So... I turned 41 yesterday! (cue the party horns)

To add some smiles to my day, I challenged my students to send me a recording of themselves playing their own arrangements of Happy Birthday (offering up bonus points for our summer incentive challenge for anyone who did so).

Oh. My. Goodness. They had me smiling ALL day.

The actual assignment was this: I asked students to record a video of their current rendition of Happy Birthday. I told them to NOT include any names, dates, etc., so they would have a single video they could send to family and friends all year long.

Brilliant, right?

Well, some followed that directive... but others sent some pretty hilarious personalizations. It really added to my day and made me keenly aware of the relationships I've made in my community.

Win, win, win.

If you're not aware, I have an obsession with making sure my students can play Happy Birthday on demand.

(who wants to be in a position where they can play Mozart but have to turn down an invitation to play Happy Birthday to their Great Aunt Susan?)

Want to hear more about my Happy Birthday Obsession? There's an episode for that! ​

I happen to think summer is an EXCELLENT time to help your students brush up on their Happy Birthday arrangements - adding a little more rhythmic/harmonic interest each year.

My students know I *will* ask them to play Happy Birthday at random times throughout the year, so it's always brewing in the back of their minds.

ALSO - I almost always run a group class in August that is Happy Birthday-themed (there's an episode for that, too).

So now I need to know.... in what ways do YOU incorporate Happy Birthday into your studio? CLICK REPLY and let me know!

Other Ways I Can Help You:

Monday Morning Power Hours Could you use a little accountability to get projects done? Patreon members receive access to Monday Morning Power Hours (11am - eastern time), where we gather to work together on whatever needs our attention. Some work on lesson plans; others clean their kitchens. Whatever YOU need done, it's definitely more fun to tackle these things together. We'd love to have you! Join the Patreon Community!

A Favorite Thing Teachers are ALWAYS asking for storage/organization solutions for our (growing) music book collections. These are my favorite (and, yes, I organize them in proper black key/white key order. Because... of course I do.) Find them on my Favorites List

Can't-Live-Without Repertoire: Are you familiar with this series? It's a go-to for me with intermediate students who REALLY like having corresponding books within a method series. The great Nancy Bacchus compiled this series of historical literature, where each level has a Repertoire AND a Technique book. If you ever feel unsure of technical exercises to assign your intermediate students, these can be a terrific guide. I also appreciate the repertoire selections, as they are not the same-old, same-old. Get Yours Here

On the Podcast The Summer Bookshelf Tour continued this week, with our second stop: Intelligent Music Teaching by Robert Duke! This is my number one reading recommendation for music teachers. Other Summer Bookshelf Tour recs are available on my Favorites page. Join me for my Three Takeaways

Studio Foundations: 6-week session Our first week in this special 6-week session has been met with lots of positive feedback! It's not too late to join us, if you want to level-up your teaching game. Check it out!

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Don't forget to HIT REPLY and tell me YOUR thoughts on all things Happy Birthday!

Cheers to each of us, and the relationships we make along our teaching journeys.

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