The Lesson Line is a combination blog and email newsletter for students taking Simply Music piano lessons. The content of the Lesson Line is just as much a part of your lessons as anything delivered in studio, providing important advice and valuable resources to help make your piano lesson experience as successful as possible.
The Lesson Line name may seem a little funny, because, when it comes to that information, there’s definitely not “less online” — there’s obviously more than if we were covering everything in class! But that’s exactly what allows us to spend as much class time as possible working on music projects, making the most of the lessons you’re paying for. And if you’re a client of Potluck Creative Arts, you’ll at times also receive relevant administrative information.
Here are a number of ways the Lesson Line can provide value to you.
Primer Posts
Together, a number of past pieces form a sort of primer for succeeding with Simply Music piano lessons. For easy reference, links to them appear below, in order from first to last. As soon as possible after beginning lessons, all students/coaches should read through this primer, ideally completing at least one piece per week.
- Why We Do It — The Profound Benefits of Learning to Play the Piano
- Slowly, Slowly, Slowly
- Making Mistakes
- When Perfection is a Problem
- How to Practice a Song
- Building a Repertoire
- Managing Current Projects
- Keeping the Repertoire Alive
- The Importance of the Life Coach in Supporting Students’ Success with Piano Lessons
- Keeping Your Piano Progress On Target, Ideally or Otherwise
Email Announcements
Each time a substantial new Lesson Line piece is published, you receive an email announcement with an excerpt as well as links to the complete piece at the Potluck Creative Arts website.
If you prefer to read offline, feel free to print your own copy for your personal reference at your convenience. You’re welcome to do this with any Lesson Line pieces.
Web Archive
Most pieces written for the Lesson Line are timeless, relevant indefinitely beyond the publication date. To help make them easily accessible for you, you can find the complete Lesson Line archive at http://potluckcreativearts.com/content/lessons/line/, which you can also reach through the following two shortcuts: http://tinyurl.com/pcalessonline or http://tinyurl.com/lessonline.
Of course, you can always bookmark the archive page, in which case it’s even easier to get to, just a click away.
Studio Binder
There is a Lesson Line binder in the studio. It contains a printed copy of each substantial Lesson Line piece, with the most recent always added right at the front for easy access. Whenever you have a few extra minutes before or after class, you’re welcome to pick up the binder to read any articles you wish, new or old.
In-Class Overview
Following the publication of each new substantial Lesson Line piece, we’ll spend a few minutes going over what the new piece is about.
For anyone who has already read the piece online and has questions, this is a great time to ask. Remember, though, that anyone is welcome and encouraged to ask questions about any topic at any lesson, so don’t imagine that it’s ever too late to bring up something covered previously through the Lesson Line, during a lesson, etc.
Subscribe via Email or RSS
If you are a Potluck Creative Arts student/parent enrolled in ongoing lessons, at least one adult in your household must be subscribed to the Lesson Line via email. But anyone is welcome to subscribe via email or RSS, and it’s especially beneficial for all members of a household who are involved in lessons — the students themselves as well as any parents, guardians or others supporting any students’ progress.
A Lesson Line subscription form appears at the bottom of the enrollment page, at the bottom of every Lesson Line web post, and also immediately below, allowing you to subscribe via email or the RSS feed.
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