New School Year: Assignment Books

I use a custom-made assignment book
in my studio. Here is a sampling of pages
from this year's book.

Download my newest assignment sheet here: The Piano School Assignment Sheet

Piano teachers share ideas with each other all the time, so I will admit that the idea of a custom assignment book did not originate with me. Two of my colleagues were kind enough to lend me their studio assignment books several years ago for ideas. I did not copy their books, and I'm sure they wouldn't have wanted me to. It takes hours to develop the pages, and it would simply be unfair for another teacher to copy what you have created without permission and/or financial compensation. I gleaned ideas from my colleagues' books, and used their pages as mental starting points from which I created my own sheets. I have subsequently shared my books with other teachers (with the understanding that they will not copy any pages without my permission), and some of these teachers have come up with fabulous ideas that never occurred to me. We share with each other but respect intellectual and creative property. Piano teachers are generally a considerate lot.

When my books are finished, they will be spiral-bound with a nice clear plastic cover and black plastic backing. I charge my students enough to cover the cost of printing and binding, and the books are a required purchase. But what an indispensable tool they are! We rely on these bad boys to keep us straight throughout the year and to remind us of what has been accomplished.

One page that is a big hit with some of my students is the 1000-Minute Club sheet. I did not invent the 1000-Minute Club. I found it on the Internet and then tweaked it to fit my studio needs. As far as I know, the person or people who came up with this idea intend for it to be shared: 1000-Minute Club PDF

Each year, I add and subtract items as our needs change. This year, I added a section to the weekly assignment sheets to help us keep track of the games we're playing at Music Learning Community. I'm particularly proud of this little addition:

It's the little things! An area
for recording online assignments
will save me time during lessons.

I also added a Circle of Fifths (after years of drawing it on the spot!) and a sheet explaining the triad patterns I have my younger students learn. Here is the complete list of contents:

• Cover sheet
• Directory of phone numbers and websites
• Class Assignments (each student is assigned a class for group lessons)
• Music History (a summary of historical periods and composers)
• Fall Term Divider
• Awards earned during Fall Term
• 1000-Minute Club for Fall Term
• Due dates for Fall Term
• Write your bio (for Christmas recital program)
• Assignment sheets and staff paper for Fall Term
• Spring Term Divider
• Awards earned during Spring Term
• 1000-Minute Club for Spring Term
• Due dates for Spring Term
• Write your bio (for spring recital program)
• Assignment sheets and staff paper for Spring Term
• Summer Term Divider
• Assignment sheets for summer lessons
• Circle of Fifths
• Scale Fingerings
• Pentascales
• Major Scales
• Minor Scales (harmonic)
• Minor Scales (melodic)
• Triad Sheet
• Extra staff paper

I'm always looking for ways to improve my assignment books. If you have ideas for additions or modifications, please share!

DOWNLOAD MY ASSIGNMENT SHEET HERE: The Piano School Assignment Sheet