The Girton eLink

Meet a Teacher

Mrs Betty Higgs

Teacher of Piano

Life before Girton

  • Mus. Dip. Ed. Melb, A. Mus. A. ARCO London.
  • Classroom teacher at Sebastopol Technical School, Ballarat, Vic.
  • Classroom teacher at Sandringham Secondary College, Vic.
  • Piano teaching and sales at Allans Music Dandenong, Gawler Place, Adelaide and Mount Gambia SA.
  • Organist and tutor at Durham University, UK.
  • Lecturer in Music at Bendigo State College, then Bendigo CAE , then Latrobe University Bendigo. Vic.
  • Classroom music and piano teacher at Girton Grammar School, Bendigo Vic since 1993
  • Accompanist for Junior School Performance Choir, Junior School Choirs and Girton Singers
  • MiC of Piano

What I Love about Teaching

I love piano!! I love playing, accompanying and teaching piano.

 

I enjoy teaching students at all levels from Prep to Year 12 and VCE.

 

My proudest moment is seeing all my students perform with confidence in my Piano Recital Evening at the end of the year….the culmination of a year of development.

My favourite classroom activity

Sight reading!! With the younger students they are encouraged to learn new pieces every week.

 

This means they can play many pieces and their sight reading skills are developing well.

What difference can good teaching make?

A good student has good technique, and can play musically with confidence and style.

 

Technique…I encourage students to see technical work as a ‘warm-up’ and a necessary part of everyday practice, and then they enjoy it.

 

Sight reading…..With students up to Grade 4 level, I encourage them to play a new piece at every lesson as this gives them confidence and enjoyment.