Teachers, bring the geek passion front and center.
For example, my piano is named after that Lillith.
Readers, feel my heart:
I love my piano. I love my house, of course, but I really love the room in which my piano resides. Hardwood floors, in a contained living room, in an old Detroit brick house. The acoustics, y’all. The acoustics.
Sometimes when I can't sleep, I'll stand here or there and look at my piano in awe. I move my lamps around to get different light schemes and views.
Sometimes I'll graze my fingers over the keys. Not to play the keys, but just to feel the enamel, to feel the breaks between the keys, to feel the rhythm between the smoothness of the white keys and the intrigue of the black keys.
I keep the lid up most days (much to the thrill of my cat who enjoys sliding down it). I like looking at the strings and the hammers. I love the curvature of her; she's what's called a princess grand. She's just over four feet/about one and a half meters long, tiny enough for an apartment with a sound that travels down the block.
My piano has a name. Her name is Lillith. Yes, of course she is named after that Lillith, the one who refused to be subservient or submissive to Adam. Myth has it that she was beautiful, disobedient, haughty, rageful, goddessly talented, and—get this—funny.
Huh.
Lillith gets fresh flowers every week. We both deserve them.
The lower notes are deep and rich, the higher notes clear and distinct. I like hearing recordings where you can slightly hear the hammers; it's a sound even the best keyboards cannot replicate.
This.
Made in Detroit, in 1924 at 1515 Woodward, this was made at what used to be the Grinnell Brothers factory. It is one of the few original Detroit-made pianos still in working order. It is as old as my house, which was also made in 1924.
Sometimes I sit in front of her and marvel over all of the complex chords that have been created since the piano was created. We have contests and concerts, we have film scores and pop videos, we have gaming music and sleep aids…a lot of that created or at least sketched out using this instrument. Isn't that astounding?
Isn't that astounding?
I love what I do. And this is the very first thing I teach new teachers--bring your geeky music passion, front and center.
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We help professional musicians and first year music teachers become effective educators. We provide seminars, one-on-one consultations, professional development workshops, and keynote speaking.
The Faculty Handbook is my actual handbook that I developed over the years while running my own studio. It is available at Teachers Pay Teachers so that you have the option of multiple buyers.
Our signature service, The Audit, allows you to see your studio with fresh eyes and helps you set quantifiable short-term and long-term goals, including teacher retention, student enrollment, and overall morale.
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