re practicing. Take a look at bunch of great options here. See also: Infographic: How to Practice Piano for Your Best Results 50 Little Things You Can Do to Get More From Your Guitar Practice Time How the Best Singers Structure Their Singing Practice Our 8 Best Tips for Effective Drum Practice 25+ Violin Practice Tips to Help You Improve Fast! 5. Get a metronome. Metronomes are the least expensive way to improve your rhythm, and having one by your piano or keyboard will encourage you to use it daily. Here  are  a few inexpensive but quality metronomes to consider. 6. Bring a water bottle and a high-protein snack. Most instrumentalists will burn calories while playing, so make sure you keep your energy levels high. I love snacking on nuts or a protein bar while I play, and a big 32 oz. bottle of water by the piano (cap on to prevent spills) helps me stay hydrated. 7. Put a practice calendar on your wall. I recommend keeping track of your music practice on a calendar. This will give you a visual reminder of how consistent you’ve been with your practicing. Then, set rewards for yourself after a certain number  of consecutive practices. I love getting coffee, so I go out and get  my favorite cappuccino after 10 days of practice. Get creative! Fortunately, there’s a happy ending to my piano student struggling to learn in a hallway. After talking with my student’s parents, they made some big changes. They converted part of the dining room in their house into a practice space, adding a special bookshelf and colorful music-themed decorations. She switched from struggling to excelling in a matter of weeks. If you’re investing time and money into music lessons, give yourself the best shot at succeeding in the practice room. If you make the  effort, it might just pay off in a lifetime love of playing music. Editors Note: We also like these 12 tips from Piano Power, with additional ways to make your music practice space productive like eliminating audio distractions, considering personality differences, and keeping acoustics in mind. Photo by  Joe Buckingham Post Author: Eric B. Eric Barfield is a full-time keyboardist, producer, and piano teacher based in Nashville, TN. His career has included working with Dove-award winners Meredith Andrews (Vertical Church Band), and American Idol finalist Joe Banua.  Learn more about Eric here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher

Tools for Online Tutoring

Tools for Online Tutoring Combing New Technology and Academic Support ChaptersWhere and How to Organise Academic Support OnlineVirtual Learning EnvironmentsDigital NotebooksDigital WhiteboardsVideoconferencingPodcastsMultiple-Choice QuizzesDigital TextbooksSurvey and Voting ToolsLearning Through PlayNew technologies have turned the world of teaching upside down!Digital resources and the internet have become an everyday part of teaching and learning.In fact:Most qualified teachers now use digital technologies to prepare their classesThey’re aware of the educational benefits of new technologiesSome teachers even use them to personalise learningOf course, private tutors probably use technology even more, especially those teaching via webcam!For those tech-savvy teachers out there, Superprof’s going to show you how to integrate technology into your private tutorials and online tutoring jobs.Whether you help with physics, biology, economics, or mathematics tutorials, you can get help with your tutorials online. Here’s what you need to know! CalumDrama School Entrance Teacher 5.00 (15) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ToriSpanish Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliviaSchool support Teacher 5.00 (2) £21/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JenniferMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LouiseAutoCAD Teacher 5.00 (3) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RickyPercussion Teacher 5.00 (7) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolasGuitar Teacher 5.00 (2) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MyriamOrganic chemistry Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JonathanEconomics Teacher 5.00 (9) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Oluwakemi imoleMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AlexPhysics Tea cher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AdamSinging Teacher 5.00 (14) £48/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValentiniMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MilenaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RashmiEconomics Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsWhere and How to Organise Academic Support OnlineFile sharing is one of the biggest advantages of using technology in private tutorials. This comes with benefits for the student and the online tutor.Some of the most common file-sharing and Cloud storage platforms include:Google DriveDropBoxWeTransferThey’re easy to use and are free, for the most part. In Google Drive, you can create and edit files directly on the platform. In fact, several people can edit these files at once.E-learning resources make sharing knowledge easier than traditional learning resources. (Source: Free-Photos)Let’s take a maths tutor ial, for example. You could:1. Create a multiple-choice quiz in a text or spreadsheet program2. Share worksheets with your student to print out at home in order to study a certain topic3. Make gap-fill exercises that your student can complete directly on their computer.An English tutor, for example, can find plenty of private tutoring resources since language lessons are some of the most common tutorials.Virtual Learning EnvironmentsA virtual learning environment is a web portal set up by educational institutions (primary schools, secondary schools, six forms, or universities) that offers a number of services to students.This type of technology can aid communication between students, teachers, and the establishment themselves.They tend to include:Messaging servicesDigital notepadsNewsInformation on campus lifeRemote academic support resourcesEtc.Virtual Learning Environments are mainly for students, teachers, and, in some cases, parents.  They can be accessed by students at any time .For example, a chemistry teacher could upload resources for their students to go back over some of the more complex concepts once the class has finished. By offering them tailored academic support activities and feedback, they can help improve their grades.Of course, if you're offering one on one tutoring services, you can also use virtual learning environments since they're not just for online tutoring. You can use these like a virtual classroom where students can submit an assignment, essay, activity, or complete exams.Digital NotebooksAfter each lesson, teachers can highlight study topics and which exercises students have to do. Perfect for academic support!Their objective is to allow each student and parent to keep up to date with their work via a web page that can be accessed at any time.In the future, you'll be able to replace your analogue resources with digital ones. (Source: Pexels)Of course, this resource hasn’t replaced pen and paper yet.Digital WhiteboardsDigital whit eboards have some interesting applications.  They're particularly useful for those providing academic support via webcam since they can be used to simply annotate documents.Let’s take a history class on invasions, for example. You can take a map from the time and start annotating it with each of the conquests over time.Similarly, a French tutor can correct grammar and spelling errors on a digital text right before their student’s eyes.With a digital whiteboard, you needn't take notes. (Source: Pexels) CalumDrama School Entrance Teacher 5.00 (15) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ToriSpanish Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliviaSchool support Teacher 5.00 (2) £21/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JenniferMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover a ll our tutors LouiseAutoCAD Teacher 5.00 (3) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RickyPercussion Teacher 5.00 (7) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolasGuitar Teacher 5.00 (2) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MyriamOrganic chemistry Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JonathanEconomics Teacher 5.00 (9) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Oluwakemi imoleMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AlexPhysics Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AdamSinging Teacher 5.00 (14) £48/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValentiniMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MilenaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RashmiEconomics Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsVideoconferencingDistance learning now includes video conferencing. This allows a tutor to teach an online class to a single student or a whole class.Amongst the tools at your disposal, you should check out BigBlueButton, which is free and opensource.You have complete control over all aspects of your video conference:Turn on or off the auditorium audioWhiteboardsDigitising documentsSaving sessionsThese new digital approaches are perfect for helping students catch up during the summer holidays, for example.PodcastsPodcasts are a great way to record lessons. Thus, students can use audio and video resources.  You can learn from podcasts anywhere, anytime. You can learn in your office, at home, or on public transport, using your smartphone.While not as effective as supplemental instruction, podcasts are a great way for students to struggling with certain subjects as they can brush up on certain topics whenever they have a few minutes free.Podcasts are one of the best strategies for learning languages. If you're doing some exam prep, you may want to listen to podcasts either on a f oreign language or in said foreign language. A learner can benefit a lot from hearing the target language whenever they can.Multiple-Choice QuizzesAll good learning should include regular testing.  When it comes to e-learning, you can easily integrate multiple-choice quizzes into your lessons.With these types of tools, you can check whether or not your student has been studying or whether they’ve understood a certain concept.Of all the tools available, the following are of particular interest:LimeSurveyKwikSurveyGoogle FormsThese are a great complement to online exercises and a fantastic way to consolidate knowledge on particular topics.Find out more about online academic support disadvantages...Digital TextbooksAs the name indicates, digital textbooks are replacing the paper copies that you’re probably used to. There are 3 main types:Simple Digital Textbooks (a digital copy of the paper version)Enriched Digital Textbooks with greater interactivityPure Digital Textbooks which ar e designed to be used on computers, tablets, or smartphones.Of course, it’s better for students to have access to the versions of the textbooks they’re using in class.  They can work on what they’ve studied in class either on their own or with someone helping them like a parent or a private tutor.Survey and Voting ToolsWhile still in their infancy, electronic polling systems are worth mentioning.  Their goal is to allow students to participate directly in voting via a keypad.These systems can use a simple box with a keypad that students can use to answer questions given to them by their teacher.  When it comes to online courses, there are a lot of sites that use this type of technology. For example:SocrativePolleverywhereMentimeterAs you probably gathered, these voting systems are quite simply interactive real-time quizzes.  They’re perfect for revision sessions and checking that your students have understood what you’re teaching them.  You’ll instantly know which topics you need to cover.Learning Through PlayWhile mostly used in primary schools, educational games are used less and less as students get older.  However, learning through play can be really effective if used correctly.The advantages of using games include:Active participation from studentsInstant feedbackHealthy competition and team-buildingWeaker students can retry as many times as they like.Of all the educational game sites, these few are worth a mention:National Geographic KidsBBC Schools: GamesAcademic Skill BuildersGames are a great way to learn. (Source: Wokandapix)For private tutors, games are a good way to practise certain topics or for doing homework. They can be really useful for subjects like maths, where students can learn to better understand concepts used calculus, algebra, statistics, geometry, and trigonometry without even realising. Games are some of the best free tutoring resources around.That said, you don't have to be maths tutor to benefit from games. Whether you' re a chemistry tutor, music tutor, or foreign language tutor, your supplemental instruction will improve with games.Whether you’re a teacher at a school or a private tutor, you now have plenty of digital tools to help you encourage your students and lead them down the road to academic success.  Digital technologies are transforming academic support at home.  In addition to motivating students, they make sharing documents and finding resources much easier.Feel free to mention the resources you use on your profile. It can help potential students to find a tutor. As an educator, your profile will point those who want to be tutored in the right direction.With so many resources available, it’s also becoming harder and harder to find the right digital resources. Find out more about MOOCs, too! While they're mostly for undergraduate students, there are more and more such courses being made for secondary school as well as primary pupils.If you want to become a tutor and succeed at it, p reparation is key. You need to use all the tools at your disposal to make your teaching as effective as possible. Don't forget that you can also use digital resources to help you with scheduling classes, sharing resources with students, and advising them with feedback.Whether you're offering one to one home tutoring or are an online instructor, remember that the best tutors are those that give their students the study skills to become flexible learners.