Do you have a favourite question or activity that you start piano lessons with? One of our Curious Piano Teachers asked this question recently and between us we came up with 21 ideas. We’d love to hear about some of your favourite ways to start lessons so do share in the comments. GATHERING INFORMATION #1. […]
What are some of the weekly, termly, yearly struggles you face in piano lessons? We all have them whether large or small. It might be getting parents to pick up and pay up on time or just having someone else to chat through piano teaching problems with. Here at The Curious Piano Teachers we have […]
How do you feel when you hear that one of your students is going to stop having lessons? Disappointed and/or frustrated because you know that they could do really well if they only practised? Relieved because you were struggling to motivate them? Or do you feel guilty and feel like a failure as a piano […]
I love sitting down with a piece of music, digging deep and surfacing a few hours (or days!) later with fun teaching ideas and resources. Today I want to share with you my teaching ideas for ‘A Little Fable’ – a cute little piece from Kabalevsky’s collection 30 Children’s Pieces Op.27. According to the Oxford Dictionary a […]
This blog presents a series of teaching ideas for War Dance by Kabalevsky (from his collection 30 Children’s Pieces Op.27)… … and with a title like this there is plenty of scope for the imagination! So what springs to mind when you think of the title ‘War Dance’? Totem poles. Feather headbands. Open, dusty plains. Buffalo. […]
Do some of your students struggle to find their motivation? Can lesson after lesson go past without any worthwhile practice happening? In the worst case scenario, do some students stop having lessons completely? So often learning the piano starts so well; beaming and joyful students with heaps of motivation and so eager and willing to […]
How long have you been teaching the piano? If it is three or more years you’ve probably got a good sense of how fluid or stable your pupil numbers are. I wonder if you have noted any changes or trends in the number of adults starting lessons for example? Last week I looked at […]
Are less children and adults starting to learn the piano these days? It’s a question that I have been asked on several occasions and up till now I’ve always had to say that I don’t honestly know. The recent decline in A level and GCSE Music in the UK is well documented with […]
We piano teachers, we’re all the same. We love our printable resources! So for this month’s ‘Teaching Ideas’ video, I thought I’d design a student workbook to accompany the piece I’ve chosen to present to you: Louise Chamberlain’s Watermark, currently on the Grade 2 LCM Exams piano syllabus. WATERMARK BY LOUISE CHAMBERLAIN Did you know […]
Can you sing the opening motif of Beethoven’s 5th symphony? Or for something a little lighter what about Karen Carpenter singing I’m On The Top Of The World or Queen strutting their stuff with Bohemian Rhapsody? Whatever you chose there’s a good chance that you sang it at the right pitch. Does that mean you […]