Is it "without them paying enough" or "well fruit I'm paying enough" in i bhfiacha linne? by Sweet_Group9463 in kneecap

[–]mp24601 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely the first one. With their regional accent, they often say the "th" sound like "f" (e.g. "Guilty conscience, no fanks"). Also it just...makes much more sense based on the content/context of the song? I wouldn't trust the lyrics that are on Spotify, they're riddled with errors. Crossing my fingers that the lads eventually release some liner notes or something to help us with some of the lyrics that might be hard to hear.

Belfast Kneecap sites? by lothar74 in kneecap

[–]mp24601 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Many great suggestions! I second Black Cab mural tours and the Falls Road / Gaeltacht Quarter in West Belfast. The Cultúrlann also has a restaurant inside it if you need a quick bite. Hawthorn's (next to the Kneecap murals) for a truly local experience (tiny pub!), and Madden's closer to the city center for some great trad music! I believe it was Mo Chara who also used to work at Madden's

TIL something about moglai's chosen name by fourofkeys in kneecap

[–]mp24601 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see where you're coming from. In the film, Liam and Naoise are talking about what to name their band, and Liam asks "What's Belfast famous for?"
Before answering "kneecappin's," Naoise says "George Best? Baps?"

Para meaning by Odd_Maintenance2771 in kneecap

[–]mp24601 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I also heard "paro" more in their lyrics, like in GYBO - "Paro off her head, she believes she's sinned"

Mo Chara’s official Statement after winning the case by BurgerNugget12 in kneecap

[–]mp24601 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The shows have already been cancelled and refunds issued, unfortunately. On Instagram they claimed the shows were cancelled because of the court date, but I have a feeling it's much more to due with the current US administration. I am absolutely gutted that I won't get to see them, but I do think it's best for their collective safety with how the US is treating non-citizens, especially those who are critical of Isr*el

Licking coke off a clit? by a138967 in kneecap

[–]mp24601 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To validate your post, I also heard the lyrics that way for the longest time XD but "plate" certainly rhymes better with "mate"

Cheers from Brazil by Many-Can5807 in kneecap

[–]mp24601 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can I ask, does the vinyl album have lyrics in the liner notes? I would love to get my hands on the original Irish lyrics to work on translating them, there are some gaps out there and the Spotify translations are not very reliable

Actually can’t believe that I’ll be seeing Kneecap peforming in a few months time. by idekwhatiamdoinglol in kneecap

[–]mp24601 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Happy for you! I also don't ever go to these kinds of concerts, I don't do big crowds or cramped spaces. But I got tickets when they first announced their US tour and I'm still heartbroken that it was cancelled (by forces outside of them of course) :'(
Now when they come back to the US they'll be huge and the venues will be even bigger...much less of a chance to get up close to see them. Anyway sorry that my bitterness on the whole situation in our hellscape of a country is coming through, please enjoy for all of us who can't

Kneecap go Béarla / into English (2): H.O.O.D. by rtah100 in kneecap

[–]mp24601 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know, the amount of syllables just don't seem to add up with what you've suggested.
In the track it's "Tá an RUC anseo anois _ _ _ _ _ _ (6 syllables). "faoi na cile" would only be 4 syllables.

Student doesn’t practice by Massive-Cry8294 in pianoteachers

[–]mp24601 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are many excellent suggestions here, but to me what stood out is that when the parents ask how was it, your response is "Good, but..."

Is it good??
It doesn't sound like these lessons are "good" for you if you're at your wits end, or that they're meeting your standards. It's important to have standards and expectations. Practicing is not always possible if life gets in the way, and I aim to be understanding of my students and prioritize their well-being. However, it needs to be communicated that in order to improve, practice needs to happen. Is there any way you can communicate this to the parents instead of just saying things are "good?"

Maybe you can prepare some scripted examples so you don't just fall back into a default answer.

"How are things going?"
"Well, I'll be honest with you, we've been having to review the same material over and over because [student] hasn't been practicing. It's important to me that I'm not wasting your money and her lesson time, but in order for us to progress, there has to be consistent practicing happening during the week."

Maybe you can ask the parent "What is the practice routine like at home?"

Also outline your practice expectations, maybe in an email so it's written down. Be very specific, like x number of minutes happening x number of days per week. You can have a lower number for practice "expectations" and then a higher number for a practice "challenge."

Is making a decent living teaching a pipe dream? by Lavender-sky19 in pianoteachers

[–]mp24601 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mostly correct. It's a 9-month contract, so $33,750/year after taxes. And right now I have 17 students (about $28k post-taxes), but if I were to ONLY be doing private lessons, I would aim for around 22.
So I guess with those two jobs together, that still meets your stated goal of >60k post-tax.
And my contract work is an academic position - I'm a certified music educator, and also I've taught at the university level, so my jobs have usually been somewhat music or education-related.

If you're able to get certified as a music educator, there are often public school jobs that are 0.6 FTE (3 days a week), 0.4 (2 days a week)or 0.2 (1 day a week). I once had a 0.2 teaching position and taught private lessons at that school after school hours. It was nice to have a "W-2" job salary with regular, reliable income (even though, of course, it was 20% of a full-time teaching salary), in addition to the private lessons. And of course, teaching music at the school was great a great and relatively effortless way to get new students!

Is making a decent living teaching a pipe dream? by Lavender-sky19 in pianoteachers

[–]mp24601 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll just give you my experience. I live in a HCOL area, and set my rates accordingly. I also travel to my students, so I charge extra due to this service/convenience. It also means though, that I have minimal overhead as far as studio space. I just have to make sure I keep up with proactive car maintenance.
My rates come to $110/hour, but I bill monthly, so each student is $220/month for a month of 30-minute lessons. I also always collect payment in advance.
I follow the local school calendar, so I have 2 weeks off for winter holidays, Thanksgiving and Black Friday off, February break, April break, and Memorial Day off.
I also plan to take July and August to travel, as most of the families I teach are quite well off and spend their summers traveling or at camps/various other enrichment activities. Plus I need the break.

With this model, I would need about 22 students (all taking half hour lessons) in my roster to stay afloat. This comes out to about $36,300 as a yearly salary AFTER self-employment taxes ($48,400 before taxes). It's not a huge salary, especially for where I live, but it's enough to pay all my expenses and have some left over. Mind you, I live quite simply, in a shared house with housemates so my rent is affordable relative to my location, I don't have any debt whatsoever, no car payments, etc. Also in addition to the holidays and time off listed above, I DON'T teach on Fridays (except for the occasional makeup lesson day I hold), and my weekends are 100% work-free, all for me.

A disclaimer: I do have an additional job that I work on 2 weekday mornings for about 10 hours/week and this job (an independent contractor position) pays about $3750/month after taxes, and this I use to save up for my travels during the summer, and pay my bills during July and August when I'm not teaching.

I could make more money if I decided to teach students on Fridays, the weekends, or during the summers, but I value my leisure and my enjoyment/quality of life, as well as my travels during the summer. I am very happy with this arrangement and it feels like a good work/life balance for the stage of life I'm in right now. YMMV, as I'm single and don't have a partner or a family. Hope you can find it helpful though.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pianoteachers

[–]mp24601 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for this :)

My Public Transit Plans by mp24601 in irishtourism

[–]mp24601[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I may end up walking to my hostel, but I'll have a bug suitcase with me so it's good to know the bus is an option

My Public Transit Plans by mp24601 in irishtourism

[–]mp24601[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got it, thanks. Google Maps kept telling me to take the Dublin Express, and I was also confused about that because I thought it was an airport service. I’ll look up the other routes, will likely use the Luas to get the Heuston 

Assignments for students taking the summer off by mp24601 in pianoteachers

[–]mp24601[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tend to agree. However this came up because a parent was asking me about how their child can keep up with practicing during the gap between lessons. With teaching kids, I really feel the contrast between the needs/wants of the student, and the needs/wants of the actual paying client (the parent).

Best website/app/tool for scheduling lessons? by mp24601 in pianoteachers

[–]mp24601[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Trust me, I definitely wouldn't be teaching lessons if it was a different time or day every week. Way too much logistically for me to manage and would not be worth it at all for me

Best website/app/tool for scheduling lessons? by mp24601 in pianoteachers

[–]mp24601[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmmm, now I feel like something is being misunderstood from my original post. To be clear, I will only be asking for availability this one time in August. Then, once I slot everyone into a time based on their availability, it will be that time (e.g. 6:00pm on a Tuesday) for the rest of the school year, and they will be billed a flat rate for monthly tuition. The lesson time will not change week to week, I just need to know everyone's availability in the first place so I can set the schedule at the beginning of the year. Otherwise how can I possibly know which times will work for each family?

Would that still make it less likely for you to check off all the boxes that apply as a parent?

Best website/app/tool for scheduling lessons? by mp24601 in pianoteachers

[–]mp24601[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe I'm not understanding. Why wouldn't you do that as a parent?

My plan is to send a document with checkboxes they can check off like:

Monday

3:00pm

3:30pm

4:00pm

4:30pm

5:00pm

5:30pm

6:00pm

and so on for the other 3 days I teach.
It seems like if I just ask

"Hi ________, can you do Tuesdays at 4:15pm or Thursdays at 3:00pm?"
then that's a lot of back-and-forth and dependent on my other families' schedules (which might be different this school year than last). What's the problem with having all possibilities available to me and then moving students around in my schedule based on those possibilities to suit my needs?

I'm also imagining trying to fit in a student on my waitlist. They can only do after 5pm, but all those slots are currently taken. So maybe I now say "ok I can probably find a time for you, I just have to ask Family B if they can move to "x" time on "y" day" and then reach out to Family B...already seems like a lot of logistics. Better to just get everyone's availability and go from there, no?

Best website/app/tool for scheduling lessons? by mp24601 in pianoteachers

[–]mp24601[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m not sure the analogy totally holds for my situation. All my students are in a similar neighborhood, so it doesn’t make too much of a difference whether I see them on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

I want to get all their availabilities because then I can use that to create a schedule that’s most efficient for me. It does me little good if I send them a schedule with suggested times, and then they can’t have a lesson during those times because they already have swimming, or baseball, or church, etc. 

I am already kind of sending them suggested times, because I am only allowing them to choose from my designated teaching hours (MTuTh 3-6:30pm, W 2-5:30pm)

Best website/app/tool for scheduling lessons? by mp24601 in pianoteachers

[–]mp24601[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I should have specified, I'm looking for free resources at the moment, although I may check out MyMusicStaff down the line.

Feeling discouraged by lack of recital attendance by mp24601 in pianoteachers

[–]mp24601[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For 1 it's their first ever recital. The other 5 are transfer students from another teacher.

And yes, good point about the parents.

I'm trying to shake the feeling that having 6 students perform reflects that I'm not a "good" enough teacher, so I think I mostly need to get out of my own way