For the past few days, I’ve been running something called the Studio Business Cleanse. This is something I put together to help teachers get ready, refresh and reset before the summer break. In this series of online workshops and live discussions, we’ve been looking at your students, branding, business systems and policies. We’ve been doing these…
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CKQC034: ‘Term Teleport’ music theory game for early intermediates
This music theory game for early intermediates is a two-for-one deal. Not only are students naming notes (including many ledger line notes) but they can accelerate their progress by explaining Italian music terms. These terms allow them to teleport along the train tracks which is a super fun twist! In this quick clip, you’ll see…
Golden Rules of a Great Piano Studio Website
How do you feel about your piano studio website? Is it excellent, or only ok? Do you keep telling yourself you’ll spruce it up one day? In this internet-centric world, Google is the first port of call for most people. We go there when we want to find a new hairdresser, doctor or brand of washing…
CKQC033: Rhythm Activities for Preschoolers with Vocalisations and Drumming
Rhythm is foundational to everything else. It’s my number one priority for all new students, especially preschoolers. Young beginners might take a while to develop finger dexterity and might not be the quickest to catch on to reading, but with appropriate rhythm activities for preschoolers their rhythm can be rock solid. You’ll notice we…
Rethinking Piano Exams Part 2: The Three Month Piano Exam Preparation Process
How long does the piano exam preparation process take in your studio? From start to finish – how long do your students spend working towards an exam? For many years, my students would spend 6 or up to 9 (!) months working on exam repertoire and scale requirements. I would tell myself that we would…
CKQC032: ‘Sunrise’ and ‘Moonrise’ improvisation solos for beginners
These two patterns are the very first ones in Create First Book 1. Both the duet and solo options are simple and beautiful. Although we always do improvisation at my studio from the beginning, I’ve been working to get my students to do more improvisation solos. Several of my students even did solo improv at…
Rethinking Piano Exams Part 1: Reconsidering Readiness for Piano Exams
There are many factors in how teachers assess readiness for piano exams. But one of the biggest ones has no place in the process, and that’s pressure from parents, students or ourselves. So let’s give this question a fresh look. When is a student ready for a piano exam? Is it when we know they’re capable…
CKQC031: Step & skip race on the floor staff
If you have a floor staff, you have to try this game with your beginner piano students. Steps and skips is one of those beginning concepts that if not understood, comes back to bite later down the track. If students don’t get directionality and intervals at this basic level – at some point their reading is…
Manageable Creativity in Piano Lessons with Monthly Focuses
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by all the possible stuff you could be including in lessons? Confused as to what to prioritise week-to-week? Monthly focuses or themes can be very helpful to make this more manageable. By deciding what topic you’ll cover with your students each month, and keeping it the same across your studio,…
CKQC030: Create note stem superstars with the ‘Note Stem Smash’ game
Note stem rules are one of those things that it’s hard to feign enthusiasm for as a teacher. I mean, they’re just…pretty dull right? Dull but necessary. That is until I created Note Stem Smash. This game is fast-paced, fun and is effective practice for all the note stem rules. The game is simple – sort…
