Just out of interest really....what do you do if a pupil forgets their books? Do you do theory or aural instead or do you lend them your books, or do you not teach them at all?

In private teaching I've found this doesn't happen that often and if it does it tends to be just one book missing out of a few. But at school, it's a different story .... one girl finally remembered her books this morning after forgetting them for 3 weeks in a row We've been doing theory instead so the upside is she is becoming a real expert at note naming

I would generally let them use my copies, as I always have my own copy of any music which my students use. But there's nothing wrong with spending a lesson on aural. It sure beats doing all the aural work one week before the exam!

I do that too when I'm teaching at home .... trouble is, at school if I took in all the copies of music that everyone used I'd need a wheelbarrow or something

There's your answer then. Buy yourself a lovely new shiney wheel-barrow!

What I've been doing over the years, is to enter new pieces of music into 'Noteworthy' on my lap-top. Then, I can easily print-off any copies which people have lost, or eaten. I can also play-back either the piano accompaniment or the instrument solo part or even create backing CD's for the students to practice to. It takes a while at first, but once your back-collection is in, it doesn't take much effort to put new pieces in.

Usually I would have copies of the music I ask people to get, in which case they can use my copy for the lesson. In school they may be in a group so others may have the same books. If no copy is available it could be extra sight reading, theory aural, scales. A whole lesson on this stuff and they usually remember in future.

I give them a stern reminder either way though.

I don't mind if too much if a pupil forgets a book the very odd time - even when I know it might have been on purpose to cover up lack of practice that week. I happened last night with a Grade 4 and we spent the lesson learning to modulate to the relative minor in simple improvisations. As long as the pupil is usually conscientious, and forgetting books isn't standard practice, it can be a good excuse to do something fun, or really focus on often-neglected aurals. If it happens too often, though, with a pupil who just doesn't bother to remember, we spend the lesson sight-reading.

I'd certainly get some interesting looks - hubby has a nice new orange one perhaps I'll borrow it


I've found that too. Unfortunately (or should that be fortunately) this girl seems to love theory

I've had the same problem and it's only with a couple of students who seem to 'make' it a habit. If I were you, I'd contact (if you can) the parents and let them know; ask if they even notice the kid leaving the house with their music books! Nothing frustrates me more than parents dropping off their kid for a lesson and not noticing that the kid walks in and out with empty hands. I'm not sure if you can touch base with the parents in your situation though. I can appreciate how some parents want to make it the child's 'thing' where they leave it up to the kid to practice, to get their books, to decide this or that.....but children need to be watched and guided. Anyhoo, sorry to rant....and I hope I'm not offending any parents out there!

If a child (from about 8 or 9 year old) tells me that the parent forgot to pack their books I don't accept that as a valid excuse.
It's their lesson and I make it clear that I think it's their responsibility to know which books they need to bring.

If you were my teacher I'd have always forgotten my books - I was that wierd pupil who loved sightreading Then again for a year or two when I was about G6/7 standard my teacher wasn't stretching or challenging me with what she asked me to practice I did spend most lessons sightreading having been practicing more interesting stuff. I think I might have been a nightmare pupil!

I was exactly the same myself!
Mind you, I'd have been happier for the teacher to allow me to bring along what I was actually practising rather than insist that we only did her stuff in lessons. We could even have made a deal of some sort.

That's true...it always seems to be the same students who forget things...they seem to enjoy their lessons though so they must just be forgetful people!



Me too, I've always loved sight-reading

Firstly I put a little note at the bottom of everyone's invoice, telling them which day their child's lesson is on, asking them politely to ensure that their child has their books on the required day, and reminding them that if a book is lost, a new one must be purchased!! And, yes, I had one parent once who refused to buy their child a new book because he had lost his!!

Last year I ended up making a star chart. If the kid remembered to bring their book, they got a star. If they didn't, then they didn't get a star. If they were absent it was counted as a star as it wasn't their fault. But if they forgot their lesson, they didn't get a star.

At the end of the year, the kid with the most stars got a small prize.

If they do forget their books and I don't have copies of the books they are using, then we do theory/aural/improvisation.

Last week a cetain gifted young man arrived for his piano lesson totally empty handed having left all his school books and his music on the railway bus. He frequently forgets or loses his possessions and his poor mother had spent hours chasing up the lost bag which was, since he is at boarding school, a couple of hundred kilometres away. Having learnt from experience I always have back up copies with me but there isn't much point as it's only me that need them. He plays everything from memory. It's the laid back "I know I'm hopeless, I've done it again" attitude that leaves me no option but to turn my eyes heavenward. He is such a nice young man I can't get cross. However, since he wants to work in aviation I did point out that I would not be getting on any plane he might be piloting.

Pupils forgetting the books, fine and disorganised - to be worked on.

Pupils "forgetting" their books, (and they "really had practised") I smile sweetly and then find my copy! BUSTED.

So evil

Often they bring their books but forget their notebooks, thinking I'll have forgotten what they were supposed to be working on. Guess who makes notes after every lesson

when I was in school, I once "forgot" my book. My teacher said to me, "you mean I have to listen to you playing scales for an entire hour???" and play scales for an entire hour I did!!!

Punishment enough I'd say. I never "forgot" my book again.

How did I think I'd get away with such an original excuse!!!

fiddlechick (aka scale master!!!)

Rhythm work with Flip-a-Rhythm, or my own sets of hand-made flashcards; sight-reading from the Harris books or others; Note Naming Games/Spelling Games - again with flashcards; aural with flashcards (eg work out the rhythm I clapped and use the flashcards to "write" it out); composition work - making up our own rhythms, again with flashcards; keyboard harmony/playing from guitar chords (I have files with various tunes etc in for this kind of activity); composition if there are any aspects of the piece that they're working on that can be used for the basis of their own tunes (don't do this quite as often as I probably should........) and failing all that, scales and arpeggios!!!! (Oh and I often do transposition from exercises from Dozen-a-day......).

I remember one girl waaaayyy in the past who "miraculously" forgot every book except one with pop songs in it (which just happened to be in her bag - we weren't working on any of them......) and I was so annoyed I made her do scales ALL lesson.......... I felt I was being manipulated into doing what she wanted to do rather than what I had set her and I didn't like being manipulated...........(maybe I was wrong - but it was about 15 years ago, and I didn't have the vast array of extra resources that I have gradually been building up since.....so forgotten music used to panic me somewhat!)

I was looking forward to your response on this one!

Hey...

I LOVE it when the kids forget their books.

We spend the lesson using our ears to play music!

I've got so many good tunes to share that they can learn by ear/by rote - lots of them are rounds/canons too, it's always a great lesson of music making!

I often feel that the decoding of the black blobs on the page is overrated anyway.

Yesterday I had two Grade 3 students (who are friends) in adjacent lesson slots. The later one had forgotten her music, so as the earlier one went out of the door and the next one came in, the music changed hands. At least it shows they had thought about it! Sadly, this kind of forethought is all too infrequent (ie completely absent!)

Ha! Yes. I had 2 who used to do that last year. Unfortunately for them, this year their lessons are on different days.

For the last couple of years I was going from school to school with a suitcase on wheels. More and more books went in there and it became a nightmare dragging it around, especially as I started neglecting to change the books over between schools, just shoved the whole lot in there. I used to get kids calling out 'going on holiday, Miss?' etc etc. The wheels finally gave out as I was dragging it up some steps last summer and funnily enough I haven't bought a new one. I'm now taking a minimum of stuff in a carrier bag. If they forget their books, TOUGH! They get to do scales instead and hey presto, they bring their books next time.

On the other hand, if I'm in a really good, bright and breezy mood we might do some jazz improvisation which is always fun but I don't want to go too far down the road rewarding the forgetting of books.

If the pupil really does forget the books (should be rare) it's time for sight-reading, scales & execrcises, improvisation, playing from memory, theory, aural test training . . . I would have thought that would cover most occasional lapses.

If you run out of time with this list or if it happens regularly (i.e. deliberately) there is always polishing the piano, or (if you want to get at the parents) loan them your copy and add the (hefty) hire charge to the bill (make sure it's in the T&C's). Or, seriously for a moment, a long chat with the pupil about motivation, aims and ambitions. And a chat with the parents.

i find it much worse in the schools and those who are serial book forgetters get sight reading tests for the whole lesson. I always carry copies of the books but sometimes a week or 3 of sightreading cures book forgetting.!!

The trouble with bringing your own copies is that it makes them lax about bringing theirs. I like jotting things down (or getting them to jot it down) in pencil on their music, which you can't do if they don't bring it.

One primary school pupil (aged 8) was been forgetting to bring her book week after week - I had my own but still!!! Finally she told me she didn't know where the book was (at home) and admitted she hadn't been able to practise. I just thought she was a bit slow!

I managed to get her phone number and called the mum, who admitted they'd lost the book. I told her she just HAD to find it, and hey presto, the girl turned up with the book: 'mummy found it!'

Talk about slack parents - unbelievable!

I just went through the same thing with a child who came to 3 lessons in a row without her books. Apparently they were having some work done in the house and "mummy can't find my books". At the 3rd lesson, I told her that if she came next time with no books, I'd send her home again to find them. Within a couple of hours, mum phoned to say could she buy new books as everything in the house was upside down and she just couldn't find the books. I agreed, but made it clear that I wasn't impressed! I just wonder how many weeks would have gone by without them doing anything if I hadn't made a stand.

Children usually are accompanied with their parents (or nanny). Tell the one who picked up your students. But, sometimes I am kind of happy they forgot. It means they practiced. Haha..But, I always remind them to bring their books next time.

Hope it helps.

rnie

I wish! I've heard the "I left my book on the music stand" before, and whilst I want to believe that the book really is on the music stand, there are some that I know full well that the book is in a bag at the bottom of a pile in their bedroom, not looked at since their last lesson

As others have said, a lesson of sight-reading and aural works wonders for the memory!

No, please don't be too harsh on us! I am one of the worst at forgetting my books, and I almost always forget something, or haven't practiced something, simply because I forgot it, or lost my notebook...

Fortunately for my piano lessons, my teacher is my dad, so my books stay at home because I learn at home, but for my singing lessons, I am always forgetting my practice diary etc!

It really does suck, but my teacher is very nice and just lets me sing something else...