Modern Piano Teaching

Beginner's piano technique is rich in resources. In this episode, I share the fundamental components I work with my beginner students regarding piano technique.

Resourcefulness is a key skill you will need to "teach" if one of your goals as a teacher is for your students to continue playing and learning new repertoire long after they completed their piano studies. In this episode, I share the strategies I use at my Studio to model resourcefulness.

Syllabi and publications from Examinations Boards are rich sources of information. In this episode, I share three ways I take advantage of these bodies of knowledge at my Studio in addition to exam preparation.

The Independent Piano Teacher's Studio Handbook written by Beth Gigante was a welcomed addition to my reference library. Many of the lessons I learned back then are still current and relevant. In this episode, I share with you four lessons I learned from this book.

In this episode, I share how I use Toes In The Sand by P. Keveren to expose my students to different areas of music-making and piano playing.

There is a vast body of research about people's preferred ways of learning. In this episode, I share how helpful it is to keep in mind Honey and Mumford's learning styles to provide my students with a rich, engaging, and gratifying learning experience.

Are you wondering how to leverage summertime to grow your Studio? In this episode, I share the three areas I always take care of during the summertime.

A music method book is as good as you are able to make it work for your students regardless of their pace of learning, personality, and learning style. I share in this episode four strategies I regularly use to make the most of the Alfred series Music for Little Mozarts at my Studio.

If you want to develop a fulfilling career as a Studio teacher you need to evaluate three aspects on a regular basis. In this episode, I share how you can select indicators to evaluate the performance of your Studio so you can make the next move with confidence.

In this episode, I share the strategy I learned from Studio Expansion's CEO Chantelle Bruinsma to define my Studio's vision, mission, and values. These three elements form the second tenet you will use to define your Studio's evaluation indicators.

In this episode, we talk about the importance of pausing to evaluate your performance during the first semester and one of the two tenets you can use to define the indicators to objectively make your evaluation and take the necessary steps to stay on track and achieve your Studio's goals.

In my early years as a teacher, I used to feel disappointed to learn that my most of my students did not practice at all during the winter/Christmas break. This experience led me to look for ways to change the situation. In this episode, I share the strategy I developed over the years to increase the probability of practicing during the holidays for my students. This is a startegy informed by educational psychology, learning styles, and my own reflections from past experiences.

Keeping students engaged close to the winter break can be challenging. In this episode, I share how I teach seasonal repertoire during the two to three weeks leading to the winter break. I also share the books I have used for over a decade with some teaching tips.

Every semester we prepare our students to perform for an audience. In this episode, I share the strategies I use to get and keep my students to peak performance for recital day.

Reap the benefits of strong student retention by setting up a series of communications aimed at leveling parents' expectations and clearing any misconceptions.