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Teach music confidently without the stress

How to set up and use playlists for students on YouTube

by Tim Topham

There’s no time to waste! Has the start of your year with a student ever gone something like this? Teacher: “OK, it’s time to choose your new pieces for the year” Student: “Great” Teacher: “So these are the options for your exam List A piece” (plays 4 – 5 options) Teacher: “So, do you like ... How to set up and use playlists for students on YouTube

02/18/2014 Read more

NotateMe | notation app for Piano Teachers

by Tim Topham

NotateMe app for piano teachers If you’ve ever been frustrated by the difficulty of using traditional notation software such as Finale or Sibelius, you are sure to like NotateMe. I’m just old enough to remember when notation and recording software cost thousands of dollars, required huge processing power and memory and large desktop computers. With the advent ... NotateMe | notation app for Piano Teachers

12/07/2013 Read more

10 Best Piano Teaching Facebook Pages

by Tim Topham

As promised in my article Top 4 Piano Teaching Facebook Groups – get connected!, here is a list of Facebook Pages that I recommend to other piano teachers. Piano Teaching Facebook Pages For those of you new to Facebook, or still considering whether you should join, a Facebook Page is like a profile except that ... 10 Best Piano Teaching Facebook Pages

12/04/2013 Read more

Piano Teaching Technology: iPad Piano Studio | Book Review & Giveaway

by Tim Topham

Is your studio an iPad Piano Studio? If you’re a bit of a newbie when it comes to using technology in your studio, make sure The iPad Piano Studio is in your Christmas stocking this year! As you will know from my previous posts (Piano teaching tips: Best iPad apps for piano teachers, The iPad ... Piano Teaching Technology: iPad Piano Studio | Book Review & Giveaway

12/03/2013 Read more

Top 4 Piano Teaching Facebook Groups – get connected!

by Tim Topham

I’ve been a Facebook user for some time now. When I first started using it in my mid 20s, it was mainly for connecting with friends, keeping up with news and the usual time-wasting social media activities: browsing the news feed, looking at pictures, playing online games and generally wasting time! In fact, I was ... Top 4 Piano Teaching Facebook Groups – get connected!

11/05/2013 Read more

10 Must-Follow Blogs for Piano Teachers

by Tim Topham

As part of my own professional development, I keep a close eye on blogs from piano teachers around the world. You can learn so much and get great links to other resources by following a few key blogs. You don’t have to check these websites yourself every week as you can subscribe to receive emails ... 10 Must-Follow Blogs for Piano Teachers

08/20/2013 Read more
 

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Notation apps for iPad just got easier with Notion

by Tim Topham

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been testing out Notion for iPad.  Notation apps for iPad are getting pretty impressive these days but it can be hard to find the right one to suit your working style. Notion is a good cross-over for people who are used to software-based applications on their Mac or PC and want ... Notation apps for iPad just got easier with Notion

05/19/2013 Read more

Rhythm Lab iPad app – the new winner!

by Tim Topham

I’ve previously blogged about my favourite iPad apps for rhythm teaching: see Best iPad apps for piano teachers, but now another app has been released, and it’s called Rhythm Lab, combining the best of ReadRhythm, Rhythm Repeat and My Rhythm. In fact, this one is now my favourite! It’s most similar to ReadRhythm, so if you ... Rhythm Lab iPad app – the new winner!

02/09/2013 Read more

How to Easily Loop YouTube Videos

by Tim Topham

Repeat YouTube Sections I might be behind the eight-ball here, but I’ve just found out about a site called YouRepeat which allows you to loop any section of any YouTube video just by changing the word “tube” in the web address to “repeat”. For example, let’s say I wanted to repeat one section of this ... How to Easily Loop YouTube Videos

01/08/2013 Read more

Another great backing track app for iPad: iReal Pro

by Tim Topham

Looking for easy-to-use jazz and pop backing tracks? One of my Year 8 students recently had to play keyboard in a band for his music performance class at school. The song the band chose was Baker Street (they had a good saxophonist!) and my student’s role was to play the chords on the keyboard. As ... Another great backing track app for iPad: iReal Pro

11/02/2012 Read more

Using Notestar app in the piano teaching studio

by Tim Topham

Using the Notestar app in your teaching studio is a great way to motivate your teen and adult students to keep practising as it provides realistic backing tracks (including vocals) for a heap of modern pop songs. If you: – enjoy teaching students about chords but find it difficult to keep students interested when they ... Using Notestar app in the piano teaching studio

10/28/2012 Read more

Downloading Christopher Norton MIDI to Home Concert Xtreme

by Tim Topham

If you haven’t yet been convinced to buy the amazing iPad app called “Home Concert Xtreme” (HCX), I think this might change your mind! Yes, the app costs about $40, but it’s worth every cent…It’s great for piano teachers and students and is really easy to use. If you’re unfamiliar with HCX, have a look ... Downloading Christopher Norton MIDI to Home Concert Xtreme

10/23/2012 Read more