I’m pleased to share that Alfred Music has published one of my latest compositions! I am honored to be among about 15 new composers Alfred recently recruited to add new pieces to their Signature Series Solos.
Continue reading “My First Publication with Alfred Music”
Hello there,
I’m writing today with an announcement and personal invitation. My 2026 piano teacher retreat — the sixth since I founded it in 2017 — will take place in June, and I would love to have you there.
Retreat at Piano Manor
Monday–Wednesday, June 8–10, 2026
We’ll be gathering in southeast Michigan for three days of musicianship-focused learning, great conversation, and real retreat vibes — a beautiful historic house with themed guest rooms, a pool, and delicious homemade meals.
This retreat is open to any piano teacher who wants to come. Whether you’ve been reading my blog for years or just found me recently, whether you teach beginners or advanced students, whether you’ve been teaching for a few years or many — wherever you are in your teaching journey, you are welcome here.
If there’s even a small part of you that’s curious, I’d encourage you to mark these dates on your calendar and then take a look here for general retreat information.
Want me to keep you in the loop?
I share the most detailed retreat information — theme reveal, room options, and reminders — through a separate email list. If you’d like updates sent directly to you starting next week, you’re welcome to join here.
Thanks for considering my retreat!
Joy
I’m proud to say that tomorrow my blog celebrates 17 years! Thank you, readers, for being here.
To celebrate, I’m running my annual sale. Use promo code 17YEARS to get 20% off any of the digital items in my shop here. Good through March 31, 2026.
Hi friends,
Quick reminder about Amy and my upcoming live online workshop, Organize Your Life With Notion. If you have been meaning to join us, the early bird discount ends after February 15.
If your lesson notes, links, recital plans, and to-dos are spread across email, paper, Google Drive, and random sticky notes, Notion can pull it into one place.
Organize Your Life With Notion (live online workshop)
Fridays: February 27, March 6, and March 13
Time: 12:30 – 2:30 pm Eastern
Use code NOTION60 by February 15 to take $60 off your registration.
This workshop is for piano teachers and music professionals who want a simple, flexible system for keeping studio and life details in one place. We will guide you step-by-step, live, and you will have time to build alongside us.
By the end, you will be able to set up a workspace you can use for things like:
You will also get access to a library of free Notion page templates Amy and I handmade for music professionals, so you can copy what you need and customize quickly instead of starting from scratch.
Learn more and sign up here.
Hope to see you there,
Joy
Hello piano teachers,
I’m pleased to share that Amy Chaplin and I are giving a FREE, 30-minute webinar on Tuesday, February 10 at 12:30pm Eastern Time. It’s called “What Notion Can Do For You.” During the session, we will share exactly that: what Notion — a popular “everything” app that I think everyone should know about — can do for you as a music professional! You’ll also learn more about our upcoming online workshop “Organize Your Life With Notion,” taking place February 27, March 6, and March 13. Attend the webinar live and stay until the end for a special giveaway.
Register for the FREE webinar here. A replay video will be sent out to registrants afterwards.
Check out my past articles about Notion below:
PS: Have you been waiting for this next offering of our online workshop and are ready to register? Registration is open, and early bird rates are going on now. Reserve your spot now here.
Hello, readers!
Just a quick post today. I recently gave a podcast appearance on the Piano Pantry Podcast hosted by my colleague and friend, Amy Chaplin. You might enjoy our friendly, personal chat about my teaching journey, blog, retreats, self-published resources, Notion workshops, and more. Especially if you are new around here, you might enjoy getting to know me a bit better!
If you’d like to listen, click here to visit Amy’s podcast page. Then, click the appropriate button there to read the transcript or listen on your podcast platform of choice.
Dear readers,
From my family to yours, here’s wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year! I consider it a pleasure and honor to get to write and publish about piano teaching (my favorite topic!) here on my blog, and I’m grateful for your interest and connection. I’m looking forward to continuing this joyful work in 2026 and beyond!
Thanks for being here.
Joy
Hello readers,
Just a quick hello today to let you know that the music snowflake Christmas ornaments I ordered from Amazon for my students are back in stock! View them here.
Also, if you’ve been eyeing a Yoto player (read my review here), I’d recommend putting one in your cart and watching to see whether any Black Friday deals apply next weekend. They usually hold a decent sale around this time of year.
Happy Thursday, and I look forward to publishing a new blog post next week!
Joy
Greetings and Happy New Year, my friends!
I’m pleased to announce that registration is now open for a three-day, online workshop about using Notion (a productivity and note-taking app) offered by Amy Chaplin and myself. In this workshop, Amy and I will teach you all about how to use Notion to create a custom digital workspace to organize your life and get work done. If you’d been around here for a while, you might have seen my past articles about Notion and how essential it has become to my workflow and life. I think it’s an amazing tool, and am pretty sure you’ll think so, too!
The dates will be on three Fridays, January 10, 17, and 24, 2024 from 1-3pm Eastern each day. Replay videos are included, and there is an optional follow-up session a few weeks after the main workshop is done.
Check out all the details and reserve your spot now HERE. (PS: Register now to take advantage of the early bird rate!) Hope to see you in the workshop on the 10th! If you’d like to be notified when we offer the workshop again in the future, join the email list HERE.
More reading:
Hello, friends!
Just a quick note to tell you that the early bird discount expires soon for the upcoming online workshop Amy Chaplin and I are offering. It’s called, Organize Your Life With Notion, and over the two days we teach you how to use Notion — our favorite online tool ever — to manage your music studio…and life in general!
If case you aren’t familiar with Notion… it’s basically a note-taking app you can use on your phone and computer to create pages for tracking information or planning projects (think student information, recitals, events, trips, notes…anything you can think of!).
Continue reading “Early Bird Rate Expires Soon: Organize Your Life with Notion, an Online Workshop with Amy Chaplin & Joy Morin”Hello, readers!
Happy Monday to you!
Hello friends,
Recently, I have received a handful of email inquiries asking for updates about my 2024 Piano Teacher Retreat. So I thought I should at least send out a quick blog post here now that the details are finally coming together!
(By the way, in case you want to learn more about my past retreats, here’s a recap post about the 2023 Piano Teacher Retreat you can check out!)
I’m pleased to announce the dates for my 2024 retreat:
Both retreat offerings will be held here in the Southeast Michigan area – just outside the wonderful town of Ann Arbor and about a 30- to 45-minute-drive from the Detroit Airport.
Every year, I choose a theme for my retreat — something I’m interested and passionate about and think would make a great topic for us to explore in large and small group discussions and activities. Here is this year’s theme:
EXPLORING IMPROVISATION AND COMPOSITION IN PIANO LESSONS
Together, let’s strive to expand the role of creativity in the piano lessons we teach. During this retreat, we’ll explore ways to guide young pianists to compose their own pieces, make their own improvisational changes to existing pieces, and create new music using what they know — including rhythm patterns, tonal patterns, and/or harmonic progressions. During group discussion and activities with fellow piano teachers, you can expect to engage in important conversations about creativity and MLT (Music Learning Theory), discover composition/improvisation resources your students will enjoy, and experience the joy of creativity in a variety of forms for yourself!
If you are looking for a professional development opportunity for this summer, I hope you’ll consider my retreat. This unique, small-group getaway experience is designed in every way to rejuvenate you and your teaching.
I will be sending out the event details to my separate “retreat” email list (so that I don’t spam everyone here). If you’d like to learn more, please join with your email address HERE. I’m very excited to share the full details with you very soon!
Would love to spend time with YOU this summer!
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