Have you ever wished there was a piano teaching conference near you? Well I have for many years…so I stepped up to make it happen.

In June 2026, I hosted the first ever Irish Piano Pedagogy Conference in Dublin. If you weren’t able to make it over, I’ll summarise some of the magic here so you can live vicariously!

Conference Day 1

The first day of the conference was jam-packed with learning, conversations and fun.

Registration

Laura and Elena did a fantastic job of checking everyone in quickly and efficiently.

Everyone got their bag of goodies and settled in for two days of creative teaching ideas and thoughtful discussions.

Uncommon Sense for Music Teachers

I kicked off the first session talking about the “uncommon” sense things we teachers need to be cognizant of. The aspects of our teaching that might be obvious to us but we need to educate others on.

Planting Musical Seeds: Piano Teaching in the Early Years

Next up, we had Courtney who shared about teaching younger kiddos.

Her ideas were practical and down-to-earth and I could see lots of detailed note taking going on!

Inspiring Improvisation Through Multisensory Piano Teaching for Late Elementary to Early Intermediate Students

Then we had Shihan who joined us from China to share how she has been bringing multiple senses into her teaching through the use of colour, smelly stickers and other imaginative tools.

Positively Profitable

Before the lunch break, I headed up a session about how we can be more positive in the business side of things. We worked on our fees starting from what we actually want to earn and it was eye-opening for many!

If you’re looking for more inspiration for the business side of teaching, check out Nicola’s hub page devoted entirely to all things studio business.

Panel and Discussion Groups: Pricing and Policies

After lunch, we dove further into the business stuff with a panel discussion and then group mastermind sessions. We discussed pricing, business structures, lesson formats and so much more. 

Would you love to be a part of a piano pedagogy conference like this one where you could glean inspiration from experts and other teachers? Why not start your own music teachers’ group with the help of our ‘Music Teacher Group Pack’?

Members of Vibrant Music Teaching can download the pack instantly from the vast Printable Library. Not a member? Learn more and join today at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

The Singing Piano – Unlocking Notation with Solfa

Last, but definitely not least, for day 1 we had Starr who spoke about the importance of singing in lessons and how it provides a pathway to reading.

 Conference Day 2

The first day of the conference was so spectacular everyone was primed and pumped about day 2. 

Interleaved Teaching: Taking Practice and Lessons to the Next Level

I started day 2 with a deep dive into practice strategies and understanding what I call interleaved teaching.

I heart WBMP

Next up, we had Jay with his thought-provoking session about whole beat metronome practice (WBMP).

Being Creative

Angela took to the stage after that to share her creative teaching ideas that help make her lessons more inclusive.

Helping Piano Students Develop a Compositional Voice

Fidelma had some great experiences to share about how to support students in their composing. 

After Fidelma’s session, I challenged each table to write their own lyrics about the conference and that was an absolute hoot!

Panel and Discussion Groups: Inclusivity

Our second panel discussion and mastermind session were about the idea of inclusivity in our studios. This brought up some really interesting areas of conversation.

Reeling in the Years

Finally, I capped it off with some ideas about our long-term goals for our students and what we need to do now to help them do whatever they want to do with music in the future.

Post-Conference Reflections

My goal for this conference from the beginning was to give teachers a place to come share ideas and make real connections with other teachers. I think we achieved that welcoming atmosphere for all teachers, whether they had decades of experience or were just starting out. 

I’ll leave you with the words of one of our lovely attendees:

“I travelled from Germany to the Irish Piano Pedagogy Conference in Dublin and it was 100% worth it. As a new teacher I found it a very welcoming/friendly atmosphere for me to ask all the many questions I had, and I took a lot of inspiration from the many creative ideas that were presented. I felt like I’d found my people!” – Ruth

Are you coming next year?

We had such a blast at the first Irish Piano Pedagogy Conference and the tickets are already up for next year. Will you be joining us?