Listening skills are vital to becoming a great musician, and yet, many teachers never find time for developing them in lessons. In this episode, you’ll learn about active listening and an idea for working on it with students. Download the Transcript Are you a Vibrant Music Teaching member? Click here to download and view all…
Blog
Scratch-off Music Practice Charts for Summer Success
Tell me if this sounds familiar: You go through all the work of helping your students develop a solid practice routine only to have it all fall apart during the summer. Even worse, they come back to piano lessons after a long break seeming to have forgotten everything you taught them – the dreaded “summer…
VMT098: Prevent Summer Stress with a Studio Budget
Have you made a budget for your music studio? This is an important factor if you want to manage your income better and be able to take time off in the summer without stressing. Take a listen to learn how to set up a simple budget for your studio. Relevant Resources How to Create a…
Really Realistic Resolutions for Piano Teachers
May is the perfect time to set resolutions for piano teachers. Sure, New Year’s Day gets all the hype and attention. But if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere like me, spring is a much more realistic time for resolving and making changes. (And if you’re down under, I think October would be perfect for you….
VMT097: 5 Ways to Decompress in 5 Minutes
We all get stressed or overwhelmed from time-to-time so it’s important to have strategies to decompress and relax quickly. Try out these ideas at the end of your next teaching day and let me know how you get on! Relevant Resources 100th Podcast Celebration: Lessons Learned Webinar: Choosing Relevant Repertoire for Your Students 5-Minute…
An Outdoor Summer Piano Party
This article about an outdoor summer piano party was written by guest blogger Melissa Quilitzsch. Melissa is a piano teacher, music director and organist from central Massachusetts. As the Content Assistant for Colourful Keys and Vibrant Music Teaching, she works closely with Nicola to bring you all the awesome teaching tools you’ve come to know…
VMT096: How to Show You’re on Their Side
Developing a great relationship with your music students is vital to ensuring they follow your directions (both in the studio and at home) and have a great lesson experience that makes them stick with it long-term. Learn how to develop rapport with students of all ages in this episode. Relevant Resources 100th Podcast Celebration: Lessons…
Simplify Your Studio with an All-Inclusive Piano Tuition Fee Structure
There’s a lot of chatter in piano teaching communities about the various tuition structures. But have you ever considered an all-inclusive piano tuition fee structure? Making your tuition all-inclusive (whether you choose monthly or term-based payments) can make it easier to plan and budget for both you and your piano parents. It can also help…
Tech Setups for Online Piano Lessons
The content in this article about tech setups for online piano lessons was originally released as a YouTube video on 12 March 2020. Teaching online piano lessons doesn’t have to involve a whole lot of complicated technology and equipment. Let me share with you some simple ways to position whatever device you have so that…
10 Online Piano Teaching Tips For Smoother Lessons
This article about online piano teaching tips was originally released as a video on YouTube on 1 April 2020. Tip 1: Send Tech Info Beforehand Give clear and simple instructions to your students and their parents. Make sure to keep the tech easy to understand for them as you can and you’ll have a much…