Survival Guide: Lessons learned while traveling on business

I hate traveling. I'll just come right out and say it. Not sure when this happened, because I can remember a time when I loved staying in hotels, exploring new places, and getting away from my usual daily grind. No more. I love my home comforts, my work, my town, and my little slice of life in Small Town, USA. I'm pretty sure many of my friends have a different perspective than this. I know plenty of people who love heading out of town, including the journey in the car and the flight across the ocean. I'm not in that club.

So it was with a fair amount of trepidation that I ventured a mere 100 miles away from my nest for the annual music teachers conference in my state. Have you ever read Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach? I've been reading it semi-regularly for about ten years. If you have it in your personal library, check out the entry for September 30, and you'll find Breathnach's tips and tricks for making business travel (or travel in general) more bearable.

I recommend buying this book for yourself if you don't already have it. People who aren't into New Age Spirituality may find her references to receiving help from the "Universe" or talking to "Spirit" off-putting, but I simply make a mental substitution of "God" for "Spirit" whenever necessary. (If you wonder why this would even be an issue, all I can say is that doing this makes the messages speak more personally to me.) Anyway, back to September 30. Breathnach opens the entry with a quote from Anne Morrow Lindbergh:

Is there anything as horrible as starting on a trip? Once you're off that's all right, but the last moments are earthquake and convulsion, and the feeling that you are a snail being pulled off your rock.

That snail analogy is all about me. But what can be done? Actually, plenty. Breathnach gives a brilliant bundle of suggestions ranging from what to pack to making sure you carve out free time for yourself between meetings and workshops. In a nutshell, you must plan for your comfort in advance. Take hotels, for example. Do you like staying in hotels? Luxury and resort hotels are fine, perhaps, but how about business class hotels? Eh...not so much. The things that drive me absolutely loony in typical hotels are:

• Fluorescent lighting (please deliver us from fluorescent lightbulbs!)
• Fear of bedbugs
• The smell
• The in-room coffee service
• The water
• The bedspreads (which I hear they seldom launder)
• The alarm clocks
• The TV channels
• The noise from neighboring doors slamming shut
• Living out of a suitcase

That ought to do for now. Inspired by Breathnach's words of comfort and wisdom, I packed for this trip with a totally different mindset than in years past. (Yes, I've had the book for ten years, but for some reason I never latched on to the genius in September 30 until this fall.) Here are the things I packed that gave me the most pleasure:

• Starbucks coffee (decaf and regular in separate baggies)
• Raw sugar and cinnamon (I like these in my coffee)
• A real spoon
• A real coffee mug
• Half and half (you could always pick this up after you reach your destination)
• Coffee filters. 
• Bottled water (enough for drinking plain and for brewing coffee)
• A cinnamon-apple scented candle
• Lovely room fragrance spray
• Disinfectant (spray and wipes...for the bathtub mainly)
• Luxurious bubble bath
• Flip-flops (for keeping my feet from touching the carpet)
• Biscotti
• Protein bars
• Pistachios
• My travel-sized steamer (for quick touch-ups on wrinkled clothes)
• My Kindle (loaded with an assortment of new reading material)
• A Shiatsu massage pillow (for relaxing stiff shoulder and neck muscles after a day of meetings)
• My notebook computer
• Earplugs
• Vitamins, pain killers, cold meds (just in case)
• A trench coat with removable lining

Simple comforts like a scented candle and your favorite snacks make hotel stays more comfortable.

Of course, your list would certainly include different items that mean comfort to you. Fellow teachers I know came armed with wine, bourbon, and Planter's Punch. But surviving and enjoying a business trip is not just about what you pack. It's also about how you spend your time. I am a firm believer in not attending every workshop and every meeting. If you go to all that is offered at a typical business conference, you may have to wake up earlier than you like, rush to get out the door, sit in uncomfortable chairs for hours on end, carry excessive loads of "stuff" (you know, free samples that are distributed, books that you buy from vendors, handouts from each workshop, etc) around a conference center or, as in my case, a college campus, until you finally get 30 minutes of free time to rush back to your hotel and freshen up for dinner...after which, there may be another lecture or presentation of some kind. By the time you finally get back to your hotel room to stay for the night, you are too exhausted to hit the hotel workout facility or to enjoy a good book. That is sooooo...not for me.

Consequently, I made a decision to be a half-day conference person. If there were meetings in the morning that I absolutely had to attend, then I skipped the things later in the day, and vice versa. This move was brilliant if I must say so myself. I felt refreshed and ready for each event I selected, and I had a few hours each day to spend reading, exercising, or soaking in a hot bath. In addition, my role as Secretary of the conference organization made it important for me to save time for going over agendas prior to meetings, and for finalizing the minutes after meetings. I have learned from unpleasant experience that it is much better to complete your paperwork while you are still at the conference site than to bring it home to finish later. My life is far too busy for that, and yours probably is as well. When I have brought home my notes from meetings with the expectation of typing up the minutes soon thereafter, I have ALWAYS run into some kind of obstacle that prevented me from getting it done promptly. This year, I decided to skip the final masterclass (which would have been great, mind you) in order to camp out for a few hours at a nearby Panera Bread tidying up lose ends and completing my paperwork.

To sum up, here are the things I'd like to remember to do again the next time I travel on business followed by the things I would like to do differently.

THINGS THAT WORKED:

• It was fabulous having not only decent, but excellent coffee brewing in my room each morning. I am so glad I brought a real coffee mug and a real spoon as well.
• I was not grossed out at the thought of taking a bath in the hotel room since I brought disinfectant wipes and a disinfectant spray along with me.
• Listening to my favorite tunes for free on Pandora made me feel more at home.
• Getting an extended check-out time was very helpful. I was able to sleep until a decent hour, get ready for the day at a relaxed pace, pack up my things, and still have time to review the agenda for the final meeting while relaxing with a cup of coffee and biscotti.
• Picking and choosing meetings based on necessity as well as interest gave me plenty of time to myself, which I must have if I am to remain sane.
• Unpacking my suitcase, hanging up my clothes, and arranging bath items neatly on the bathroom counter was a good idea. It only took a few minutes, and I didn't have the feeling that I was living out of a suitcase.

THINGS I WILL DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME

• On Day One, arrive at the conference site before dark. When you are in an unfamiliar city, it's a bit unnerving to navigate your way around after the sun goes down.
• Pack lighter: Yes, you do need a few choices of outfits for each day of the conference, but you don't need four choices for each day. A heavy suitcase is not a fun accessory, so pack smart separates that will work for a variety of looks.

The drive home was great. When I left Panera after that final paperwork session, I had a fresh cup of java in hand, and, more importantly, I had the light feeling that comes from knowing that a dreaded task has been completed.

One more thing...
When I arrived at home, I immediately put all of my clothes and toiletries away, then returned my luggage to its stored location. This is something I learned it was wise to do a few years ago. You're back home now, so you don't want to let that hotel feeling linger, right?

A P.S. about bedbugs...
An adult student of mine shared a tip for detecting bedbugs in hotel rooms. I don't know if it really works, but I did try it. You take the "Do Not Disturb" sign from your room and run it between the mattress and box springs, then between the headboard and mattress. If you see blood on the sign, then your room has bedbugs. A fellow teacher used a flashlight to look for bedbugs. Several people I know recommend keeping your suitcases off the floor, as bedbugs tend to multiply there. If you think you may have picked up some bedbugs on your journey, you should probably let your suitcase stay outside in your car when you return home. The heat that builds up inside the car during the day is supposed to kill the nasty critters.

Fresh ideas and inspiration

August is the month during which I do most of my planning for the upcoming school year. Each August I ask myself the same question: "What new things can we try this year?" The beginning of a school year is always a fresh start. It's so much fun to draw inspiration from the opportunity to begin anew! We have a blank canvas in front of us, my students and I. We can make this a year of musical growth, artistic expression, abundant creativity, and yes, even diligent practicing. It's like turning over a new leaf, and I absolutely love it.

Before I decide what new things to try, I like to think about what worked really well last year. If there was something that sort of worked but could use some tweaking, now is the time to plan for that. Here are a few things we tried last year for the first time, and a rating of 1-5 stars for each:

• New levels of awards for students who learn to play scales *****
• I give scale awards as follows:
• Jr. Scale Master (12 major & harmonic minor scales, 1 octave)
• Scale Master (24 major & harmonic minor scales, 1 octave)
• Scale Genius (All of the above, plus 12 melodic minor scales, 1 octave)
• The new levels added this year were:
• Scale Expert (24 major & harmonic minor scales, 4 octaves)
• Scale Pro (All of the above, plus 12 melodic minors, 4 octaves)
• A student came up with the new award level names, and I thought they were brilliant!
• Virtual recitals***
• We had to cancel our winter recital when it snowed and snowed and snowed the day before the planned event. So, we did an online virtual recital via Facebook and email. Students submitted video performances of their recital pieces for online sharing, and I presented awards the same way. It was rather hilarious at times, but it gave students a chance to show off what they had prepared to perform as well as to receive recognition and awards.
• Connecting with students and parents on Facebook ****
• Most of my 13 and up students are on Facebook, and a surprisingly high number of their parents are as well. 
• Many piano teachers I know (even a few I never would have expected!) have joined Facebook.
• You can have your own studio page once you become a member. 
• This is great as long as you understand how to use Facebook, particularly what to avoid and how to protect your privacy (and that of your students).
• Pre-show and post-show music by student performers at the Spring Recital **
• Eh, not so great. The students had plenty of great music to play, but it was awkward somehow. I'll have to work on this one.
• Trophies ordered from an online merchant at a lower price and with more selection than the local awards shop I've used for years. *****
• Crown Awards. Wonderful.
• 1000-minute club (a practicing incentive) **
• This is just a chart with 100 boxes. Students shade in one box for every ten minutes they practice. It's fun, but I should have put more than one in the assignment books. Lesson learned.
• My First Piano Adventure (for very young beginners) *****
• I LOVE this series! If you've never used it, you should play around with it before trying to teach it. Get familiar with the activities and songs on the CD. My youngest students are having big success with this.
• "Monster Bus Driver" and "Katie Scores" are my personal favorite pieces in book 1. 
• The make-believe piano teacher in the series is Mrs. Razzle-Dazzle, and she is all bling-a-fied, sort of like moi.
• A sheet for listing memorized music in the studio assignment books ***
• Good idea, but too limited. It should also be a list for polished repertoire, not necessarily memorized, and it should have a place for composers as well as titles. Easy fix!
• Time-slot sharing (for students whose lessons occur fortnightly...(I so enjoy using that word.))***
• Very helpful with very young students when your schedule is full and the student is testing the waters, but I would not recommend this for more than one school year. Most of my time-share (haha!) students will move up to weekly status this year. 
• New recital venue ****
• Students benefit from performing in a variety of settings, so I was excited to try a local church which recently acquired a nice new Steinway piano. I heard mostly positive feedback about our newest venue, and the only drawback is that there is only one grand piano. If we do an ensemble recital, I would prefer the University recital hall across town.
• Online lending library catalog *****
• I should do a blog post just about this! It is one of the many cool features of Music Teacher's Helper, and I REALLY find it helpful. If you are a piano teacher, I bet you have lost track of tons of your sheet music and books over the years. Am I right? All that money spent on teaching materials goes *POOF* into the black hole of some student's piano bench, or worse...his messy bedroom... when you forget who you loaned something to or that you even owned a particular book in the first place. No more! Music Teacher's Helper offers an online system that allows you to catalog everything you check out to a student. Now I know where my music is at all times! (Did you ever see the overdue library book episode of 'Seinfeld'? I wish I could send Mr. Bookman out to retrieve my music sometimes.)
• MuseScore free music notation software ***
• A friendly sales person at Apple told me about this. It's not an Apple program, she just told me it was a notation program that is compatible with Macs and PCs. (I'm still a PC person.)
• There are how-to videos to get you started on YouTube
• It's very easy to use and has more features than I expected to find in a free download. I recommend it over Finale Notepad now. It does more.
• Group lessons divided by age group. One per semester. ****
• I absolutely plan to continue this! The group classes were called:
• Little Mozarts Class (5-7 years old)
• My only concern: Do 5-7 year-olds mind being called "little"? Nobody mentioned anything about it, but I wonder...
• Bach Class (8-9 years old)
• Beethoven Class (10-11 years old)
• Brahms Class (12-13 years old)
• Bartok Class (14 years and up)
• Don't be fooled by the class names which may imply that we're learning mostly about the composers mentioned. We're not. The names are just easy for students to remember, and as you may have noticed, they provide a mini-timeline of music history (excepting the Little Mozarts Class) as they progress forward as students age. (Bach is Baroque; Beethoven is Late Classical; Brahms is Romantic; Bartok is 20th Century.)
• Logo Merchandise*****



• I gave this 5 stars because I am just so psyched to have my studio logo on tie-dye t-shirts and tote bags. I didn't want to order a bunch of this stuff only to find that no one wanted to buy any of it, so I outsourced to a local custom apparel shop that will create logo merchandise as needed whenever a student wants to sport an AWESOME look.

My next blog entry will be a brainstorm of new ideas for the coming year. I'm going to chew on the list I just made for a while to get me ready! Do you have any ideas? 

Happy Surprises

This week, I have been the recipient of several happy surprises, mostly positive feedback or wonderful words. Here are the highlights:

• A student's mother emailed to say they'd finally gotten their piano tuned, and now her daughter was so happy.
• A mother emailed to let me know her daughter had decided to increase her piano practice time during Lent.
• A parent emailed to say, "I really enjoy seeing my daughter getting so much better under your tutelage."
• A new student told me he had gotten up at 6:30 a.m. to practice on piano day.
• A student said, "Wanna know my favorite day? It's Friday, because that's piano day. Wanna know why? Because this is the only place I ever learn anything." I said, "You probably also learn some things at school, right?" She said, "No, I already know everything there."
• A mother emailed to ask if I would recommend fun or silly music for her child so that she would have more things to play after her practicing was over.
• A student beamed when she told me she had won first place in the music composition category of the PTA Reflections contest at her school.
• A teenage student is super excited to be playing her favorite Taylor Swift song on piano in talent show next week.

Great list, isn't it? This has been an unusually fantastic week...and it reminds me of why being a piano teacher is so doggone fun.

Life is best when lived by the timer

Sometimes I get completely overwhelmed by my to-do list. It gets so full at times that I can't get started on anything without worrying that I'm neglecting an item that's more important. So, here's my latest solution to tackling the big list days: use a timer! Today, there seem to be a million little things tugging at me and making me feel swamped with stuff to do. Each of these things can be categorized under a major heading:

• Laundry
• Updating Website for Local Music Teachers Group
• Paper Stack
• Lesson Notes
• Exercise
• Cleaning the Master Bed/Bath

Here's what I'm in the midst of doing as we speak. Setting a timer for 10 minutes, and working on one category at a time until the bell rings. Obviously, I don't complete everything I want to complete in just 10 minutes, but stopping and moving to the next category when the timer goes off provides a sense of balance, and so far I'm feeling like things are getting under control (big improvement over they way I felt an hour ago). When I've spent 10 minutes on each category, I start the cycle all over again. Each time I revisit a category, the pressure level is lower, and I know that I'm eventually going to finish much of what is gnawing at me. I'm beginning to feel like life is best when lived by the timer!


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The White Glove Test

One of the things I love about working from home is that there is no commute to and from an office. Another perk is that I can have office hours in my pajamas. One of the drawbacks of the arrangement, though, is that it's not good enough for me to have a clean teaching studio...I also have to have a clean kitchen, bathroom, and dining room. "Why, pray tell?" you ask. Because I never know when a student will need to use the restroom, a parent will want to sit in on a lesson, or someone will wander about for some reason. And if any wandering at all is done, the dining room, kitchen, and powder room are sure to be seen.

Which brings me to tonight. It's Friday, we've just finished a delicious family dinner along with a Netflix viewing, and I'd like to tidy up the kitchen, well, tomorrow morning...or afternoon... Tomorrow's Saturday, after all! But, there's one little problem. I teach piano on Saturday mornings. As much as I'd like to leave the dishes piled up temporarily, I mustn't. My wonderful husband does all of the cooking at our house, so the dishes are my domestic responsibility. Our sons occasionally help out with kitchen duty as well, so I'm not complaining.

This brings to mind a few cleanliness horror stories. Shall I share them with you? Yes I shall.

• Once, a student's mother came into the house to use the restroom during her child's lesson. Shortly after she closed the bathroom door, I heard a little shriek. Then I remembered. Just before piano started, I found that red melted candle wax had spilled into the toilet. I only had time to do a quick clean-up job before lessons started, so the mother probably saw whatever I missed in my haste, and assumed it was an organic blob of some sort.
  
• Several years ago, when we had a miniature dachshund, I happened to glance around the piano room during lessons and see an odd shape under the coffee table. Luckily the student I was teaching was looking at his music, and didn't notice when I retrieved the object. Let's just say I was mortified to find that it was an unmentionable my darling little pup had retrieved from the bathroom wastebasket.
• Similar story from a colleague with a golden retriever: Her dog had (and has) a habit of bringing dirty laundry into the piano room - usually socks and underwear, which she deposits at the feet of students.
• When I was in college full-time, and had much less time for domestic chores than I do now (which is not much), I had a student who had an unusually uptight attitude about dust. She could not keep herself from giving my pianos the white glove test at each and every lesson. Since her lesson was in the middle of the week (which was roughly three days after I did my weekly dusting . . . that is, if I had found any time to do weekly dusting), she could always swipe up a nice bit of dust. Eventually I learned to keep a Swiffer hidden inside the piano bench to whip out and use for touch-ups just before said student arrived. Things were great until she started examining tables and window sills.

You get the idea. If there is a truism in my home work environment, it's that a student (probably an adult student) will desperately need to use the bathroom if the toilet has gone without a scrub, and a parent's cell phone will automatically go dead and send him directly into my kitchen to use the land line if there are dishes piled in the sink. If these rooms are sparkling clean, no such needs will occur. It's just plain science. Dirt is a magnet to those whom you would like least to see it.

So, I'm off to store leftovers, run the dishwasher, clean the counters, and sweep the floor. That'll keep 'em in the piano room!

Princess nails are very professional

A friend and I recently hosted a charity event at my house. It was called 'Manicures for the Cure,' and the goal was to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation which is devoted to finding a cure for breast cancer. Inspired by the unconventional nail color choices made by some of the attendees, I decided to indulge in a princess manicure today. What is a princess manicure? Well, it involves sparkles, for sure, and princess shades of blue, purple, pink, yellow, etc. I couldn't decide between blue and purple, so I alternated colors and finished with a coat of glittery clear polish. The result? C'est magnifique! My nails look like something I might want to show off at a New Year's Eve party, but I took them into the piano studio for lessons this afternoon instead. My students were dazzled, no doubt, by the glimmering, shimmering princessy effect. They may have even wished they had the same manicure. But, hey! It's not just about glamour. These nails are very professional for a piano teacher. Just think, I can demonstrate the proper fingering for a root-position triad simply by saying, 'Watch my blue nails' - blue is the color on fingers 1, 3, and 5, you see. I'm not sure what other educational tricks I can do with these nails, but I'll bet I come up with something before it's time to change the manicure!

Taking on new students when the schedule is already full

I'm at a point right now where my teaching schedule for the coming year is full, but there are a few time slots that might possibly be given to new students. Time slots I didn't really want to open. Like early morning time slots. In my world, 9:00 on a Saturday morning is just too early to teach. I know I might be alone on this, but I consider weekend mornings somewhat special. Somewhat lazy. Somewhat let-me-drink-my-coffee-and-don't-bother-me-until-latery.

So this morning, when I interviewed a potential new family of students over the telephone, I hesitated - really hesitated - before suggesting that 9:00 and 9:30 on Saturday might possibly be available time slots. What prompted me to do this was the distinct feeling I got over the phone that this was a family who meant business. All of the right questions were asked. The father wanted tips from me on how to purchase a good used piano. The children are already taking violin lessons from a highly respected member of the local symphony orchestra. The work ethic in the family, at first glance anyway, seems strong.

So, we've set up an face-to-face interview. The meeting is scheduled at the dreaded 9:00 hour on Saturday morning. (I want to test my weekend morning readiness before making a commitment, you see. Smart?) I can already foresee difficulties, though. Too many family members vying for the shower at exactly the same moment. Cars leaving the driveway for work at the same time that cars are entering for lessons. This might turn into a big mess.

But I'm going to give it a try . . .

Early Morning Inspiration

I'm up earlier than usual this morning, so while the sun has yet to peek over the horizon, my pajama office hours have officially commenced. The coffee is brewing, the family are sleeping, and I'm deciding how to spend these quiet hours alone productively. It occurs to me that this might be a good time to practice piano. Why not? I have a practice pedal on one of my instruments, I'm always lamenting my lack of practice time, and it may be nice to have worked through a new sonata exposition or memorized a section of an older piece by the time people start to stir.

In some Alfred edition of some composer's work, I once read a list of tips for effective practicing - by Maurice Hinson I believe. One of the tips (and this one cracked me up) was never to practice while anything stressful is on your mind. I asked myself, "When is that?" Well, maybe it's right now. It's Sunday morning, there are no students on the schedule, and this is likely to be a relaxing day. If there ever was a time when I am free of stress (except for the slight annoyance that I'm not still sleeping), it's probably now.

So, here's the plan: I'm going to pour myself a nice cup of coffee, lock the middle pedal down, and have at it. What's on the practice menu? Something old (a Mozart sonata), something new (a bit of Dohnanyi technique), something borrowed (a student's Grieg), and something . . . blue?

The Perfect Teaching Day

In my world, the perfect teaching day includes the following 20 elements:

1. Good hair (if you knew my hair, you'd understand)
2. A clean teaching studio
3. Lesson notes from the previous week
4. Sharp pencils
5. A tuned Steinway and Yamaha
6. No distractions (phones ringing, random noises, etc...)
7. A lovely manicure (you'd be surprised how mesmerized little girls can be with my hand gestures when the nails are neatly polished with a princess color. It's a guaranteed trick for getting them to observe carefully. And of course my nails are always trimmed short.)
8. Students who arrive and depart on time
9. Students who remember to bring all of their books
10. Teachable moments that happen by surprise
11. Some Brahms
12. Laughter
13. Breaks for teacher so she doesn't feel exhausted by student number 8
14. Something wonderful from Starbucks
15. The discovery of a delightful new teaching piece
16. Overdue items returned to my library
17. Students who show evidence of having practiced throughout the week (why didn't I think of this one back at number 1...or 2?)
18. Any parents who sit in have their cell phones turned off and observe without interjecting
19. I meet each student at his or her level
20. My students leave my studio knowing something they didn't know before.

Who is the Pajama Pedagogue?

I am a piano teacher. I have pajama office hours in the morning with my freshly brewed coffee. This configuration suits me perfectly. I love helping students discover how to make beautiful piano music, and I continually add to my teaching toolbox by reading journals, going to workshops, and experimenting with new ideas.

I have over 40 private students, and each has a completely unique skill set and learning style. I try to adapt my teaching style to accommodate this diversity, and often remind myself that I must meet each student where he or she is . . . at each lesson.

I'm not one of those teachers who likes to (or must) get the day's teaching over as quickly as possible by scheduling students back to back with no breaks. I much prefer spreading the schedule out so that I can regroup, stretch, write lesson notes, check e-mail, and recharge for the next set of lessons. I'm a better teacher that way.

Why a blog? I'm not exactly sure. My prediction is that I will brainstorm new ideas here and discuss teaching and business issues that are on my mind. Piano teaching can be a solitary occupation, and there may be other pedagogues out there who will be interesting in reading some of what I have to write. We shall see...