Many piano teachers found it challenging to transition to teaching piano online. However, with the right tools and techniques, we can all do it and can still provide quality piano lessons to your students online. Here are some tips on how to combat technical problems when teaching piano online.

Online Recitals

Online recitals can be a great way to bring the excitement of a live performance to your students. Platforms like Zoom or Skype are great to host a virtual recital where your students can perform for each other. To make the recital more engaging, you can also ask students to dress up and create a backdrop for the performance. This can provide a fun and creative outlet for your students and help them feel like they are in a real performance.

What to do About Time Lag When Doing Rhythm Work

One of the biggest challenges of teaching piano online is the time lag that can occur during the lesson. This can make it difficult to teach rhythm work and other important...

Show Notes

Episode 42: Part 2 Whole Body Learning Revolution

00:06 Welcome
01:00 Meet Katrina Panitz
02:12 How using Whole Body Learning helped Katrina make teaching piano lessons fun and exciting for students
02:45 Teaching a piece using Whole Body Learning
05:29 How Whole Body Learning helped make teaching piano exciting, motivating and engaging to students?
08:13 Katrina’s thoughts on Whole Body Learning
09:20 Meet Mutsumi Lui
10:29 Using Whole Body Learning activity to teach Elissa Milne’s piece, Deadline
12:13 Mutsumi shares about her Whole Body Learning activity for a piece.
14:38 The differences in the way students learn pieces when using Whole Body Learning
16:30 Meet Kitty Pang
18:34 Kitty shares about her Whole Body Learning activity for an exam piece called Anastasia
22:25 How using Whole Body Learning activities help her student learn faster than a traditional approach to teaching piano
24:13 Watch Kitty’s 5-year old piano student fully engaged...

Show Notes

Episode 41: Partnering with Parents

00:14 Welcome
00:45 Heather Revel
01:20 Heather shares starting to teaching music lessons
02:30 What prompted Heather to develop her Parent Program
04:35 The Parents as are “actually the Client”
10:05 Differences Heather noticed since implementing the program
11:00 What info Heather is after of in the parent’s questionnaire
13:40 Talking about the goals within a timeline for their child in the program
17:05 You can download the https://ptsqa.live/ep41 Parents Questionnaire

17:17 Putting together a Parent Newsletter
19:06 Follow up Sheets instead of a homework notebook
21:30 Including personal notes for the parents
22:05 Heather’s Parent Coaching Program
25:28 Involving Parents in their child’s class/lesson
27:57 Benefits to students when the parents are involved
36:00 How the Studio (https://ptsqa.live/studio) and Whole Body Learning is helping in Heather’s teaching environment

Show Notes

Episode 40: Part 1 Whole Body Learning Revolution

Piano teachers who have tried out Whole Body Learning share their experiences with Gillian Erskine. Paul Myatt fills in for Gillian as host and interviews podcaster and piano teacher, Leila Viss.

Meet teachers who are using Whole Body Learning in their studio. See their teachers in action and hear real-life stories of students who are engaged and motivated to practice and learn piano activities.

0:06 Welcome & Join the Whole Body Learning Kickstarter week:
1:30 The Whole Body Learning Revolution
4:25 Video of Piano teacher and student doing Whole Body Learning
4:57 Student playing piano songs for beginners
7:54 Dorothy Chia shares her experience of teaching using Whole Body Learning
9:40 Qi Chen shares how she learned to play piano using the traditional approach
10:44 Video of a Piano student using Whole Body Learning
11:50 Qi Chen shared how she switched to teaching piano from Engineering degree
13:00 Video of Piano...

Show Notes

Episode 39: Teaching Kids with Dyslexia

Download the 37 Common Traits & 7 Top Piano Teaching Resources for students with Dyslexia.

Anastasia Cunningham is a piano teacher and mum of two grown-up girls. All three have Dyslexia. Anastasia shares her story of being a parent as well as a piano teacher and shares her best piano lesson activities for children with dyslexia.

0:05 Welcome
0:50 Overview about Dyslexia
1:30 Remembering and Dyslexia
2:15 Introduction of guest, Anastasia Cunningham
2:48 Can you tell us how your story started?
6:10 Dyslexia and Reading
6:45 Dyslexia and Labeling
7:40 Dyslexia and Creativity
9:20 How does your brain work with decoding?
11:18 Dyslexia may be very different for each person
12:43 Processing speed is often key
15:30 Dyslexia and coping
18:10 Keep things simple and keep re-visiting them.
19:00 Don’t interpret poor memory as lack of interest
19:30 Multi-sensory approaches are the key to success (eg. Whole Body Learning)
...

Show Notes

Episode 38 Collaborative Playing Skills & Creating Duets & Ensembles

Paul Myatt shares a Q+A version of his NCKP session called, “Creating multilevel duets and ensembles from standard piano repertoire” which he presented at NCKP 2021: The Piano Conference. This was part of the collaborative playing sessions at NCKP. The NCKP conference is still available online.

Download the Collaborative Playing Pieces & Notes

00:00 Welcome
00:28 How to help students who are often reluctant to play with others and embrace these opportunities rather than shying away from them 
01:20 Today’s show is a Q+A version of Paul’s workshop held last week for NCKP 2021 on Creating Multi-level Duet & Ensembles from standard piano repertoire.
01:37 Paul talks about collaborative playing experience for all piano students and shares some ways to start collaborative playing that are easy and fun piano activities that students will really...

Show Notes

Episode 37 Strategies for Helping Students with Learning Difficulties

00:00 Welcome to Part 3 of teaching piano to children who have learning difficulties.
00:44 Janet Olsen from Utah, USA joins the panel as both a piano teacher who teaches kids with special needs and a mom of two special needs children.
01:19 How Janet started teaching special needs students
01:49 When parents say that you’re their last hope to do music…
03:01 How to get students’ attention
03:52 What learning difficulties are you working with? Autism, ADHD, Anxiety Issues and other learning difficulties
04:50 What are the key things to remember when teaching
06:52 What’s the big prize? Choosing rewards
08:30 Janet shares using Whole Body Learning with her students
10:01 Students are achieving better results than Janet expected.
10:35 How backing tracks help students to learn more effectively and help learn songs easy piano
13:31 Teaching Mozart to students who have issues...

EPISODE 36: Teaching Children on the Autism Spectrum & Learning Difficulties

00:00 Welcome to Episode 36
00:23 Course: The Inner Game of Piano Teaching Course with Lucinda Mackworth-Young
01:49 Whole Body Learning Teaching Courses on AMEB Piano for Leisure and ABRSM
1:49 Emotional engagement with your students
03:50 Gillian introduces Lydia
04:05 Who Lydia works with as a Clinical Psychologist - tailoring programs for each individual.
06:00 Lydia shares her own personal experience with her son's learning difficulties.
09:05 Autism Understanding is Lydia's website which has information for teachers.
09:31 Explanations of the range of Learning Difficulties starting with ADHD
17:08 The Autism Spectrum Disorder Umbrella
20:45 Processing challenges & sensory toys
21:55 Sensory seeking and sensitivities 
24:00 Being aware of students needs
26:30 Understanding how students are taking in information and catering for their learning styles 
30:00 The diagnosed &...

Last week teaching my class of seven 13-year-old students who have just finished their grade 6 piano exam, I had a revelation. This moment of illumination stemmed from how I managed to lose 9kg.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably a piano teacher committed to professional development. Maybe you, too, have read Carol Dweck’s book on growth and closed mindsets. I believe I have a growth mindset (most of the time). I love her quote about teaching kids, “Don’t judge, teach. It’s a learning process.” I try not to judge, but these 13-year-olds had previously been driving me nuts!

At this stage, you’re probably wondering what a piano class of 13-year-olds has to do with losing 9kg. Let me explain...

We’ve all heard that quote about doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Back in my 20s & early 30s, I could just exercise away the extra pounds that made their way to my tummy. Now at 50-something, the scales...

Show Notes

EPISODE 35: Getting Students to Practice

00:00 Welcome to Episode 35
00:30 Whole Body Learning AMEB Piano for Leisure
02:20 Welcome Psychologist & Piano Teacher, Lucinda Mackworth-Young
04:16 The Inner Game of Piano Teaching Course with Lucinda Mackworth-Young
05:00 Emotional engagement with your students
06:25 Piano Teachers Course
09:00 Helping teachers to learn about new teaching piano techniques rather than how they were taught.
10:15 40% of teachers find that practice is their greatest challenge
11:25 How Lucinda came to write “Tuning In”.
12:09 About “The Inner Game of Piano Teaching” Course
12:50 Lucinda’s vision for “The Inner Game of Piano Teaching” Course
15:21 Why does practice (or the lack of it) leave us so frustrated.
16:00 Common problems with students practising the piano
22:55 Way to engage the student in homework
25:42 Summary of homework strategies for songs easy piano
28:20 Reasons to practice sight read...