Do you ever feel like you’re not a “real” piano teacher? Like somehow you’re an imposter? Are you lacking in confidence in your teaching and your business? This is certainly how I felt for the first 10 or so years of my teaching. I mean, who was I to teach this stuff? It hadn’t come…
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Payment Policies for Piano Teachers: Which one is right for YOU?
It’s time to tackle your favourite topic: payment policies for piano teachers. Seriously though, with how much this comes up in piano teaching communities, you actually would think that we simply LOVE talking about payment policies! Whether you love ‘em or loath ‘em, you will need to find the right payment option for your studio….
CKQC039: Simple but effective solo improvisation for beginners
This is another pattern from Forrest Kinney’s fabulous Create First 1. Every pattern in these books has a duet and a corresponding solo version. I like to start with the duet so my student can get a feel for the improvisation and explore a little, and then we work on the solo improvisation. This…
First Year Goals for a Preschool Piano Student
Many teachers are starting to take on their first preschool piano students. Some are successful, some aren’t, and most just don’t know if they are! What counts as good progress when we’re teaching 3-5 year old piano students? It’s important to get our own goals right so that we can feel good about our students’…
CKQC038: Piano scale practice using the Musiclock iPad app
Musiclock is a wonderful app for piano scale practice. It’s basically a backing track app with different styles of music and a huge range of different scales. The music in Musiclock actually sounds cool, and the app looks beautiful. This is important when you’re working with teens and tweens! I love using this app for…
Solfa for Piano Teachers…for Beginners
The mention of solfa can strike fear into the hearts of many piano teachers. Their head is filled with questions and curiosities, and concerns about their own singing abilities. But solfa can be a fantastic tool to have at your disposal and it doesn’t have to be difficult or scary. And you don’t have to…
CKQC037: Beginner piano student ear training with melody playbacks
Simple little ear training exercises like this one can be integrated into your lessons in just a few minutes, and they can make a big difference. In this quick clip, we’re working on melody playbacks. I always ask my student to pick do when we do these, and then I help them to find re…
3 Simple Rules for Creating Rapport with Your Piano Students
Teaching is about relationships. That’s doubly true for one-on-one piano teaching. So how can you create the rapport with your piano students that you need to have a great relationship? Follow these very simple rules and you’re sure to have better rapport with your piano students. Relationship building honestly doesn’t have to be difficult, it’s…
CKQC036: ‘Zebra on a Pogo Stick’ rote piece introduction
‘Zebra on a Pogo Stick’ is a student favourite from Piano Safari Book 1. I haven’t met a student yet who doesn’t love this piece. Over time, I have picked up which style of rote piece introduction suits which piece. ‘Zebra on a Pogo Stick’ is very suited to this tactic of hands separate work….
Send your students on a practice quest this summer break!
If you don’t teach lessons or have a lighter schedule in the summer months then you’ll be familiar with this annual quandary: how do I keep my students practising during the break? My favourite way to tackle this issue is to send my students on a practice quest. The quest is a list of fun…
