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How Do I Find Out What Pop Music to Teach?

by Tim Topham

If you're teaching in a 21st Century piano studio (and I hope you are!), you're hopefully open to teaching pop music. Perhaps this is a new area of teaching for you, or perhaps you've always taught pop music and reading from lead sheets.  Whatever your situation, I'm really glad that you've decided to take the plunge ... How Do I Find Out What Pop Music to Teach?

04/24/2015 Read more

How to earn more money from your music teaching business | eBook review

by Tim Topham

You've got a website, right? If you really want to compete in the 21st Century as a piano teacher, you need a regularly-maintained and informative studio website and you need to know how to market yourself in the online world. This is the subject of a great ebook by UK-based teacher, Martyn Croson called How to ... How to earn more money from your music teaching business | eBook review

04/22/2015 Read more

For Sight-Reading Music, Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect | Discovery News

by Tim Topham

I always love reading articles about sight reading, especially when they are published in peer-reviewed Psychology Journals! I believe it is a crucial skill for developing pianists and one that I can always improve my approach to by learning about what’s actually going on in the brain when doing something as complex as piano sight ... For Sight-Reading Music, Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect | Discovery News

04/18/2015 Read more

Therese Milanovic on Piano Technique: “But what will the examiner say?”

by Tim Topham

I recently found this four-part series by Brisbane-based teacher and presenter Therese Milanovic, and just had to share it with you. (It’s going to be particularly relevant to all the Aussie teachers who use the AMEB exam syllabus.) As a teacher of exam students, I’m often worried about what the examiner might think about my students’ technique, performance skills or ... Therese Milanovic on Piano Technique: “But what will the examiner say?”

04/10/2015 Read more

How to find new piano students | Part 2: Strategies, Tools and Methods

by Doug Hanvey

This is the second in a 2-part series by guest blogger, Doug Hanvey, about how to market your studio and find new piano students. Part One discussed how to set up a quick marketing strategy. Did you get your free infographic from the last post? Check it out here. Introduction In Part One, I discussed ... How to find new piano students | Part 2: Strategies, Tools and Methods

03/23/2015 Read more

How to Find New Piano Students | Part 1: The Marketing Plan

by Doug Hanvey

Are you a new teacher looking to build your piano studio? Or have you recently lost a few students who’ve graduated or moved on? Perhaps you’d like to expand your already-thriving studio and hire other teachers to help. Whatever your situation, if you’re on the lookout for new students to build your business, then this series ... How to Find New Piano Students | Part 1: The Marketing Plan

03/17/2015 Read more
 

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András Schiff Beethoven Lecture Recitals | Wigmore Hall Live

by Tim Topham

Teaching Beethoven – tips from a pro If you have ever taught or learnt any of the Beethoven sonatas, you’ll know how important it is to hear and learn from other people about ways of approaching and teaching the music. In my own studies, I watched hours and hours of online tutorials and master classes to ... András Schiff Beethoven Lecture Recitals | Wigmore Hall Live

03/13/2015 Read more

How to WAKE UP a sleepy piano student!

by Nicola Cantan

I’m super excited to share this guest post with you by Nicola Cantan. Nicola runs a thriving piano studio in Dublin, Ireland and blogs at Colourful Keys. Nicola’s blog is all about effective practice, teaching ideas and motivating students and it’s great that she’s taken the time to write this article about firing-up those sleepy, over-scheduled piano ... How to WAKE UP a sleepy piano student!

03/04/2015 Read more

Get Unlimited Piano Sheet Music Copies with Studio Licences

by Tim Topham

Studio Licensing: legal music copying I’ve written before about my frustration with the restrictive and outdated copyright laws generally favoured by the big music publishers (see Finally! Digital piano sheet music copyright is starting to make sense), so I was excited to read my friend and colleague, Australian teacher, presenter and composer Daniel McFarlane of ... Get Unlimited Piano Sheet Music Copies with Studio Licences

02/23/2015 Read more

Piano music for teens: Groovy Beats by Daniel McFarlane

by Tim Topham

Never content to sit back and relax, Daniel McFarlane, a prolific Australian-based composer of contemporary piano music for students, has recently released a collection of new books called Groovy Beats.   As you know, I’ve been a fan of Daniel’s music for some time now and featured his music in a number of previous posts, ... Piano music for teens: Groovy Beats by Daniel McFarlane

02/18/2015 Read more

Quick Teaching Tip: Using a Telescopic Pointer

by Tim Topham

Using a telescopic pointer in piano lessons Just a quick update today. I was in the middle of teaching the other day when one of my colleagues noticed that I was using an extendible pointer to point at my student’s music. I hadn’t really thought much of it – I’d been using an old radio antenna for ... Quick Teaching Tip: Using a Telescopic Pointer

02/13/2015 Read more

Piano Teaching Q&A: Piano Pop Music | The Teaching Studio

by Tim Topham

What do you actually think about letting your students play pop music? When I was researching my PianoFlix Teaching Pop course, I came across this article from The Teaching Studio Blog by Jenny Bay. It is one teacher’s response to a question that I get asked all the time: “Why teach pop?” and it is a response that resonates ... Piano Teaching Q&A: Piano Pop Music | The Teaching Studio

02/10/2015 Read more