About the author

Tim Topham

Tim Topham is the founder and director of TopMusic. Tim hosts the popular Integrated Music Teaching Podcast, blogs regularly at topmusic.co and speaks at local and international conferences on topics such as integrated teaching, creativity, business, marketing and entrepreneurship. Tim has been featured in American Music Teacher, The Piano Teacher Magazine, California Music Teacher and EPTA Piano Professional. Tim holds an MBA in Educational Leadership, BMus, DipEd and AMusA.

How to Organise Your Piano Studio Blog and Social Media

by Tim Topham

Being organised certainly pays off.

11/18/2022 Read more

305: How to Teach Songwriting to Music Students with Simon Rushby

by Tim Topham

Today, we’re going to unpack our brand new, 9-module course, The Complete Guide to Songwriting, and meet the creator and instructor, Simon Rushby. He has written songs that have charted for artists in Europe and Asia. His compositions have been used worldwide for TV shows and commercials. As a performer, Simon remains busy as a ... 305: How to Teach Songwriting to Music Students with Simon Rushby

How to Teach an Integrated Music Lesson

by Tim Topham

Integrated music lessons can help you provide a more connected and immersive experience for your music students. We want to help you understand what and integrated music lesson is and how you can teach one yourself.  Last week, we announced the launch of our Integrated Music Teaching model which focuses on making connections between the ... How to Teach an Integrated Music Lesson

11/14/2022 Read more

304: Building the Certificate of Integrated Music Teaching with Kimberly Swanson

by Tim Topham

In today’s episode, Kimberly Swanson will join us to discuss all about how we’ve been building the Certificate of Integrated Music Teaching over the last six to nine months. We’ll be going over the big picture view of why we’ve created this certification and how it fits into a larger educational framework. And  finally, we’re ... 304: Building the Certificate of Integrated Music Teaching with Kimberly Swanson

11/11/2022 Read more

303: Integrated Music Teaching in Action

by Tim Topham

In today’s episode, we continue to talk about the Integrated Music Teaching method. We are going to let you hear some integrations in actual lessons that I’ve taught. I thought this would be really instructive for those of you who are still wondering how this actually looks and sounds in a lesson.  How to teach ... 303: Integrated Music Teaching in Action

11/04/2022 Read more

302: 3 Steps to Teaching an Integrated Music Lesson

by Tim Topham

In today’s episode, we’re going to unpack the 3-step process on how to teach an integrated music lesson in your studio. Integrated music teaching is based on expanding and deepening your students’ connection to repertoire, so this 3-step process is all based around the repertoire that the student is already learning. Have a listen as ... 302: 3 Steps to Teaching an Integrated Music Lesson

10/28/2022 Read more
 

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Introduction to Integrated Music Teaching

by Tim Topham

This is the first post in a 4-part series on Integrated Music Teaching.Check out part two here, and part three here.  Check out the podcasts:3 Pillars of Integrated Music Teaching 3 Steps to Teaching an Integrated Music LessonIntegrated Music Teaching in Action Introduction About 10 years ago, I realised that there was something very different about ... Introduction to Integrated Music Teaching

10/24/2022 Read more

301: The 3 Pillars of Integrated Music Teaching

by Tim Topham

Our exploration on integrated music teaching starts with an overview of the three pillars, which will provide the foundation for you to successfully use this approach in your own teaching. We will explore student first or student-centered teaching, multimodal assessment and questions that build curiosity. And we will look at ways that you can implement ... 301: The 3 Pillars of Integrated Music Teaching

10/21/2022 Read more

300: Integrated Music Teaching

by Tim Topham

I can’t believe it’s been 300 episodes since I started this podcast! Looking back at the first episode until this one, so much has changed for the better. I’m thrilled to be sharing two announcements on today’s podcast, which is a culmination of all these years of learning and growing as a music educator, and ... 300: Integrated Music Teaching

10/14/2022 Read more

TC299: Ever Thought of Selling Your Studio? A Chat with Jeff Homer from Ensemble Music Schools

by Tim Topham

Have you ever thought of selling your studio in the future? In today’s episode, we’re having a chat with Jeff Homer, the founder of Ensemble Music Schools. Jeff shares with us what Ensemble Music Schools is all about, his background and how he got into this type of niche. He also shares his thoughts on ... TC299: Ever Thought of Selling Your Studio? A Chat with Jeff Homer from Ensemble Music Schools

10/07/2022 Read more

TC298: How Multi-Level Group Teaching Works with Dorla Aparicio

by Tim Topham

In this episode, my guest Dorla Aparicio discusses the benefits of multi-level group teaching. She shares with us how she introduced it into her piano studio and what steps were involved. She talks about how to approach it with students and her methods for keeping students engaged despite their age and skill level. Dorla also ... TC298: How Multi-Level Group Teaching Works with Dorla Aparicio

09/30/2022 Read more

Special Needs Piano Teaching

by Tim Topham

Feel more confident today teaching for special needs, with our tips, classroom strategies, method advice and more

09/29/2022 Read more