February 7, 2026: Saturday Remix
Teachers and Staff: Happy Saturday!
Musical Ladder - Review and Reminders (and for New Teachers)
Musical Ladder “Tests”
The Musical Ladder uses the term, “tests.” These are intended to be assessments of some sort to help make achievements on the Musical Ladder more meaningful. The Musical Ladder levels are based on longevity – how long a student has been continuously enrolled in lessons. (If a student withdraws and then returns later, they restart at the first rung of the ladder, because their continuous enrollment restarts.)
What are tests?
Tests or assessments have two important features: 1) They should be designed and planned for by students and teachers in cooperation. 2) A student must never, ever, fail their test. (They can, perhaps, not succeed the first try, but then they should soon succeed – that same week or the week following. They cannot ever go to a level without completing it.)
Tests do not have to be tests, per se. They can be other types of achievements and accomplishments. They should be brief, attainable, yet meaningful. Here is a list of ten examples of potential tests or assessments. I will provide more examples from time to time. I am confident that you can think of others that might be useful, appropriate, and meaningful for your students.
Complete the written Review of Part 3 of Presto! It’s Piano Magic, Book 1.
Play two songs from memory while singing the lyrics, back-to-back, and demonstrate proper performance practices (such as coming to the performance space, bowing in response to applause, exiting the space, etc.).
Play the G Major and D Major scales up and down, one octave, with proper fingering, in a consistent rhythm.
Complete the Review Test at the end of Book 4 of The Basics of Keyboard Theory series.
Perform in the studio recital taking place in this evaluation period.
Complete a written self-evaluation, approximately 2-3 paragraphs, possibly answering one or more questions posed by the teacher.
Successfully tune your own guitar or other string instrument.
Play a song accurately and in good rhythm to a recorded backing track.
Define a list of music vocabulary terms (written or oral).
Complete a harmonic analysis of a piece or section of music.
Musical Ladder System Login and Setup
Here are the basic steps for getting set up in the Musical Ladder System as a teacher.
You will receive an email from Office noting that your username is your email address. Click through to set your password, which must be 8 characters long, contain 1 lowercase, 1 capital, 1 number, and 1 symbol (enter twice for confirmation). Agree to the terms and conditions, and click through some additional pages.
Once in the Web Portal, if you teach at more than one school, then you will have the option to Select School on the upper left hand side of the window. This allows you to switch between Laguna Niguel School of Music and Lake Forest School of Music.
Once there, you will see your students and their level on the Musical Ladder. If you click the plus + icon next to a student, the listing expands, revealing the option to add notes, and to add a test. (See more about tests below.)
The right hand side of the screen features a calendar as well as three sections:
Upcoming Events
My Scheduled Tests
Projected Unscheduled Tests (your students will likely appear in this list, initially, with various months in the current and possibly upcoming year listed.
About Tests
Remember, the Musical Ladder System calls them tests, and they can be tests, but they can also be other types of goals and milestones. Accomplishments can be: written tests, oral tests, playing tests, performances (including in-lesson, at-home, Forum, recitals, at school talent shows, and more), memorization of some material, completion of a task or project, reading or research and then a written or oral report, demonstration of a new skill, a self-assessment, and many more.
Remember also, students NEVER fail their test or are unsuccessful in reaching their scheduled milestone and level. It is your responsibility, as their teacher, to define their goal at each level in a manner that ensures that they attain their goal, every time.
In the Musical Ladder System, tests have three features which can be selected:
Date Scheduled (required)
Date Completed (optional, enter once completed)
Notes (optional, enter once completed)
Once a test is scheduled, it appears in the calendar and the appropriate section on the right hand side of the main window.
Q: Can I wish my student a Happy Birthday?
A: Yes, definitely! We put up a flyer each month highlighting all the birthdays, including students and teachers! You’ll find one in every lesson room, plus the special “Birthday Stars” poster on the bulletin board in the Suite 108 entrance way.
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Thank you, everyone, for all that you do!
Have a magical Saturday, a musical weekend, and a safe and healthy coming week.
Thank you,
Dennis Frayne
"Dr. Dennis"
Laguna Niguel School of Music
Dennis Frayne Music Studios
30110 Crown Valley Pkwy, Suites 105/107/108
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 844-9051 (office cell)
(949) 468-8040 (personal cell)
www.lagunaniguelschoolofmusic.com
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