Category Archives: motivation

9 Tips for Teaching Piano To Young Ages

By joy (admin) | Published: 7 November 2011

As piano teachers, we wear many hats.  School teachers often teach only one age group, or a few age groups.  Piano teachers are usually expected to be able to teach from age 5 to 95!  But as we all know, teaching a 5-year-old is much different from teaching a 15-year-old, or a 55-year-old.  :) In [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, by student's level, early childhood music, improving as a teacher, musings, private lessons, professional development | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

NCKP 2011 | (13) Student-Centered Teaching, by Randall Faber

By joy (admin) | Published: 13 August 2011

I don’t normally post on Saturdays, but I’m so close to having all my conference notes posted that I decided to finish up today with the last one rather than wait until Monday!  Whew, thanks for bearing with me through the long haul!  Lucky for us, the last one is a good one.  :) I’ve [...]

Also posted in 2011 NCKP, conferences, improving as a teacher | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

May 2011 Giveaway: “Fearless Fortissimo” Piano Music for Boys

By joy (admin) | Published: 6 May 2011

Greetings!  Today I have two important announcements: I have finished all the requirements for my Master’s degree!  HOORAY!  =D Today we have a new GIVEAWAY!  Here are the details: Andrea & Trevor Dow from yesterday’s interview have kindly agreed to sponsor a giveaway of Episode 1 of The Adventures of Fearless Fortissimo!  This pdf is [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, giveaways, intermediate level, private lessons, repertoire/methods | Tagged , , , , | 39 Comments

Rethinking The Student’s First Lesson

By joy (admin) | Published: 21 April 2011

Okay, so I’ve been thinking about this topic for a few weeks now, and today I’m spilling all!   Sorry about the length. =) Don’t Make My Mistake! When I first began teaching, I created a mental list of all the things I felt were essential for a new student should know.  I thought very [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, improving as a teacher, musings, private lessons, settings:, studio business | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Teaching With the Student’s Goals in Mind

By joy (admin) | Published: 28 January 2011

This week I gave a few first lessons to some new students.  One of the things I always ask during the first lesson/interview is: What are some of your goals in taking piano lessons? Here are some examples of answers I’ve received from students: I want to be able to play classical pieces that everyone [...]

Also posted in improving as a teacher | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Teaching Tip: Engaging the Emotions

By joy (admin) | Published: 19 November 2010

A discussion about the effectiveness of engaging the student’s emotions to encourage learning in the piano lesson.

Also posted in improving as a teacher, private lessons | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: “Red,” “Purple,” and “Blue” by Dror Perl

By joy (admin) | Published: 4 November 2010

A few weeks ago, I received a friendly email from composer Dror Perl asking if I’d be willing to write a review of his music books. I, of course, said yes, and so Dror sent me complimentary copies of the Red and Purple books. Here is my full review of his wonderful books!

Also posted in resources / links, reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

9 Ideas for Motivating Piano Students

By joy (admin) | Published: 18 October 2010

We have all had students who are low on motivation at one point or another. It’s not always easy to keep students practicing week after week. To make matters more complicated, every student is different: something that motivates one student might not work for the next. This post contains 9 great suggestions for increasing motivation among your piano students.

Also posted in improving as a teacher, inspiration, studio business | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

SUMMARY | The June Forum: Making Your Vocation A Vacation

By joy (admin) | Published: 6 July 2010

June is over (summer is going by so quickly!!), and so is the June Forum: Making Your Vocation A Vacation topic.  Thanks for all the thought-provoking comments, all!  Here’s a summary of your comments, along with some thoughts of my own mixed in: Teach only when you want to. Don’t overdo it.  Only schedule yourself what [...]

Also posted in Forum Q&A's, improving as a teacher, inspiration, series, studio business | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

My Thoughts on Practice Requirements

By joy (admin) | Published: 11 June 2010

Many of you may remember being required by your piano teachers growing up to practice a certain amount of minutes each day/week.  Perhaps your requirement looked something like this: 15 minutes a day, 140 minutes each week, or 45 minutes, 5 days a week. One of my previous teachers built her incentive program around how [...]

Also posted in improving as a teacher, incentive programs, practicing, private lessons, settings: | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments
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