CKQC001: Using a whale analogy to fix piano technique

Welcome to the first ever Colourful Keys Quick Clip. In these videos you’ll be getting a peek inside my teaching studio at my own teaching.

I’ll be sharing these short excerpts from my lessons every Thursday, mostly centred around my rote teaching, improvisation and teaching with games.

It’s not easy sharing your “live” teaching with others in this way – but I know how much videos like this have helped me, and I want to give back to our global teaching community.

In this first video, my student and I are working on a technique issue in one of her pieces. I chose to use an animal analogy to get us through this obstacle.

Animals are one of my best teaching tools. I love using animal toys, and erasers – but the best use of animals with kids is often in their imaginations. See how the whale story brings the gesture to life and makes working on technique fun, interesting and memorable.

Let me know what you think!

I hope you enjoy this first quick clip. If you have any thoughts or questions, be sure to ask them in the Vibrant Music Studio Teachers group on Facebook or in the comments here.

If you want more and extended clips of my teaching, be sure to check out the Vibrant Music Teaching library. There’s tons more like this as well as a whole library of teaching games to boot.

Find out more about how you can become a VMT member here.