Ordinary Time

January through mid-April

Ordinary Time is what most people might picture when they think of piano lessons. Students continue with regular practice in their weekly timeslots. It seems like this part of the calendar can go on and on as people go about their normal business, but it is a limited amount of time, around fourteen lessons. Like Miss Tess says often, “Don’t waste your heartbeats.”

Ordinal numbers represent a sequence (first, second, third). Cardinal numbers define an amount (one, two, three). The term "Ordinary Time” comes from ordinal numbers.

Miss Tess designed this period of the calendar for students to work on smaller pieces, to continue with their 30 Songs Challenge or the Room with Many Doors Challenge, as well as to focus on music theory or other piano projects.

Ordinary Time does not have set goals and finish lines in the way that group events do, so this is a chance for students to keep their momentum operating from an inner source, rather than being driven by an external reward or consequence.

When Ordinary Time begins in the New Year, Miss Tess asks students to write a list of five strengths, five areas for improvement, five motivations, and five purposes. Motivations articulate students’ Why: the reasons they are committed to practicing piano. Purposes brainstorm students’ What Now: ideas for where their music can go next. Offering students a window of time to be their own leader and project manager with no imposed deadlines has led to many, many learning experiences.

Here are samples from students’ previous lists, shared with permission: