video from 11/29

Here's a segment from my lesson with HLS on Nov. 29 - our last lesson of the semester! In this clip, HLS is playing her "etude of the week" for me, and following that she plays one of her previous etudes in a "mock jury" situation in preparation for her first end of semester jury on Dec. 6. :-)

busy weeks and moments of progress

The months of November and December are tricky ones for teachers and students alike. Just when you're getting back in to a normal schedule after fall break, suddenly it's Thanksgiving break, and then all you can think about is Christmas - but not before surviving juries and exams! It is so difficult to feel like you accomplish anything during this time.

Which is perhaps why it is even more sweet when you realize at the end of the semester that you have actually accomplished a lot. There were two weeks that I didn't not teach my students in the last month, and many of them have had their last lessons for the semester in the last couple of days. Including our little guinea pig of the semester, HLS. We spent most of our last lesson running the material she has prepared for her jury on Tuesday and talking about the jury process, what to expect, etc.

She was dealing a little bit with the "I didn't practice over Thanksgiving break" syndrome, but it was great to hear her easily refocus her sound or sharpen her technique with only a simple reminder. She has made great improvements in her embouchure, tone quality, and air use over the semester. In my next post, I'll include a video clip from this last lesson, and hopefully you can hear the same improvements between our video early in the semester and this one as I do.

And now I get to think about what repertoire we need to start working on next semester. It's time to start playing with an accompanist! Yay!! :-)