TakeLessons Shares Resources for Music Teacher Success

Online, February 16, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Music teachers often have big shoes to fill, whether their student wants to someday play at Carnegie Hall or headline a music festival like Bonnaroo.

There are many integral characteristics for successful musicians to embody, but to be a great music teacher takes even more patience and organization. The job of a music teacher is to not only be knowledgeable about their particular instrument, but to also translate that in order to keep a busy adult student motivated, or to keep a fidgety 5-year-old student focused.

TakeLessons (http://takelessons.com), the nation's fastest growing music lessons provider, took the opportunity to share a list of important traits in order to be a great music teacher. The following is an excerpt from the TakeLessons blog post:

"1. Approachable. A happy person who demonstrates a sense of humor along with an empathetic sense of humanity is capable of putting people at ease, and, in return, can create an atmosphere where mutual communication can flow.

2. Organized. This projects a sense of professionalism and helps create confidence in your service. Your answering machine message should also reflect a person 'in control' of their business. Remember to include the name of your studio on your message, even if you use the same line for personal calls. Keep your teaching tools in the same place all the time, so you know where they are. Work closely with a calendar so you can plan events in a calm manner.

3. Motivating. Psychology is useful in any profession when dealing so directly with people. Understanding the different ways people learn, reason and communicate is vital when helping them reach their fullest potential. Positive reinforcement is a much stronger motivator than negative condemnation. A diligent teacher will have an array of strategies for motivating their students to practice, listen, express and create.

4. Inventive. Games, illustrations, analogies, exercises and demonstrations all need some consideration for individual students. An active mind not only learns better, but information is stored in the brain systematically, which makes retrieval easier! Emotion impacts much more strongly than cold facts. An inventive teacher is able to evoke an emotional response from a cold fact, which will then impact greatly on the student and can add to their growing knowledge.

5. Knowledgeable. It is unreasonable to expect any human being to know everything about a subject - even if they make a living out of it. However, a great teacher will know how to access and find information, as well as communicate it."

By sharing the list with blog readers, TakeLessons aims to continue engaging current students and teachers. Readers are invited to share their thoughts by commenting on the TakeLessons blog, where they can also learn how to save money on music lessons, and comments are also welcomed on Facebook (http://facebook.com/takelessons).