What I Am Working On

Some of my readers may wonder what I do in my spare time in between blog articles and podcast episodes, teaching and performing. I thought I might give you a little peek at what I'm working on right now.

11/26/18: Just as we begin our crazy holiday music season (Nutcrackers, Messiah, church events), I am thinking about the projects that I want to accomplish in the next year or several months.

• I am working on finishing the second major draft of my Reflections book. I wrote these reflection essays based on my readings of Dr. Suzuki's books Ability Development From Age Zero and Nurtured by Love. For several years I have broadcast weekly these reflections, and I thought that there may be others who would be interested in sharing these reflections. My plan is to finish collecting these reflections, maybe add a few more, and then publish this book in time for Mother's Day 2019. This would be a lovely gift for a Suzuki mother!

• I am also working on setting up an Amazon seller's account and platform in order to make available Eva Belvelin's English version of Little Things for Little Strings. Our plan is to include other materials in the future as well, so that we can make these wonderful products and written materials available to other teachers in the United States.

• Ultimately, I would like to finish the 3rd and 4th drafts of my book about Setting Up and Running a Music Studio. I wrote the first draft of this book a few years ago, and I've always meant to get back to finishing it. I wrote each part of setting up and running a studio from four different character viewpoints: the young teacher who is right out of college and willing to travel to student's homes, the young married schoolteacher who is just beginning a family and wants to supplement his income with a few students on the side, the retired band director who continues to teach privately in the public schools, and the studio teacher (like me) who rents studio space outside of her home and runs the entire studio teaching experience as a full time business. I have friends who represent all of these viewpoints, and I thought this book could explore all the available decisions and options from these different perspectives.

• I continue to prepare and record a podcast episode every week (published on Sundays on iTunes or on whatever platform you get your podcasts). I have several podcast ideas and some will be related to the Amazon project with Eva. I also want to do more blog articles, and I think I have several articles that will pair very nicely with the topics on the podcast.

• I will continue to tell people about the book that I finished about the methods I have used to teach my young beginners from the first lesson to the final Twinkle variation. I am also writing a fictionalized account of a new Suzuki parent who is attending her parent education and navigating her way on the Suzuki journey.

• On a personal note, I hope to finish my "purging" project in my house. Unfortunately, we have been a bit busy these past few years, so finding time (and motivation) to clean out the books has been difficult. Still, I am determined to do this. Clearing out space helps to free up space for more creative projects. This is important!