How many of you have found it difficult to apply yourself and practice?  It is very common during the summer months to be caught up in projects and find little time to devote to your career or hobby (i.e. piano).  If you have a strategy to help others be assertive and goal-oriented in their practice times, please let us know!  You can do that by simply replying to this post... we are looking forward to hearing from you.

Please pick a general option at top and any problems lower down.  These results will help me better the website, as I am currently the only one judging if it works or not (and want to involve those who actually use it).  I hope to use the website as a resource for my students, especially this coming school year, so your voices need to be heard.  Please take some time to reply to the poll by choosing your answers, and if you wish to send me a note explaining your answer, I would appreciate it.  Feel free to email or send me a private message through this site.

Thank you and have a wonderful day!
~Kristin

The website can be found through the following links...
www.kristinspianostudio.com
www.boringsmusicstudio.com
www.mvmusicstudio.com

(Note... this applies to the studio website and not the "Connections Forum" you are currently visiting)

I (Kristin) have officially begun teaching voice lessons to first and second year students.  Anyone interested is encouraged to contact me (prices are same as piano) at voice@mvmusicstudio.com.  From the beginning, we work on proper technique, vocal exercises, and go into literature (classical - Italian and English, Christian - traditional and contemporary, and Broadway/Movie themes).  Requests are welcome and encouraged.  Participation in a "short-term" Christmas choir may also be available and those taking private voice lessons will be guaranteed an opportunity to perform in the recitals (if desired).
Students currently taking piano lessons need to continue with those (as they are very important, possibly essential, to learning to sing and applying the vocal techniques in practice).

Please welcome my wonderful brother, Michael, as he introduces guitar lessons to the studio.  Specializing (and beginning) in beginners acoustic guitar (ages 8-15), he is excited to share his skills and love for music (especially guitar) with others.  To contact him about guitar lessons, please email...

guitar@mvmusicstudio.com

Thank you for sharing your story, Kristin. My story is similar in that I, too, took a disliking to piano for a time. I think it is the transitioning, as you mentioned. What an encouragement to know that someone else acted like I did! 
Keep on serving God with your music!
Marissa

With a problem, question, technical help,... With information about lessons, tuition rates, availability,...

By phone... 503-780-5986
Email... "lessons@kristinspianostudio.com" or "lessons@boringsmusicstudio.com" or "lessons@mvmusicstudio.com"

Please be sure to include your name and your phone number.

Thank you for taking the time to visit.  I hope to hear from you soon.
Kristin Phillips

My name is Kristin.  I have the great honor of teaching 23 students to learn and enjoy music through the piano.
I have been playing the piano since the day before I turned 7 (my birthday present).  A very good friend of ours, who lived down the street offered to give me lessons each week.  From the very beginning, I have been teaching "someone" to play the piano.  First, it was my neighbor from across the street.  Then, my brother, - which ended rather tragically (those who have siblings know it doesn't go over very well to boss the other around).  I took on my first piano student (Anna - 5 years old) when I was 14 (I believe).  The books we used were very cute, with stories, pictures, and hands-on activities and stuffed animals to match.  Mozart Mouse and Beethoven Bear would tell a story about the piano, the new concept, and then the student would "play for them".  The first day she came to the studio, I was so nervous that I could hardly talk.  She and I were friends and had known each other all her life.  I was still terrified to be "teaching".
I tried many different things as a new teacher.  For every day she practiced, she would "earn" a piece of candy (m&m or skittle).  For every song she completed, she would "earn" a sticker.  Back then, I had no need for a studio policy.  Anna made good progress, but was very young.  After about 4 months, she stopped lessons... much to my dismay.  I always used to fear losing a student, but as I grow and mature, I realize that each student has a time in their life that they will spend with music.  Some will enjoy it and others will not.  Some will learn quickly and others will not.  Some will practice and others will not.  I just need to be the best music teacher I can be and let the students be the rest.  I felt very uncomfortable around her family after that, because I thought they had quit because of something I had done - though that was not true.  By the end of the summer (less than a month of not being a teacher), they recommended my name to friends of theirs.  I started teaching Chelsea that September and later her brother (out of interest).  They did very well and stayed in the studio until only a year ago.  Soon after, Josh and Levi joined.  Then Charlie.  Students began coming from all directions, backgrounds, and levels of experience.  I am excited to say that through the past few years I have learned a lot, but nothing in my entire piano career has taught me more about the piano than teaching all my bright, energetic, and enthusiastic students.  Our first recital consisted of 4 students.  I may work up the courage to show all of you the pictures one day.  I was young and am young still, but will always strive to conduct myself and my business in the utmost of professionalism.  I make it my goal to be available for my students and am flexible when we need to "change course" and focus on a different aspect of music.
I will thank God every day for blessing me with music; for giving me such wonderful students to spend my mornings, afternoons, and evenings with; for giving me wonderful and supportive parents, both mine and my students; for providing me with the best teachers ever (soon, I will tell you some stories of the amazing things they did for me); and for showing me that music, in itself, is worthless without someone to share it with.

Nilza, Hannah, Julie, Chantal, Monica, Tami, Polly, Marshall… those are the names of some of the greatest influences in my life… my music teachers.  They range from Highschool & college students to stay-at-home-mom to college graduates to doctor of music.  All of them have taught me something special and all of them have a place in my heart reserved only for my teachers.

Nilza – I’ve only ever called her by Mrs. _________ - is a wonderful woman.  She was my first teacher and mine for five years.  I learned to be diligent and honest, to love music, and to wash my hands before playing the piano.  Every week, when I went to their house (I would walk), she would send me to the sink to wash my hands, because she knew germs spread well and very quickly on cold, smooth piano keys.  (Maybe I should start enforcing that in the studio).  That was my least favorite thing about piano lessons, besides the nail-clippers that “often” came out.      Nilza spent hours with me over the year.  She always made sure I understood the concepts, had good hand position, and learned my songs.  Her method included a lot of drilling with flashcards, drawing and writing the names of notes, and theory work.  I do admit I am much more lenient in many of these areas… her teaching brought me through Bastien Level 3, on to Fur Elise, Swan Lake, the Spinning Song, and others.  My greatest triumph while taking lessons from Nilza was a lesson one day, when her husband yelled from the other room, “Play it again!”  Fur Elise turned out being his favorite song (every time I would play it at a lesson, I would have to play it over again for him).   
Lessons with my wonderful neighbor were not always easy or fun.  During the first two years, I was floating – eager to go to my lessons, practicing every day, loving performing in public – but entering the third year was more than a struggle… it was a nightmare for my family.  I can neither explain why it happened or how it happened.  I do not even know if it was sudden or gradual, but a genuine dislike for practicing, for lessons, and for microwave timers wreaked havoc on an otherwise peaceful home.  I hated piano… vehemently.  Mom would set the microwave timer in the kitchen to 30 minutes every day and I would have to sit at the piano whether I played anything or not.  That was the longest half-hour!  I would pound the keys, scream I hated piano, tell my mom I wanted to quit, and beg for less time to be set.  Mom did not budge visibly, but I know she struggled with the pain.  It cannot be easy for a mother to see her child in so much distress, but had I been in real physical pain, agony, or hurt, she would come to my rescue.  This was neither life-threatening nor a scratch.  I am thankful to this day that my mom held firm and literally forced me to continue lessons… it is not a happy prospect, but it took about two years to get past this barrier before I enjoyed music again.  There is no way to describe or explain it, except by this theory… I do believe I had reached a transition point in my playing (between method books and “true” compositions) and did not adjust well.  Method book songs can be learned in one, two, or three weeks.  Compositions by famous composers can take months!  I have never been a truly patient person, nor a truly diligent one, and the very thought of working on the same thing for months on end was impossible.  This is one of the reasons I stress “supplementary” and “big” songs from as early as possible… it is never to overload a student (let me know if this is happening), but rather to provide them with a more gradual entrance into the “works” of music.
Two more of my rather embarrassing rebellious moments in piano was a day I purposely missed a lesson.  It was Monday at 2:00, time for my lesson, and I went to my friend’s house instead without my mom knowing (since I would normally walk to my lesson).  There’s no need to tell anyone what came of that… let’s just say I learned my lesson – and more than just piano.   
One more… something that has remained as an object lesson for my students (I have only run into this once or twice).  Every child and probably every student would, at some point, rather being doing anything than going to a lesson or practicing the piano.  On such a day, I was playing in my room when it came time for my lesson.  I screamed and cried and told my mom in very teary form that I would never go to another piano lesson.  She insisted I do and sent me on my way.  (My mom was never mean about it… in fact, her love and firmness showed me she was in charge in a very caring way).  When I got to my piano lesson (at 4:00), my teacher was alarmed at my face (I must have been a sight!).  I told her, rather nervously (as I am not accustomed to lying), that I hadn’t had time to eat lunch and was crying because I was so hungry.  She did the very opposite thing I expected… she sent me home to have “lunch” at 4:00.  On my way home, she phoned my mom.  The apology call I made to my teacher, after being disciplined, taught me never to run away from the truth and that being honest was far better than telling a lie (even if it hurt a little – it would not have gone over well if I told my teacher I hated the piano).  As it turned out, I had to tell her the truth anyway.  That “truth” sparked a trust between the two of us, my teacher reevaluated the way she was teaching to better fit my interests, and the next year was the best I’d ever had.  That next lesson was the one in which she introduced to me, “Fur Elise” by Beethoven.  Soon after, I became interested in contemporary worship music and wanted to learn to play lead/chord sheets so I could join the worship team at church.  The first songs I learned were "Shout to the Lord" and "Shine Jesus Shine".  After five years of piano lessons, practicing almost every day, enjoying every minute, it was time to find a new teacher who could help me excel at music theory...

Hannah, my next teacher, was a blessing to me in another way.  I was her second-ever student... she was very nervous at the interview, which has helped me in my own interviews with prospective students.  The main thing that drew my attention was her personality... she was extremely friendly, but not overly.  She loved music, loved God, and loved being around kids (she also taught a group in the children's ministry).


To be continued...

Hi Kristin! 
Jann

Hi Kristin I can see this group, but are there others with more specific info for students that you don't want others to access?
Jann

Thank you for visiting this site.  If you haven't already created a username and password, please take the time to do so.  I have created a membergroup specific for music teachers.  When you have signed up, I will send you a personalized welcome message (in addition to the automated confirmation email) and will make you a contributing member of that group labeled "Exclusively Teachers".  Thank you for being understanding as we get set with this.  And, as always, feel free to contact me with any questions.

Boring's local piano teacher (now isn't that a great slogan?!),
~Kristin Phillips