I’ve taken on a few transfer students who don’t have familiarity with their note names.

I want to share some ideas about how to quickly and effectively teach note names in a fun way.

Goals

Fluency and speed. There are many cute ways to learn note names, but I’ve picked the fastest ones.

Motivation

Some teachers question the need to know how to identify notes. Or they think that step comes later. I believe strongly that since music systems are built around keys, scales, and relationships between notes, students need to be familiar with those letter names.

If your student only knows finger numbers, associations like key centers and intervals like octaves will not make sense. 

The further you go in the book, the more challenging it is to process and remember a string of numbers like 3-1-3-2-0-1-2-3-3. How do you even know which fingers go on which string? But it is simple to teach that sequence as an elaboration on a G arpeggio and then jumping back down the octave. Knowing note names actually simplifies your musical thinking.

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I can get overwhelmed when I consider the number of ways I could go about being a ‘better’ teacher.

I could…

• take more teacher training
• study body mechanics
• study violin acoustics
• dive further into child psychology
• collaborate with other teachers
• deliberately practice teaching strategies
• build out my personal matrix
• build up an archive of teaching videos online
• overhaul the method to be more inclusive and adaptable to 21st century needs.

At any given moment I can spout of dozens of urgent, long term projects that need to be worked on. In fact, I even made an aspirational blog post of things I wish existed but don’t yet.

I find it really helpful, though, to step back. Instead of being overwhelmed could be done, I ask myself what needs to be done. Today.

Because I’m so wrapped up in violin already, and have been for 25 years, it is really helpful for me to reframe through the lens of someone like a tennis coach.

If I put myself in the frame of a parent seeking out tennis lessons for their novice child, I would just want a few basics.

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At the end of the 2021-22 school year I released what I call my ‘Transparency Report.’

The report included metrics, an income report, continuing education, completed projects, and future projects.

I was inspired to do this for two reasons. One specific and one more general.

RADICAL TRANSPARENCY AT BRIDGEWATER

The first was reading Ray Dalio’s book Principles. He made clear the degree to which radical truth and radical transparency has shaped the culture at Bridgewater and allows their teams to work at such a high level. Even the book Principles, itself, in which he shares the entire framework with which Bridgewater has been built and Dalio lives his life, is a testament to that truth and transparency.

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We acknowledge the value of the long climb. The value of the 15 years of work together. The student, the teacher the parent.

But what of the opposite?

The one time lesson. The one time master-class. The substitute. The trade. The trial.

In the summer of 2022 I had more one-time experiences than I’d ever had before. I led one-time play-ins at the Ithaca Institute. I offered one-time lessons to traveling teachers at Ithaca Talent Education. I traded one-time lessons with another teacher.

It struck me after this experience, in conversation with some delighted students and their families, just how nourishing these one time lessons can be.

Why do they feel so nourishing?

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