What kind of questions do you mostly ask in your piano lessons? Did you know that not all questions are equal and some types have more learning power than others? I played a game with some of my pupils this week where they had to spot every time I asked a question. It was great […]
How many questions have you asked in the last hour? In the last day? In the last week? This month in The Community (The Curious Piano Teachers online membership site) we are looking at all things to do with giving feedback in piano lessons. One of the key elements of effective feedback is the art […]
Say the headline aloud! Go on, you can do it. Say it out aloud and with conviction. During May I’ve been looking at our role as piano teachers. How we started, what choices we made as well as well as why we matter and why it’s important to know our own story. You can find […]
Do you feel like a ‘real’ piano teacher? Do you feel secure and professional in what you do? Or are you always worried that someone will ‘find you out’? All this month I’ve been looking at the choices and different opportunities we’ve made in our journeys to become piano teachers. Click the links below to […]
How did you become a piano teacher? Was it a conscious career decision or did it happen almost by accident? We know that there are many routes into becoming a piano teacher. For me, having just graduated, it seemed like the obvious thing to do and crucially there was a ready-made opportunity for me to […]
Have you seen the film Sliding Doors? It’s two versions of a story. In the first version Helen, played by Gwyneth Paltrow gets fired and catches the train home only to find her husband is being unfaithul to her. In the second version she just misses the train by a whisker and an alternative story […]
What’s your musical ‘backstory’? Sharon and I were chatting recently about the various events in our childhood and beyond that brought us, ultimately, to start teaching the piano. It can be fascinating for us to recollect our first encounters with music. It’s also inspiring for others to read about the influences, the opportunities, the choices […]
During April we have been looking at musical literacy from lots of angles. Today’s blog post is simply a round-up of all the different posts and videos we’ve put out there: a one-stop guide. MNEMONICS – HELP OR HINDRANCE? Back at the start of the month I questioned whether the use of mnemonics in learning […]
Are your students musically literate? And by that I mean able to read, sing, internalise/audiate, play and create. Now before you wander off thinking that Sally’s talking about beginners again, I don’t just mean those students who are at the more elementary levels but at all levels and standards. WHAT IS MUSICAL LITERACY? To help […]
It’s not just what we present our piano students with, it’s how. And how much. And when. AND there are many more questions and considerations along the way. Now, we’re not suggesting that it should be a candy-rich menu without any greens! It should be good and wholesome – yet colourful and appealing too. However, […]