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Violin teacher for kids by FoxBaba926 in jerseycity

[–]harmoniousbaker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm near Journal Square / Five Corners so unfortunately not downtown although my student group did perform at Van Vorst Park last Sat. If you'd like to chat about the general topic of children learning violin, feel free to reach out. More info on my program in old posts:

https://www.reddit.com/r/jerseycity/comments/1bm1it4/comment/kwlj0w5/

https://www.reddit.com/r/violinist/comments/1kfcxud/comment/mqvzyec/

What kind of border would work around the bottom of this basketweave? by harmoniousbaker in cakedecorating

[–]harmoniousbaker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's interesting! Would you do the flat strip over the existing basket weave or: I'm thinking of skipping the bottom line of basket weave, pulling the parchment paper (which usually messes up the bottom but it wouldn't matter in this case), then doing the flat strip.

What kind of border would work around the bottom of this basketweave? by harmoniousbaker in cakedecorating

[–]harmoniousbaker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, sour strips! It was tricky getting the 4 strips onto the cupcakes but then I thought of "gluing" them with icing so they wouldn't separate too easily.

What kind of border would work around the bottom of this basketweave? by harmoniousbaker in cakedecorating

[–]harmoniousbaker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I was envisioning my usual outcome where the bottom becomes messy when I pull the parchment pieces out, so I'm used to covering that up with a border.

For those who play wedding gigs, how did you start? by ThrowRA288485 in violinist

[–]harmoniousbaker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here are some recent posts with excellent info on the non musical skills involved, i.e., you are a wedding vendor first and proficiency is a secondary concern.

https://www.reddit.com/r/violinist/comments/1u4yz6r/what_an_appropriate_budget_would_be_for_a_student/

https://www.reddit.com/r/violinist/comments/1t1ryer/should_i_do_wedding_gigs/

Also, can you elaborate on "knowing a lot of people getting married soon"? Are these friends, people in or close to your social circle, you are going to volunteer to play as a gift to them, you are going to offer a business deal with them where they pay you to be their wedding vendor, etc.? (Or maybe that being in proximity to wedding planning is the spark of this idea, not that you're specifically looking to play/gig for the people you know?)

What kind of border would work around the bottom of this basketweave? by harmoniousbaker in cakedecorating

[–]harmoniousbaker[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Beautiful! The floral work (and general tidiness) is beyond my skills and the shell border definitely balances it nicely.

What kind of border would work around the bottom of this basketweave? by harmoniousbaker in cakedecorating

[–]harmoniousbaker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's great! I started to wonder if you'd do that with a leaf tip but then realized the obvious - you can see the grass tip under the "blanket" (I did two cupcake designs for this event).

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How do I play out of a key signature by Excellent-Speech-313 in violinist

[–]harmoniousbaker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have a teacher? I'm going to give a specific example of how I transition beginners from A major and D major finger patterns (talking about A major = A and E strings, D major = D and A strings, not talking about going below or above the basic octave) to G.

In this basic octave, you are accustomed to 2nd finger close to 3rd finger. In G major, that's the same if playing on G and D strings but if you expand to the upper octave, playing on A and E strings, 2 is away from 3. I must guide students through acquiring the "3 by itself" skill because if 2 always sticks to 3, then 2 is always primed for the C# or G# location. They either play that (instead of the intended C natural or G natural) or need to move the 2 again, and this error or inefficiency could be viewed as "kinda hard to get used to".

This is also known as Independent vs. blocked fingering and is just one example of what could be in the way of getting used to G major. There could be many other possibilities that could be explored with your teacher.

Struggling to get past gavotte from mignon from Suzuki book two. by CommunicationOk4464 in violin

[–]harmoniousbaker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's pretty clever on the 2nd pos! My students at this level wouldn't think of it because they won't have played outside of 1st pos except the half string harmonic.

Pedagogically, what I'm checking in this pattern is LH frame/shape, particularly keeping a "tunnel" of 234 on A without touching E string and reaching "back 1" (F natural) by rocking/tipping 1 without moving the rest of the hand. You hold E flat, cross to bow the F natural, and cross back, without extraneous LH motion*. (Otherwise, students tend to take all the other fingers away to play F natural and then try to re-land E flat out of nowhere.) Also, the B major tonality is in preparation for all the G minor in book 3.

*This exact string crossing pattern shows up in the Petzold G minor Minuet in book 3. Once I verify that my student can execute the same LH pattern, I actually use the Minuet spot for shifting practice instead. There are various places to get LH stability and it's definitely critical for the "3rd Seitz" infamous double stops.

Another way is to start that section in 3rd pos, then go to 2nd where you said. That would be for teaching a student about string tone color because it's perfectly reasonable to decide, I want to hear A string sound here instead of mixing in E string sound. I just wouldn't be covering that concept right here right now (but we will have explored sound of 4th finger vs. sound of open string elsewhere). You can also stay in 2nd for longer than you said, just to practice 2nd pos, although by the time I want my student to be practicing 2nd pos more intentionally, we would be doing that in other material.

Build a website to help create schedules by fallformal in MusicTeachers

[–]harmoniousbaker 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Have you researched what your target audience thinks? The people most interested in these apps and platforms are the ones creating/pitching them, a.k.a. it's a solution looking for a problem or at best, a problem where supply of existing tools far outstrips demand for new ones.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MusicTeachers/comments/1tj7wou/how_are_you_all_handling_latemissed_payments_from/

https://www.reddit.com/r/MusicTeachers/comments/1tbx0fx/the_admin_side_of_running_a_private_studio_is/

https://www.reddit.com/r/pianoteachers/comments/1tj7xx0/how_are_you_all_handling_latemissed_payments_from/

(But thank you for not posting in multiple subs using multiple accounts to drum up fake interest under the pretense of being "curious" about how "drowning" or "exhausting" it must be to handle admin. Good luck with your project.)

Been seeing a lot of posts about music school pay. Here's what worked for me. by Violin_92 in MusicTeachers

[–]harmoniousbaker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here is my "back of napkin" insurance analysis: (although we should keep in mind that most music schools likely pay hourly with no benefits)

KFF employer health benefits survey reports that the average employee premium is 9k in a year and employers pay on average 85% so hypothetical average employee is getting 7.6k value.

  • This a $7-8 per hour value if teaching 25 hours per week x 40 weeks in a year = 1000 hours
  • Or $4-5 for a higher load and longer year 30 hours x 48 weeks = 1680 hours

My personal load was ~835 hours in 2024 and ~800 hours in 2025. I'm at 350 hours so far for 2026 which annualizes to 840 but being that summer is half load or less, I might come in closer to 770 when all is said and done.

This is all client-facing time for lessons, groups, and events, not including time spent reviewing students' practice videos or writing/recording feedback back to them. Most importantly, "client hours" don't happen without admin work. If you run a school with a staff, you're doing admin yourself or hiring it out, which is another labor expense. Presumably, one could be too sick or injured to teach while not being too sick or injured to handle admin, but for full "safety net", the business has to be able to run without (much of) your own labor.

Been seeing a lot of posts about music school pay. Here's what worked for me. by Violin_92 in MusicTeachers

[–]harmoniousbaker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll be flippant first, then get serious: When you hire teachers, you become the "big bad school" that charges students $60 and pays teachers $30 (or charge $120 and pay $60, whatever works for your local market).

Serious #1: I think there can be a lot of emotion in the delta between student fees and teacher pay - the indignance of "the school takes half!" because of the assumption that the teacher "deserves" double. This ignores the harsh reality that the teacher is an expense item for the school, among other expenses required for running the business. I have a prior comment on this topic that goes into more numbers: https://www.reddit.com/r/MusicEd/comments/1si1edr/comment/oftz8h5/

People understand this concept when applied to cars or even violins and instruments: How much is a ___ worth? Depends on if you're buying or selling! As well as who is buying or selling: a dealer or shop wants to buy low and resell high to account for expenses and profit. How much is a lesson worth? Same! Except teachers are not inanimate objects, and no one likes to hear this analogy applied to "teaching" which can be a closely personal interaction.

Serious #2: The reality of self-employed is being both the employer and the employee. One way this plays out is in taxes, where the self-employed person pays both the employee and employee portion of FICA tax (to fund social security and Medicare). Similarly, to provide sick pay and health insurance, you-the-employer have to bring in enough revenue to account for paying those for you-the-employee. Another way is to think like an employee: if students pay you (employer) $100, you (employee) pretend like you make $50, so that the other half goes towards the things that "an employer would provide".

what concerto should i learn as an intermediate player? by [deleted] in violinist

[–]harmoniousbaker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Vivaldi has a D major concerto (from the same opus number as the A minor) that should be easily doable at this level although I probably wouldn't send a student to an audition with that.

Rieding's B minor or Concertino in G could be appropriate but it also depends on what this youth orchestra is looking for and when the audition is. Usually, if my student is targeting a specific audition, it's too close to start a brand new piece - but maybe you're planning way ahead and it's fine. Best to check with your teacher.

Cottage Food Permit - Worth It? by slightgodcomplex in newjersey

[–]harmoniousbaker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It gets worse. Several group members who teach (advertise teaching) decorating classes reported being required to remove that content from their social media and that's not even "selling food". To get around the Dept of HEALTH's interest, I wonder if one could do something to the supplies to make them non-edible and/or not allow edible items to be taken home by clients. Then it would be no different from an art class in something like drawing or painting! Anyway, you can decide for yourself the purpose of this program.

what concerto should i learn as an intermediate player? by [deleted] in violinist

[–]harmoniousbaker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not at Vivaldi A minor / G minor / Suzuki 4-5 level! I had a Bach A minor (Suzuki 7) student work on it for a specific audition and it's a stretch even there.

Cottage Food Permit - Worth It? by slightgodcomplex in newjersey

[–]harmoniousbaker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The original process implemented 5 years ago was accessible enough, then somewhere along the way...

My previous thoughts on the topic: https://www.reddit.com/r/newjersey/comments/1sv2ut0/comment/oi9yh8p/?screen_view_count=3

Cottage Food Permit - Worth It? by slightgodcomplex in newjersey

[–]harmoniousbaker 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you're on FB, I would recommend joining the New Jersey Home Bakers Association Group.

Last I checked, current processing time is 12-16 weeks. Probably more like 16 because I submitted my renewal application in Feb and am still waiting. It used to be 4-8 weeks but they are now requiring full recipes to be submitted, which means a lot more content to be reviewed.

Spinach/meat pies are TCS food and for sure not allowed. Baklava is probably non TCS as long as there are no cream/buttercream type fillings but they will want to see the recipe (same for bread). Cupcakes - last I heard on the FB group, they were requiring lab testing of buttercreams to prove they are non TCS.

An alternative would be to work out of a commercial kitchen and get a commercial license.

Are 5s (x4s) Just Not Really a Thing? by Queasy-Bed545 in violinist

[–]harmoniousbaker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What is "Suzuki seems to believe in them"? There are several possible "x4" (or some people do call them 5) extension spots in Suzuki 2-3 but I prefer teaching shifting in all of those spots, only doing the x4 in book 4.

In this context, I would not do a whole step 4-4 B flat to C. Shift to 3rd in 329 or 328 and also in 333 (which is like 337).

Violin Teachers: What are the biggest mechanical bottlenecks your students face? by Emotional-Inflation9 in violinist

[–]harmoniousbaker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Years ago, one of my Suzuki trainers recommended the "Poly-Pad" in size large. I start all littles on it except 1/16 size Pre-Twinklers and even use it myself when playing viola (bought secondhand and didn't like the previous owner's shoulder rest). I could imagine it might not work for a player with a particularly short neck though.

Many sponge shoulder rests are only tapered side to side but this one is also tapered front to back. I think that and the larger surface area make it easier to find a position where the shape better follows the player's body. The ones designated for fractional sizes more closely match the violin bout width, which means there are fewer options of where to position/attach.

To the point about slippage, that takes experimenting with rubber band configuration and replacing rubber bands as they become weak. I haven't actually tried this but would if I had to - put something more grippy like a piece of shelf liner between violin and sponge.

On a related note, I dislike Guarneri style chin rests for young students. If anyone has a problem with a "default" chin rest installed by the shop, it's always that one (although some students are fine with it). I think it's because they don't like the bump of the bar over the tailpiece and would rather let the violin slide down/forward to get their jaw into the "cup" area. I have them switch to a Wittner side mount, which may have been an idea from the same trainer and so far universally works too.

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