PPP175: Student Case Study: Ray, one-year anniversary

13Jan 2020 by Shelly Davis

About a year ago, in episode 135, I introduced you to Ray (not his real name), a brand new student in my studio. Since then, in each episode ending in 5, I’ve given you an update on how Ray is progressing in his lessons and the things I’m learning as I work with him.

In today’s episode, we continue the journey as I share some of Ray’s goals for the upcoming semester.

Listen to the full episode here

Making a lateral shift to keep him playing but not necessarily advancing in the method books.

As I expected, Ray has rapidly moved forward in his method books until he reached the same level where his brothers stopped. He is still very engaged in piano but doesn’t have the advantage of hearing most of the music before he attempts to play it.

We are shifting slightly from depending on his ears to start trusting his eyes.

To keep him playing lots of music like he enjoys doing, we are making use of my extensive lending library of music books. I’m giving him a variety of music to play at his current skill level so that we don’t trudge too far ahead in his method book.

I am also teaching Ray how to “Get SMART” with his music. This gives him more ways to practice and enjoy the music he has learned. (Hear more about getting SMART with your music in Episode 036 and Episode 039.)

Studied for and passed the TMTA Theory exam at Level 4. Aiming to retake to score an A.

My studio is affiliated with East Texas Music Teachers Association, which is affiliated with Texas Music Teachers Association. Twice a year, students are assessed on their knowledge of theory concepts through the TMTA Theory Exam program. There are tests for students from Level 1 through Level 12. The unwritten goal for students is to test at their school grade level. This is a difficult task if a student starts lessons when they are older like Ray did.

Ray has accepted this challenge and took the theory exam on his school grade level, Level 4. There are several concepts on the test that Ray hasn’t used in a practical way. For example, he is just now starting to play music in a key other than C major.

Even though Ray passed his theory test, he is planning to take the test again this spring. He is working to score an A so he can receive the Whitlock Theory Medal from TMTA.

Now that he knows the content for his grade level, I need to put it to practical use. Using the lending library will afford him the chance to play pieces in various keys. In addition to that, we will use some of the things Stephen Hughes and Tony Parlapiano mentioned in their teacher chat about popular teaching styles – Episode 127.

Goals for Ray this semester – increase theory grade, incorporate practical use for the theory he’s mastered, complete my studio’s Musicianship Award – Mozart Medal.

I’ll catch up with you in mid to late March and report back on how Ray and I have done with these goals.

Meet Mark

Just last week, I started working with another new student, whom I will call Mark.

Mark’s mom contacted me during the Christmas break about starting lessons for her son. She had gotten my name from her friend, another mom in my studio.

Mark is an older beginner with band experience. This means he understands basic music concepts like steady beat and rhythm and how to read a score. He only has experience with treble clef so we will need to help him gain confidence reading bass clef and both clefs combined.

Since Mark is older, I will take a different approach with him than I do with elementary students. He is not interested in practice incentives like my Song Sundae or stickers or even the spring recital. He has his own motivation for learning to play piano and I am excited to help him reach his goals.

I’ll let you know how things are going with both Ray and Mark in Episode 185, which will release in mid March.

Thanks for listening!

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