OK, by “studio” I mean the corner of my living room of course, but I have tried to make it a separate defined space. My piano corner needed to do a few things:
- Be fun and kid friendly, but not turn off my adult students (a tricky balancing act!)
- Have everything I need during my lessons, I don’t want to be running around looking for a pen or a post-it as this is a complete waste of my time, and my student’s time.
- Have a few key reference points that I can use during my lessons without needing to pull out a book or a photocopy.
So this is what I ended up with! I have boxes to hold all my regularly used books, small boxes for flashcards and games and a pen cup (which is actually a coffee can covered with my studio logo printed on contact paper, score one for upcycling!).
I also added a simple vase of fabric flowers and some black and white photos. I didn’t want it to look like a pre-school classroom for my adult students.
I have chosen the couple of graphics I display carefully, they need to be functional in most lessons in order to gain a place on my wall.
My note reading mnemonics met this brief, they’re an oldie but a goodie. Not every student suits this style of note reading but for those that it does suit it’s great to be able to point up at the wall if they need a little reminder.
But my favourite part has to be my circle of fifths clock.
I love this for illustrating the keys. I use it with my adult students to move through scales, we do one per week, starting at C and moving clockwise through all the keys. I think it makes it clearer why we’re doing a certain scale next and cements the theory behind it in a memorable way.
Plus it’s a fun colourful addition to my piano corner!
Love your Circle of Fifths Clock! Have instructions on how to make it on your site somewhere?
Hi Jennifer! Yes you can find them over here https://colourfulkeys.ie/improvisation/circle-fifths-clock/
Thanks for great ideas! How did you make your note reading mnemonics?
I don’t actually use those anymore as I don’t use mnemonics with my students these days. However, if you’re interested you can find them on my Teachers Pay Teachers. Just search for Colourful Keys.