TTTV000: Introducing Tim Topham TV – Piano Teaching Podcast

A New Piano Teaching Podcast

A few weeks ago, I interviewed John Bloomfield for a promotion regarding the Taubman workshops in Brisbane (by the way, you can still watch the recordings of these episodes for another month or so).

Despite the quality of the recording and sound being pretty average, I had a lot of positive comments from people about the interview and how much they enjoyed watching. I was also interviewed on Teach Piano Today last year regarding my thoughts on iPads.

And I really enjoyed doing it!

I’ve been thinking for a while now about how cool it would be to have a regular podcast to share more in-depth ideas with my readers. Hearing how much people got out of the quick 10-minute interview with John, despite the technical issues, has prompted me to finally get moving with my own regular podcast.

So say hello to Tim Topham TV!

If you’re unfamiliar with podcasts, they are audio or video recordings of a live presentation, much like a radio station, which you can watch or listen to via a webpage on any device or through an app on your iPad or smart phone. You can “subscribe” to podcasts meaning that you’ll instantly be notified of new episodes as they are aired and most of them have a place for comments and links, just like a normal blog article.

Podcasts are usual audio-only (just like listening to the radio) but sometimes involve video. My plan is to do a mix of both, with people able to watch interviews or just listen to the audio – whatever works best for your learning and access to technology.

Why a Podcast?

I’ve decided to start a podcast as I believe they are one of the best ways to learn about new things. I subscribe to around six podcasts that I regularly listen to. I find that I have learnt much more through listening to content and people discussing ideas and issues than I would ever have through reading text.

Think about the main ways in which schools and universities still deliver content: lectures followed-up with reading/notes. This is exactly what podcasts are about. You listen to someone sharing their ideas, discussing and demonstrating a technique or perhaps interviewing another person, and then you can head to the blog page (if you’re not already on it) in order to download resources and click links, etc.

Importantly, I find that audio podcasts mean that I can be 100% productive in the car or on public transport. While I don’t have to drive that much in my current role, even the 20 minutes or so each way is great to listen to half or a third of an hour-long podcast. When I’m next it the car, the player just starts from where I left off. I often find myself having to pull over and take notes as new ideas come to mind as a result of what I’m listening to.

Similarly, you might like to listen to podcasts when you’re going for a walk, giving you the best of both worlds: some exercise outside the studio and some quality content to inspire you!

What’s Tim Topham TV going to be about?

Well, piano teaching obviously, but more specifically, the main content of my podcast will be interviews with other people.

While I don’t profess to have all the ideas and answers when it comes to piano education, I do have a lot of contacts in the field. It’s my aim to help these people share their their ideas with you and take you on a mini journey during each episode to help you learn something more about education, piano, repertoire, training, etc.

I’ve got a heap of great people lined up to interview, including:

• Pianists
• Teachers
• Other Bloggers
• Presenters
• Composers
• Authors
• Online marketing experts to help with promoting your studio
• Event organisers – eg. conferences, competitions, etc.

Who would you like to hear me interview?

Even more importantly, I’d love to hear from you about the content you’d like me to explore on Tim Topham TV. 

What would you like to hear about in this podcast?

• Who would you like to hear interviewed?
• What topics are most relevant to you? What issues are causing you the most pain right now?
• Would you like to hear more about great repertoire? Teaching ideas? Resources? Training?
• Maybe how to teach composition/creativity?
• What about technology you’d like to use in your studio?
• Teaching teens? Teaching Adults? Teaching people on the autism spectrum?
• What method nooks to use and why?
• What about tips for running your studio? Policies and contracts?
• How to run your studio business?
• Teaching online lessons?
• Which exam board to use? How to prepare students for exams?
• Anything at all!

You’ll find the usual comment box below – please leave any thoughts you might have.

Stay tuned for Podcast Episode 1 when I’ll be interviewing my good friend and fellow Aussie composer/teacher/presenter Daniel McFarlane, composer of the immensely popular Supersonics Piano. I’ll be asking him all about his background, how he came to be composing, his teaching tips for creativity in lessons, how you can get the most out of his music and how you can even start composing music for your own students.

Test Recording

Below you’ll find an example of how the audio version of the podcast will be displayed. This is just a test recording in order to get my feed into iTunes and to check everything is working. You can click the play button to listen, or you might prefer to wait until Episode 1 is released. As long as you’re subscribed to this blog, you’ll be updated when new episodes are released.

Looking forward to sharing more ideas with you soon!