January 24, 2026: Saturday Remix
Teachers and Staff: Happy Saturday!
Get Those Musical Ladder Tests Scheduled!
Take the time to get your Musical Ladder tests scheduled and completed for your students! You can do all of this in your lesson, with your student; you can talk about the Musical Ladder with them and show them what you are doing.
Remember, tests are meant to be meaningful but also fun and rewarding. Students never fail a test! All tests should be tailored to your student in such a way that they will be successful every time.
Here’s a refresher on Musical Ladder:
Every student will participate in the Musical Ladder program by default. Students can opt out of the program, if they contact the office and specifically request to. We will let you know if your student opts out. Otherwise, please assume they are in the program, and encourage them to be in the program! This includes all ages, including teens and adults.
Teachers cannot opt out of the program. Every teacher participates, and every teacher is committed to participating enthusiastically.
The system is based on longevity. Students reach levels as they progress, over time, through their ongoing lessons. There is an achievement aspect (test, project, performance, developmental milestone) for each, but the milestones and levels take place on a predetermined schedule. The levels start at every 3 months of continuous lessons, then eventually evolve to every 6 months, and then every year. (Students who withdraw and then re-enroll later must restart on the first rung of the ladder.)
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.
Milestone goals can include a wide variety of diverse activities. 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.
The requirement for teachers is to work with each student, at the beginning of each level, to design the milestone activity. Then, help to ensure the student learns what is needed, develops the skills needed, etc., and completes the activity successfully by the due date at the end of the level period.
Milestone activities should be meaningful, yet easily achievable. They are not meant to be so easy that a student can already do them without even trying. But they must not be so difficult that a student must devote inappropriate time or effort into achieving them, or have the chance of failing.
Remember, the levels are first about longevity – the continuous time they have put into their music lessons. The milestone activity is a procedure to formalize the process and event, to make it more meaningful, to make it more rewarding, and to help students and parents to know and to feel that they are accomplishing things and growing as musicians and students.
When you start a new student, set up their first test (3 months out) in the Musical Ladder with them during their very first lesson!
We will continue to provide information about the Musical Ladder, but as always, if you have any questions, please let us know!
Introductory Lessons Reminder
Remember, one goal of the Introductory Lesson is to teach the student something. But a second and very important goal of the Introductory Lesson is to learn about the student, and then communicate what you learned via the Teacher Notes form.
If a student enrolls, sometimes the teacher who taught the Introductory Lesson will become their ongoing teacher. Often they will not, for a host of reasons. Remember, we strive to match teachers to students in the best way we can. In addition, schedules, availability, and other factors play a role in these decisions.
If students or parents ask about this, please always communicate that the teacher who gives the Introductory Lesson will not necessarily be their ongoing teacher. Be onboard with this, because we need teachers who give the Introductory Lesson to be fully supportive that they are helping us determine how and where to best place each student.
Q: What should I do if I missed a Musical Ladder test and it should have happened a while ago?
A: Schedule it for the next lesson and complete it right away! You can even schedule it for the current day if you are in the lesson with them, and then complete it right then. Schedule it for today and complete it! Then you can determine when the next one should be and schedule it for that time, or for a few weeks or a month out if it too has already passed. Do this until you catch up.
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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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