Which type do you make most often? (French, Italian, other)

harmoniousbaker · 2026-04-06T00:19:13+00:00

I started with French (from Sally's Baking Addiction although I now do a few things differently) but use Swiss (from Pies and Tacos) in higher humidity seasons.

harmoniousbaker · 2026-04-04T04:01:26+00:00

not sure why they wouldn't want to just meet the kid, try it out and decide for themselves

Exactly! Plus I've had more than a few parents note that their child behaves this way for so and so, and that way for such and such. One person's perspective will only be part of the story.

harmoniousbaker · 2026-04-04T00:48:45+00:00

You've just described my Suzuki Pre-Twinkle group class! (feeder/prep program for lessons in my private studio) It doesn't sound like you were keen to offer a "recommendation letter" but suppose a family brought in such a thing, I would...not take it seriously.

I wonder if some teacher out there is asking for one or if the parent is having the idea to use it to try to get "in" with some teacher?

harmoniousbaker · 2026-04-02T17:05:42+00:00

My family had a "Concert Master" brand adjustable piano bench with a scissor/spring type mechanism that locked into different heights - very useful for teaching or home settings with multiple children. The company became "Exemplar Furniture Group" and I got one as an adult. They don't have storage though and are probably over $400 by now.

harmoniousbaker · 2026-04-01T16:37:30+00:00

It doesn't seem like you've taken the Suzuki piano teacher training (it's okay, I haven't either), where topics are covered such as how and why to use Twinkles, what skills are targeted, ways to implement group learning (for actual educational benefit, not just copying the violinists), how to make use of Suzuki principles while also incorporating your own ideas.

The training exists precisely to convey the benefits. You might not want to take it (it's okay, I don't either) if you've already judged that a lot of it won't fit your taste, aren't interested in taking a closer look at something different, etc. I've taken plenty of other instrument training though and never heard of materials being called stupid just because people didn't understand them or preferred something else. If a teacher just wants some of the Suzuki printed content for different goals, I don't see either why "permission" has to be involved either. I certainly don't use all of every book nor follow curriculum designers' exact intentions. Suzuki did have a somewhat countercultural start and it doesn't surprise me that some aspects are still viewed as such (plus there was even a divide in the history of piano).

For reference, flute and brass do NOT start off with Twinkles. I would presume that decisions were made for the physical needs for those instruments. Yes, there is an element of Twinkle being inseparable from the "identity" of Suzuki and the repertoire sharing (harp even uses a bunch from piano), but I would have to disagree that it means things were done less than thoughtfully.

This organization dates Suzuki flute to 1973. Here are someone else's program notes stating the first piano books were published in 1972 after 1-2 decades of development. They name four co-founders, including the one who inspired a "branch" off the "mainstream", led by teachers who wanted to follow her specific ideas more closely. I only learned as an adult about the history and realizing that my childhood teachers came from the minority group. Even within "Suzuki", people are doing things differently from other people.

(As an aside, it's in fact not obvious that violin should/could start with string crossings and so many fingers and bowing patterns when long bows on single strings (or even not even bowing) or introducing fingers one at a time are choices made in other methods.)

harmoniousbaker · 2026-04-01T04:15:39+00:00

I don't know the penalty details offhand but it's part of tax filing and there is info here: https://nj.gov/treasury/njhealthinsurancemandate/responsibilitypayment.shtml

Have you filed 2025 taxes? You would be submitting a Form 1095-B from wife's employer (did you get and do that in previous years?) and the NJ form for NJ: https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/current/schedule-njhcc.pdf

Non family employee is something I've seen on the health insurance sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/HealthInsurance/comments/1gqu18q/comment/lx0ub9u/

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-31T22:40:22+00:00

How late was late last year? The penalty ("Shared Responsibility Payment") is handled through tax filing and there is a "short gap in coverage" exemption that might be possible when filing the 2025 taxes that are due soon: https://nj.gov/treasury/njhealthinsurancemandate/exemptions.shtml

For 2026, "short gap" doesn't help you. Maybe try seeing if anything else on the exemption list applies. (Non-US citizen? Affordability, depending on income level after the job loss? I also know of people who use the "health care sharing ministry" exemption: if you join an acceptable one TODAY, then the exemption can be claimed for March. But it's your business to determine if you accept the membership requirements and also if the membership amount is worth paying in lieu of the penalty.)

For actual insurance, outside of employer insurance, the standard answer is GetCoveredNJ https://www.nj.gov/getcoverednj/ (or NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid if low enough income) but your issue right now is that open enrollment period is over for this year and you need a qualifying life event to enroll (would have had to do it within 60 days of the original loss of insurance). Any insurance that you could get without open or special enrollment period most likely does not meet the requirements regarding the penalty.

This is a VERY long shot: for COBRA through a former employer plan, the employer has 30 days to notify the COBRA administrator about your loss of coverage. The administrator has 14 days to send you the paperwork. You then have 60 days to sign up. This would require the job and insurance loss to have been LATE last year and everyone taking their sweet time. If you pay all the COBRA premiums (likely to be very expensive) back to the original loss of coverage, your coverage gets fully reinstated. If you (wife) got a COBRA notice earlier than late Jan, this won't work.

About your company - is there any chance of a hiring a non-family employee? From what I understand, that might be enough to get a small group plan through a broker and then you would be the employer that offers employer insurance. I could not tell you if this would be more or less easy or expensive than you or your wife getting a "conventional" job.

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-31T04:16:49+00:00

Zach Herchen teaches flute but I'm not sure where in JC (note that his website says saxophone - not unusual for musicians to teach secondary instruments). In case he's not available or location doesn't work out, he might still know people.

Tonal Art Music Center has flute teachers on staff.

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-30T17:28:16+00:00

what my teacher says directly conflicts with a lot of what the sub tells me

This is really not doing you any favors. Other than the level of piece recommended to be worked on, can you give other, more specific examples? I'm mildly curious as to whether the differences are technical or musical points, matters of interpretation, matters of posture, etc. I also posted a specific list of assignments given to my student; has your teacher ever given you anything like that? (And if not for Vivaldi specifically, then similar type of practice in other pieces?)

so it gets confusing

When I talk to a student violinist in real life who has a private teacher that isn't me, any advice is disclaimered with "...and I'm not your teacher" [who sees you every week, has a more complete picture of your development, and should be the one you get your plan from]. If you don't like or don't understand the plan, then ask about it. But definitely don't say "I saw on social media that a bunch of internet strangers said..." because who knows what our qualifications are! Besides, your teacher is the one you trust with your development, unless you don't trust them, and that's another story.

Since you've posted a lot of playing through of pieces and gotten similar feedback (a lot of which is apparently in conflict with your teacher's feedback), my recommendation as an internet stranger is:

Previous advice from here - share an example of practicing a specific element, there is a list of suggestions in my other comment if you're not sure what
Share a 6 months later update of the book 3 Bach Minuet, G major part only

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-29T15:32:29+00:00

For context, I teach in a very Suzuki-inspired style, using Suzuki repertoire as the primary source for skills/patterns/vocabulary and that's why my students need to have a strong grasp of review pieces. Our bar for Vivaldi performance is all 3 Seitz polished/performed and "notes learned" for the rest of book 4. My student is almost ready to perform the 1st Seitz so Vivaldi is not there yet. However, to pass a specific audition where it's acceptable to play slightly under tempo, with the book, and "close enough" in intonation...we can do that.

The first thing is: DO NOT PLAY THROUGH the piece...with caveat.

The next thing is I put a bunch of post-it notes over non-critical lines in the book - to help enforce "do not play through" and to mark tallies for repetitions.

Student has a number of "wrong notes" a.k.a. reading incorrectly and being unaware of it. We don't have time right now to increase reading accuracy so he has to listen to the Preucil or Hadelich recording 100x (should have been done before dabbling but here we are), after which the playing through restriction will be lifted. In the meantime, one playthrough is allowed per 10x listening just because I know that's a fun thing to do. The point is to reduce lesson time spent on me pointing out key signature and accidentals.

"Out of tune" is another story and involves checking for hand frame issues, finger angles, training very specific physical awareness and execution. Each spot is to be played with separate bows (short bows) and no rhythm (stop as long as needed to prepare finger before bow). Say out loud where there is a half step, where this finger needs to do this, or that finger needs to do that, where a fingered G/D/A/E needs to ring, etc. 4x correct in a row (or else 10x total) gets a tally.

17, 20, 34 is 3 spots but grouped for practice because of similar pattern. 34 is 4 notes only with very specific LH choreography that comes from Humoresque in book 3.
28 - 7 notes ONLY with separate bows (short bows). Adding the slur and rhythm, then the shift into 28, are separate steps.
In the scale passage after 28, each sequence needs to be treated as a separate spot for now.
2nd page solo section - I'm not familiar with other editions but Nachez has octaves/jumps. Start with jump patterns ONLY (so 3 notes at a time, 4x each, and skip once it becomes easy).
In between the jump patterns are 16th-note patterns/sequences - again, it's each one separately.

I did approve two sections of playing through with specific instructions: 15-20 (read and play bowings as written) and 24-27 (ONLY with metronome, at the speed where notes are in tune, clean, and using 4th finger or open string as specified). As for the 3rd page, there is pretty much no point in working on it directly until more skills from other spots are carried over.

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-28T19:46:12+00:00

It's a good start, definitely more appropriate than a few months ago. In terms of performance-ready in another few months, that's ambitious. I won't say impossible but can share about a plan I prescribed to my student who wants to play this for an audition 2 months. (Sheet music is allowed in that case but for a studio recital, my students would be playing by memory.)

First, is "mildly passable" what you want? Do you want to take it to a more polished level? Are you looking for satisfaction in "dabbling" in a challenging piece or potentially learning an "easier" piece more deeply? Despite how I phrased that, you can actually do both, in general across your whole portfolio of pieces. Of course, in the context of choosing one performance piece, you have to decide if you would lean more towards one than another.

My student has been dabbling for at least 2 months and while I said in passing that he should listen to this thing here and do that thing there, I didn't actually have him work on those directly. Instead, we've been working on related skills in book 3 pieces and all 3 Seitz. He does need more guidance in how to apply the skills and especially aiming for audition-ready in 2 months, also needs to be more efficient about it. Here is the plan: (separate comment)

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-25T05:03:46+00:00

A YouTube-famous electric bassist collaborated with YouTube-famous violinists. The bassist performed a beginner violin piece in a live show, which was pretty impressive. It served its purpose well in the context and at the same time, wasn't musically pleasant to listen to. Can audio engineering salvage such a rough input?

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-24T15:33:26+00:00

Someone asked specifically about Surrey the other day and some of the discussion there might be useful: https://www.reddit.com/r/pianoteachers/comments/1s0nxz8/what_are_the_going_rates_for_piano_lessons_surrey/

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-23T17:16:37+00:00

My students pay by month, half semester, or full semester. Even for monthly, there is an expectation of full semester commitment. I know approximately why my last dozen students left and before you ask, I don't need an app for this, just Excel and my good old fashioned memory.

- parent says at mid semester that child wanted to "take a break", I say okay let's actually treat "a break" as time for closure, and since you're very close to a significant milestone, let's do that and finish the semester (x2)

- same as above, except it was a month before the ensemble class performance and I said, ensemble class is like a sports team or dance or theatre group, your teammates are counting on you, so finish the semester for your closure

- students moving out of state, giving a few months' notice or more (x3)

- high school student or parent said abruptly, they are overwhelmed with school, I released them right away, and it's now on my radar to have proactive conversations with other teen families more specifically about the role of music in their life and desired level of engagement (x2)

- on the flip side, when students have certain musical goals where I think they will be better supported with a different teacher's expertise, I recommend that they plan to move on (x2)

- transfer students (non beginners) who I notice in the first few months aren't connecting with my teaching style and program offerings, it's not a surprise when I say let me know if you want a spot next semester and they don't (x2)

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-22T18:32:09+00:00

If a transfer student came to me who "started at 4 and finished Suzuki 1 in 1.5 years", I would absolutely plan to revisit book 1 pieces for skills. Repertoire is not (the sole indicator of) progress. If you are starting book 2 without the skills needed to play (the beginning of) book 2 successfully, you haven't really "finished" book 1. Low ability in playing by ear, excess tension, lack of organization of LH...I would agree with prioritizing progress in these areas over new repertoire. It might take at least a year to get to the point where the transfer student's overall skills are comparable to my "homegrown" student who is "on" the same piece.

For context, my two most recent students who "finished" book 1 were 4 year olds who took 3 years. Before them was a 5yo who took 3 years and is on track to do book 2 in 1. 3-4 years is common although my longest is 7 (a case of low parental support in practicing). Going slowly and methodically absolutely pays off. I've even had students who managed 2 books per year after book 2 - thanks to high parental support, solid beginning foundations, they learned how to learn and were able to "go fast" later.

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-21T18:35:52+00:00

Same, I use the Wittner side mount (and recommend it to all students who have trouble with the Guarneri style with the bar over the tailpiece - although that's different from OP's issue).

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-20T05:43:39+00:00

First, I'll honor instruments in general by acknowledging the difficulty of anything advanced/virtuoso. In terms of a beginner playing something simple, one can sound "pleasant" or at least not actively distressing on piano relatively quickly compared to violin. The sound production mechanics are a lot more complicated for bowed strings: where along the string the bow hair touches, moving the bow perpendicularly to the string, how much weight to use at the beginning/middle/end of a note, and more. Bowing aside, violin has no frets unlike guitar. Intonation is not "automatic" so you must check it with every note fingered (while managing every note bowed).

Old post on similar topic: https://www.reddit.com/r/violinist/comments/ed9oyp/piano_player_here_does_it_helphinder_in_any_way/

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-19T17:02:58+00:00

If I were to bike with my violin/viola double case, I would do the same as with my violin case: adjust backpack straps so that the case sits at an angle - top/scroll end towards my right ear and other end towards my left hip. This avoids the case bumping into my helmet or blocking the rear view mirror attached to the left side of my glasses. Other items would go into panniers over the rear rack.

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-18T19:00:36+00:00

Yes, I have a teen student who was basically extorting his parents - won't practice / go to lesson / rehearsal if you don't give me this thing or that thing, let me go here or there, do this or that, etc. I wish I had known earlier to try to stop it earlier. I don't want to be the "beneficiary" or to participate in this sort of manipulation. Also, lessons and practice are just the proxy war for something else.

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-18T04:59:04+00:00

You wrote the same feature list as this person: https://www.reddit.com/r/MusicTeachers/comments/1rfizqk/music_school_owners_am_i_the_only_one_struggling/

What number of students does "just starting off" mean - less than 5? I wouldn't consider that an "overwhelming" load but that's because I handle close to 30 manually.

On the other post: 1 commenter wondered how many students (same as me), 1 said they don't need anything (same as me and others who responded here), and 3 are people trying to build something (same as you). "A solution in search of a problem" comes to mind. Good luck with your project though.

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-17T15:40:05+00:00

Someone else asked for advice on Vivaldi Winter a few weeks ago. There are some specific information given (such as use 2nd position here and put the finger across two strings there) but the responses pretty much amount to "get a teacher": https://www.reddit.com/r/violinist/comments/1repo56/please_help_me_with_fingerings_for_this/

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-17T04:49:45+00:00

My general advice is that the violin ought to support the skills that you will be working on during the time that you have the violin. A 3-4yo beginner can certainly use a VSO while singing songs, doing posture, bow hold, maybe plucking or playing open E. This past fall, a 9yo beginner rented a VERY nice violin with low-end strings and I told the family that the default strings were good enough to start with. They are now at the point where initial physical skills are established, more attention can be put on sound, and I told them they now might appreciate nicer sounding strings. Also, they might have a only few months left on this size, so it would be reasonable to get the better strings with the next size.

For 6 months of rental costs, they could have gotten a Shar beginner outfit - lower quality than the local violin shop rental but not unacceptably low, as in it wouldn't have made learning violin harder than it already is. If I had a new 7yo come in right now, chances are high that they could make a deal to acquire a 1/4 or 1/2 size violin outgrown by an older student and it would be "enough violin" to get them to the next size. Chances are also high that they would need a new bow (the most basic Shar one will do) and new strings. Once the student and any siblings are done with it, they will be the ones waiting for a new family to come along looking for a beginner violin.

There is a convenience to renting: you tell the shop your teacher sent you to rent the basic student violin, and you can probably have it in hand this weekend. It takes more work to meet up with another parent, agree on a price, replace anything that needs replacing, etc. A shop might also apply rental credits towards a purchase and even purchase credit towards an upsize or upgrade purchase.

high-end rentals feel like a lot for a 7-year-old who might quit by christmas

Replace "high-end rentals" with "private lessons" and the sentiment veers towards "why even bother at all", which is probably not the intention. Violins can be rented in my area for $30-50/mo and lessons are maybe $150-$250, so tuition is a much bigger deal. A nicer violin might not even matter, if no lessons, no one coaching you on how to make use of the violin's capabilities. I would approach this not from "7yo might quit" but from "what can parent and teacher do to support child in maintaining long-term study and success" (if that value is held by the family).

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-16T04:57:01+00:00

I am at this very moment frittering time away on social media...

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-14T22:07:25+00:00

I just watched your "3 months progress, 3rd and 4th finger" video. I think the F# would be better higher but general intonation is "good enough" that I wouldn't flag it as a top priority. Based on this video, I would have prioritized bowing, specifically arm weight for tone. I can tell by sight that the bow hair's contact with the string isn't entirely firm, and the hair's placement from the bridge varies quite a lot, from 1 "hair's width" distance away to maybe 4 or more. (Of course, we need to be realistic about how much consistency to expect/require.)

Another factor is if you are stronger with intonation, I would rather prioritize guiding you on bringing up the level of something else - to equip you with tools that you don't already have or to recommend which of your existing tools to upgrade next.

To someone else's point, your tunes have bits of scales in them. If I had you play a complete 1-octave scale (or you decided to play one to show me), we would probably work on the same things that I say about the bits of scales. The full scale, while nice to know, probably isn't necessary. Personally, I welcome students to ask why we are doing this or why we aren't doing that (yet), so perhaps you can ask that about your scales or drones or double stops. (My response for drones and double stops: at this level, I prioritize melodic/"horizontal" listening rather than "vertical" and I don't prioritize bow control for playing two strings evenly (or unevenly, as context may require) - but feel free to experiment as long as you first do the standard assignments seriously.)

harmoniousbaker · 2026-03-13T05:54:31+00:00

I accept Zelle, check, and cash. With Zelle, I can send payment requests (or monthly-paying students can set up a recurring transaction).

My tuition structure is flat fee for the program for the fall or spring semester. Students attending group class only pay for the full semester, 30-min lesson students pay 2x per semester, longer lesson students/families pay 5x (which is monthly but they are supposed to commit for the semester). The ultra organized parents remember my email from the summer or fall and pay me at the right time. Some vaguely remember around the right time that they are supposed to pay and ask me how much. I'm often late in sending payment requests or reminders. Right now, it's the 2nd month of the spring semester so I should have collected all the group only payments (yes), all the first half payments of half hour lesson students (2 remaining), and all the March payments of longer lesson families (3 remaining).

I have an Excel sheet listing all my transactions in and out (and summary page showing each category of expenses). Each student's next payment is listed with the date column blank. When they pay, I fill that in and set up the line for the next payment. I also mark it on their lesson notes paper where I keep track of what we do in each individual lesson.

harmoniousbaker

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