The Piano Project and Online Lessons

Hello Online Bloggy Friends, how's it hanging?

I have a proposition for all of you (Oh no. Definitely not that kind.) that I was hoping to get some feedback on.

So as I've harped on plenty enough, I teach piano. To be quite honest with the intertubes, I absolutely love teaching. Love it. 

As of now, I have around 27 students and am about topping off on capacity of students that I can teach in person. I also have noticed a decent population of working adults (at least in India) that would love to learn, but are completely overtaken with work and can only come on the weekends (of which lessons are currently full on Saturday A.M's for me). 

The idea goes that I will have video lessons (which students should work on about a week at a time) online, 1 day guarantee email support for questions, once weekly student/teacher Skype interactions for performance, level appropriate exams, and additional educational assistance/materials.

So here's where I need your feedback:
Would you take classes online?
What services/support would you need to be convinced to take classes in an online environment?

I also am looking for some fearless volunteers to go through 2 months worth of classes (on me!) a month or two from right now and give some feedback about the program. It's completely free for volunteers, unless I get completely bowled over by eager learners! Then we may need to limit numbers. 

The thing you would need to participate: 

• A piano/keyboard to practice on - doesn't need to be yours, but it should play
• The appropriate computer equipment to view videos and conduct skype sessions with sound, which I'm going to guess most of you will be equipped with
• A willingness to try out playing the piano.
• The time to commit to 4 (30 minute) Skype meetings per month (about once per week)
• The ability to not be a troll. Sexual comments/innuendos/invitations are entertaining, but a waste of my time in this experiment. Just don't.

I've been told I'm a good teacher and that I have a great rapport with all different ages, but you can feel free to try it out and give your own feedback as needed.

Even if you choose not to participate, please do let me know your thoughts on the idea. I do need some idea as to whether there is any interest in this at all.

Becky

I'm Baaaaccckk!

Mood: Rum'd Up. Yep.
Listening To: Dhadhang Dhang - Akshay Kumar is my second favorite person on earth to watch dance. Boy has some mad enthusiasm. Second only because there is absolutely no one like Prabhu Dheva. No one.


Alright wiseacres. Try not to fall all over yourselves that I've showed up again. I can't promise it will or won't happen again - that's just how I roll with the randomness.

So. From last post. It's holiday season at the G house. Speaking of which, which one of you Indian buggers decided that holiday season starts with Ganesh Chathurthi in September and continues on until the New Year? Someone kidney punch that guy. I was packed solid with holiday chikanery when it started at the end of October in the US! It's getting ridiculous.

As I may (or may not have, I can't remember at the moment) mentioned, my eldest turned 10. I endured the 3 hours worth of 10 screaming 10 year olds with most of my sanity intact. Well, as much as I had to begin with anyhow. My living room still looks like the birthday party fairy had an orgy on my couches with the balloon man. Anyone know why my walls are still littered with birthday....matter? That's right, I have one more party to throw this Friday for my other daughter. Laziness outstrips normalcy in the G household sometimes. So, yeah. Only half the decorations to frantically put up on Friday. It's a good thing. In other news, I spent a very weepy-ish afternoon getting out appropriate sized clothing for my kids and deciding what to pass on to other people to use because it's too small. It's killing me. At least the pain was a bit muted because it wasn't baby clothes. Little yellow duckies, wah!!!

Sorry, I'm done. Daddy G is again absconding to the US after the littlest's birthday party is done. Whatever. Mama needs some hair dye and coffee flavoring syrup. Even the import stores don't find it worth it to cater to blondes. Or people who are addicted to caramel and hazelnut flavored coffee. He's gone for a week this time, which is rather innocuous for his usual trip

I'm planning to send my third child to the US with Daddy G to have some things fixed. No, no, I did not go off and have an unannounced, secret child that I neglected to share with my internet peeps. I'm talking about my ipod. As I've mentioned - worlds biggest whiny bitch in terms of batteries. Unplugged for 2 minutes? Time to die. This needs to get fixed because I need to get back into running. And running without Axl and Bon Scott keeping me company just isn't happening.

Lots of craziness in the upcoming months that I'm trying to plan for. A few of my students have finished their level 2 books - Go Students!! - and will need to get ready for an exam. An exam that I am writing with the help of the other fearless teacher that teaches in the G house. Writing and exam has been eye opening, that's for sure. I'm super excited to see them excel and carry on though, which I'm sure they will.

I'm getting ready to wander off to Mumbai in December to see my very first, in person, real life Indian wedding. You guys, I am SO stoked. Daddy G and I will be going alone to Mumbai to watch a good friend tie his knot and wish him well. The one well and truly valid excuse I have to tie and wear my own sari in public. I so got this.

So yes, with the enthusiasm this evening - I have it.

The inlaws are coming over in a week or two to spend some time with us. I'm excited (surprise, surprise) for this too. I actually love spending time with them. Bring it.

I've started preparing both my students and myself for the upcoming recital in Feb also. I feel like I just finished the last one, so I'm not so enthused to start, but on the other hand, the program looks to be super interesting this year. I have decided to have two separate recitals (split the 25 into 2 groups) of roughly piano and keyboard students. It was just too hard for the piano students (and myself) to get into playing the keyboard, even if the venue was good. So...two groups, two different nights at my place. Hopefully it will feel more intimate too - last year it was a bit...well...non connective. If you know what I mean

Very full plate until Feb. I'll stick around though. This has been therapeutic. And enthusiastic.

Becky

Life Rolls On

Hello Folks - if indeed there are still any of you folks hanging around this desolate and abandoned blog.

I was looking over my past entries with regret that I’ve gotten so far away from writing as it is one thing that I thoroughly enjoy.  Both of my jobs and my children are keeping me occupied on a full time type basis. It’s wonderful and frustrating, all rolled up into one musical, needy ball that occasionally whines.

Anyhow. I teach upwards of 25 now and have another teacher whom comes to take some students in my house also.  I have been batting around the idea of putting up some oneline lessons for working pros/people for whom distance is a problem, but am not sure how this would work out or how the reception for it would be. So. Weigh in. Video classes with occasional Skype sessions with a teacher to make sure the student stays on track? Yes, No, Mebbe? Please drop me a comment.

In other news, I now have a 10 year old. 10. Year. Old. Eeks! My eldest has indeed turned 10 and I am not thrilled. I’ve been on one major nostalgia bender and can’t stop thinking about how little time I have left with her at home. We’ve jumped full on into the pre-teen attitude, and angst,

Daddy G has joined the twitter-verse! I know, I’m amazed too, as I thought surely the world would flop upside down before he would participate in any social media activities. Turns out I was wrong. Anyhow, he’s busy learning how to find people to follow him. It’s been quite amusing to watch.

I’m going to stop here for now as I have to go finish planning my daughter’s birthday party. I’ll be sure and write again after the party insanity has passed.

Becky

God Damn it, Where is my Damn Horse???

Mood: Positive

Listening to: With or Without You - U2

Hello Internet Folks,

It has indeed been quite some time since I wrote last. Life is keeping me busy. Since I wrote last, I have been traveling and teaching quite a bit. I love it, but have been missing writing lately....so here I am. 

I have almost 20 students at present and it is challenging to have 5 classes a day twice a week, but I absolutely love the teaching part. I am also gearing up for a recital in August that I'm really excited about too. Ah, nothing like young minds in the afternoon. 

I traveled to Goa in April for Daddy G's and my 10th anniversary. It was a fabulous trip without the kids. Head on over to http://followingthemasala.blogspot.in/ to check out what we did and some pictures.

I returned to the US for the first time in 18 months in May. Can you believe I was scared to go back? It was an amazing trip, but exhausting. We were in Minneapolis, Chicago, Michigan, and New York over the course of 3 weeks. It did, however, help me re-orient myself as to who I am and who I want to be, so I see it as a positive thing. When you are immersed in a culture that you have to fit in to, sometimes you need that jolt to remember that you can be in it without changing everything. 

The side effect that I haven't reconciled yet is that I really, really miss living in the US. I think more than missing the US, I am getting to the point in my life where I want a sense of permanence. For a while, I thought we may stay in India permanently and I was cool with that. Now our plan has shifted a bit and we have decided to head back to the states in a few years. This has kind of thrown me off a bit because I know my piano business is not really going to evolve into anything beyond lessons (which to be honest has been my suspicion all along, but I'm ok with that too) and anything else I do here, including making friends, will be transient. So it's almost like I see a move coming in the future...so I'm anxious to move and get it done. On the same token, as I've mentioned many times before, I absolutely adore India. It is one of the most fascinating/frustrating/amazing places on earth and I unabashedly in love with it.

What I'm trying to adjust my head around right now is just enjoying the time I have left to live here and enjoy being in the moment.  God damn it, I am definitely getting old. 

For those of you that did, thanks for sticking around! Hopefully I won't disappear again. 

Becky

Busted

Hello Lovelies,

You know the drill, I'm sorry, I've been busy, I'm a work-a-holic, etc. Moving right along.

So. Someone found me this week. From my blog. The one that I talk about sex and say Fuck on a regular basis. For piano lessons for his children. Wow.

I have to give it to the guy...Mad props for not shooting off a mental "Hell no, that chick is crazy and will not be good for my children" type response. This blog may be an accurate, true picture of me, but it never, ever comes out in any form when I'm around children, including my own. I like to keep it professional. Especially with my students. Good god, I hope I'm not shoving my foot further down my own throat. 100 bonus points for actually associating this blog with other more reality based aspects of my personality and my business, sir. Cheers. Actually, I'm really glad this happened, because I've met some really interesting people, one piano player with tons of potential, and one very, very gifted piano player. Pianos are very few and far between here, so I'm actually extremely excited to find students who have a real piano, leave alone ones who have pure, natural, expressive talent. 

God damn it. I had a brilliant post about middle fingers up in the air about society's expectations of me and how I don't really care, but I just couldn't post it. Good lord but I feel like a fraud to liberated minds everywhere. 

Here's the thing. I know that I'm not the first person to run into people from real life finding me on the internets. Old stories, right? The thing is, I still haven't reckoned what is in my head with actual functionality in society. I've had the freedom for most of my adult life to basically do whatever the hell I want in relation to a community and professionally and have done so. Not that I actually work in an organization, but I'd like to keep my illusion of working as a professional in my own piano/guitar lesson organization as it is, thank you very much. I'm not ashamed of who I am, but I'm not really looking to fit in. I do smooth things out in my regular day to day interactions because fighting the system all the time is exhausting, and people are judge-y. It's easier to give the illusion of assimilation.

I promise to keep it real with you guys. That I can promise for sure, even if the word Fuck is involved.

Becky

P.S. I in no way condone your children reading this blog. Seriously people.