Motivation and practice are the biggest keys to our students’ success at the piano. That’s why I’m so thrilled to welcome back Samantha Coates for part two of our three-part series on student motivation. (Listen to part 1 here if you missed it.)

In today’s show, Samantha is talking us through the parents’ role in piano lessons and how we can communicate that role to them.

Parent education is a hugely underestimated part of our job as teachers. If we get this stuff right, it makes a massive difference.

One of the ways Samantha explains this to parents is using her progress matrix which you can find on her blog here.

By laying out the balance of practice and support (with a sense of humour), Samantha makes it very clear how direct this relationship is. No practice + no support = No progress…it really is that simple.

I know you’re going to get a heap out of this episode, I certainly did.

Transcript

If you’d like to download a PDF transcript of this episode, please click below.

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In this episode, you’ll learn

• Why some students quit music
• What makes the Suzuki method work
• How to handle pushy piano parents
• How to explain to parents what their role is in the student’s progress
• Why Samantha awards scholarships for good practice
• How these awards motivate her students and their parents

Links Mentioned

• The Progress Matrix
• Music in Our Lives

Today’s Sponsor

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Thank you for Tuning In!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, and I’m grateful that you’ve chosen mine.

Whether you’re at the gym, on the bike or in the car, I know that you and your students will get lots out of what you learn in the long run.

Just make sure you try out some of the ideas before they get lost in the business of your next lessons!

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How do you educate your piano parents?

Do you think they realise how crucial their role is? Do they know what goes into good progress with a musical instrument?