April 26, 2025: Saturday Remix
Teachers and Staff: Happy Saturday!
Welcome back from break! Lessons started up again today, and for me it felt refreshing and energizing. I have learned in my life that I am usually the most content, confident, and internally peaceful when I am teaching.
Coming up: Mother’s Day weekend, Saturday & Sunday, May 10 & 11, are scheduled off-days (no regular lessons those two days). May 10 is also our Destination Recital (see below).
Destination Recital
This week and next, please encourage your students to attend our Destination Recital in San Diego County on Saturday, May 10, 2025. The field trip includes a charter bus ride, meals and snacks, the recital in a beautiful temple, a visit to the Museum of Making Music, and more!
They can look for information on flyers around the studio, on the website, in their Friday Medley emails, and they can email office@dennisfrayne.com. We will accept signups almost to the last minute.
Studio Spring Recital - Well Done!
Our studio recital set (Spring Quarter, 2025) took place over two days, April 14 and 15, 2025, Monday and Tuesday afternoons and evenings.
In addition to many wonderful performances by students, teacher Mr. Denny presented a special performance at each of the recitals over those two days. He performed the entire Presto! It’s Piano Magic, Book 1, from memory, at the piano. He also sang many of the songs, too! His performance was an inspiration to many students, and to me!
Mr. Denny is going to perform the whole set one more time at our destination recital on May 10, 2025.
Musical Ladder System
The Musical Ladder System is being launched in May. Here are the basics of what you need to know and to do. More information will be forthcoming. For now, please know (and think about) the following:
Every student will participate in the Musical Ladder program by default. Students can opt out of the program. We will let you know if your student opts out. Until that time, if it occurs, please assume they are in the program. Please encourage them to be in the program! This includes all ages, including teens and adults.
Teachers cannot opt out of the program. Every teacher participates, and every teacher is committed to participating enthusiastically.
The system is based on longevity. Students reach levels as they progress, over time, through their ongoing lessons. There is an achievement aspect (test, project, performance, developmental milestone) for each, but the milestones and levels take place on a predetermined schedule. The levels start at every 3 months of continuous lessons, then eventually evolve to every 6 months, and then every year. (Students who withdraw and then restart later must restart on the first rung of the ladder.)
Students NEVER fail their test or are unsuccessful in reaching their scheduled milestone and level. It is your responsibility, as their teacher, to define their goal at each level in a manner that ensures that they attain their goal, every time. (We will talk more about this as we go along.)
Milestone goals can include a wide variety of diverse activities. Here, I will note some basic examples; this listing is simply a starting point of ideas and potentialities. Accomplishments can be: written tests, oral tests, playing tests, performances (including in-lesson, at-home, Forum, recitals, at school talent shows, and more), memorization of some material, completion of a task or project, reading or research and then a written or oral report, demonstration of a new skill, a self-assessment, and many more.
The requirement for teachers is to work with each student, at the beginning of each level, to design the milestone activity. Then, help to ensure the student learns what is needed, develops the skills needed, etc., and completes the activity successfully by the due date at the end of the level period.
Milestone activities should be meaningful, yet easily achievable. They are not meant to be so easy that a student can already do them without even trying. But they must not be so difficult that a student must devote inappropriate time or effort into achieving them, or have the chance or failing.
Remember, the levels are first about longevity – the continuous time they have put into their music lessons. The milestone activity is a procedure to formalize the process and event, to make it more meaningful, to make it more rewarding, and to help students and parents to know and to feel that they are accomplishing things and growing as musicians and students.
Additional questions about Musical Ladder logistics, procedures, system access, etc., will be answered later (but soon)!
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Q. The music lesson entry on my calendar shows the lesson as a class, but there is only one student. Is this really a class or an individual private lesson?
A. It is a class. We also call them Small Group Lessons. It is true that many small group lessons regularly have only one student. We still treat the lesson as though it were a class.
First, with piano especially, the lesson probably takes place where there are multiple pianos and/or electric keyboards, rather than the lesson rooms with one acoustic piano. Second, another student may eventually be added to the class. Third, another student may drop in from time to time to the class as a guest student. This generally will not occur more than once per month. But it could happen up to once per month. (Guest students will not be placed in individual private lessons, unless in an extreme circumstance – this would be very rare.)
Small group lessons could have up to four students (never more than four).
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Thank you, everyone, for all that you do!
Have a magical Saturday, a musical weekend, and a safe and healthy coming week.
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Thank you,
Dennis Frayne
"Dr. Dennis"
Laguna Niguel School of Music
Dennis Frayne Music Studios
30110 Crown Valley Pkwy, Suites 105/107/108
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 844-9051 (office cell)
(949) 468-8040 (personal cell)
www.lagunaniguelschoolofmusic.com
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