Caring for Instruments

One of the first things you need to teach you students isn’t about the dots on the page or where their fingers go.  It’s how to look after their instrument.

I tell students that musical instruments are taonga, treasures.  And I start this from the very youngest students – when we are playing on buckets!  If you treat an instrument well, it will treat you well.

Chamber Music Coaching - what you'll need

What you’ll need for rehearsals:

Score and individual parts

Music stands for everyone

Tuner + metronome

Music dictionary

Pencils (not pens!)

Recording of music

Recording device (e.g. phone)

Coaching Chamber Music - initial set-up

It’s coming up to chamber music contest season[i].  You may have had some of your students request you find them some music, or they may have been given some music from school.

Setting up a studio - what gear do you need?

Your instrument.  That’s pretty helpful (although there have been occasions when my flute has had a little unintentional holiday…).  Really, it depends on what you’re teaching, what style of music you teach, and your style of teaching.

Setting up a studio

Now it’s time to get going.  You need to decide where you’ll be teaching from.  You may have a space in your house, you may be able to use a space in a school or similar, or you may want to rent a studio.