Blog by Merlin B. Thompson

September is a busy time of year for music teachers. New students arrive. Returning students bring spontaneous interests, remarkable experiences, unusual questions, along with surprising and delightful possibilities. After our summer break, music teachers return to teaching with renewed enthusiasm a...

As summer winds down, it’s natural for music teachers to start getting ready for September. Lesson plans. Repertoire selection. Scheduling. Goal setting. All the practical details that come with starting again. There’s a lot on the list.

But before getting over-focussed on what you’re going to teac...

As music teachers, we spend much of the year pouring ourselves into our students’ musical journeys. Often, it can feel like there’s no end to the list of tasks needing our attention—lessons to plan, emails to answer, performances to prepare for, repertoire to choose, and students to encourage. That’...

Have you noticed how lessons at this time of year have a different rhythm? Students’ routines are interrupted. Practice often takes a back seat to camps, vacations, and hot summer days. Things aren’t the same as during the school year.

Here are three simple reminders that can make summer teaching m...

Last week, the mother of two of my students sat in on her sons’ lessons. Not an usual occurrence in my studio by any means. But on this occasion, something most remarkable did take place and I was glad she was there to see it for herself. 

Over the previous few weeks, her two boys (a first-yea...

What keeps music students motivated long-term? What helps students continue making music into adulthood rather than quitting after a few years of lessons? What do music students need from today’s music teachers?

Music teachers often answer these questions with strategies designed to help students sur...

Sometimes it seems like there’s no end to the problems music teacher are required to solve. We’ve got students who need guidance from us. Students with certain problems. Students in situations that pull our attention. So what do we do? Take a look at these two solutions that may not be what first co...

Have you ever had this situation? Your student arrives with a selection they’d like to learn that’s clearly beyond their current level. They absolutely can’t wait to get started. As music teachers, we know what could happen next. On the one hand, we worry that students’ decision may result in techni...

I give a lot of presentations to university-level music majors. And over the years I’ve noticed several questions are often on their minds. They want to know - Is it possible for students to achieve advanced performance levels without being pushed? Can students achieve excellence without pressure? C...

This past week I’ve had an intertwining of questions on my mind - What makes a good assignment for our students? How can we help students take ownership of their musical journey? And how can we integrate meaningful repetition into our students’ home practice sessions? After all, good assignments can...

What if the most effective strategies in your teaching didn’t require new materials, new repertoire, or a ton of planning? What if effective strategies could come from doing things more intentionally? This article is inspired by a recent conversation with a music teacher colleague who highlighted tw...

Join a music teacher discussion group and it most likely won’t take long before someone asks the question, “How do I get students to practice?” It’s a question music teachers have grappled with for decades that carries urgency, frustration, and a genuine desire to help students succeed. Music teache...

Earlier this year, two parents contacted me about music lessons for their children. They visited my studio. We chatted. They had questions. So did I. After some time, the reassuring look on their faces told me we had arrived at an important commonality. We had zeroed in on something remarkable that ...

Lately I’ve had the topic of real life students on my mind - and how all my students show up for their lessons with any number of individual characteristics. That means I have some students who learn quickly. I also have students who learn slowly. Some have lots of time to practice. Some have many o...

Have you ever noticed how certain questions just never go away? Uncomfortable questions like -  Why do so many students drop out of music lessons? Why do so few students participate in recreational music making as adults? What’s going on? Who’s at fault? What are we doing wrong?

These uncomfor...

I think it’s safe to say that for many of us, we become music teachers because of the profound way that making music has shaped our own lives. We’ve experienced the wonder and magic that lifelong music making has to offer year after year - most likely from our childhood. Looking back to my childhood...

In February 2025, I had the wonderful treat of visiting my granddaughter’s Montessori school in St. Helena, California. Spending time in her Primary classroom was such a joy. I just sat back and soaked up all the light and love in the room. It was a calm and quiet atmosphere, with low chairs, natura...

Every once in a while I’m struck by how teaching private music lessons can be a lonely journey for music teachers. That might feel like a surprising statement, especially when we spend so much time working with our students, but music teachers need something more. We’re engaged in energy-consuming a...

I think it’s safe to say that music teachers value the process of asking questions as a great way to build student engagement, independence, and understanding. Asking questions can shift lessons from teacher ownership to student discovery and yet - it’s not as simple as all that. Sometimes musi...