I really enjoy having the option to send out lesson notes after a lesson through the Music Teacher’s Helper website. I find this is a great way to recap a lesson, reiterate the main theme of that lesson, and to remind me of what occurred in the student’s previous lesson, as the notes appear on my daily summary. As I teach solidly with very few breaks in between lessons, I keep a notebook on my piano that I jot notes into for lesson notes. When I sit down at my computer (sometimes that evening, and often times the next morning) I have a reference to go to on what happened at a student’s lesson and what comments I would like them to take away from that lesson.
When creating lesson notes each week, I always try to touch on something positive that happened in the lesson. Sometimes that may be as small as “Nice job being on time three weeks in a row!” or as large as “Great improvement! You are on to a new level!” I also have my students keep a “Voice Notebook” that I write in, as well as they write in.
Here are a few of my comments from past lesson notes:
- Great lesson this week! Remember to work on (maintaining your legato on mm 8-15 ) while practicing this week.
- What improvement at your lesson this week! Try incorporating a (lift into your phrase endings, delaying the pitched consonant at the end of the words in the first verse) like we discussed while practicing this week.
- Nice job on ________at your lesson this week. Try practicing more ________ so that you can find more success at your next lesson.
- Way to go remembering your theory book! Remember to finish Lesson 3 and to look for those terms in your new piece when practicing this week.
As Ed Pearlman recommended in his blog on lesson notes, I keep my lesson notes very short and progress-based so that they are read and not ignored as more information to sort through!
About the Author
Wendy Morgan Hunter is a soprano, music director, conductor, and private voice teacher. Wendy has performed opera, oratorio, jazz and musical theatre across the United States, from New York’s Lincoln Center to Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre. She studies with Erie Mills and has sung under the direction of Maestro Roger Wagner, Dr. Thomas Summerville, Dr. Paul Salamonovich, Maestros Gary Unruh, Rafael Ornes, and Rodney Eichenberger. Wendy was the winner of the Marilyn Horne Endowment, Winner of the SCVA Vocal Competition, and the Los Angeles Young Artist of the Future competition. She most recently soloed at Stanford University in the premier of the new Mass “The Armed Man”. She has sung with numerous opera and theatre companies including Opera San Jose, and creating the role of The Witch in Stephen Sondheim’s first off-Broadway production of “Into The Woods” produced by Disney artists and directed by Kevin Lima. Mrs. Hunter has a CD available titled “The Standards of Love”. She holds a B.M. in Vocal Arts from the University of Southern California. Wendy Morgan Hunter has created and conducted numerous children’s choirs throughout the state of California in the last eighteen years for Elementary through High School Students and for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, who awarded her an Outstanding Program Award. She is currently assisting with the creation of the Campbell Children’s Theatre Foundation, Music Directing for the Campbell Unified School District’s Musical Theatre Productions, and has a private studio of 40 private voice students. A mother of three, she is happily married to Jeff Hunter, a Vice President at Dolby labs, Inc. and author of Talentism.com.
