The Piano Pantry Podcast

Are you a sucker for top tools, recommended resources, and favorites lists? Here are nine items that I regret not investing in sooner that will be helpful in both your business and everyday life. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ]

In today’s episode, we’re talking assignments and lesson planning - two elements in our work that are in and of themselves separate entities, and yet, I think it’s hard to talk about one without the other because they can be intertwined. The whole situation with the upheaval of the Tonara practice app was enough to propel this conversation into the airwaves today. [ CLICK HERE ].

In reaction to the Tonara shutdown announcement, this is a special teacher talk episode. After briefly covering a list of Tonara alternatives, Amy shares a step-by-step process for easing the pain in your Tonara transition. Interspersed with Amy’s advice, you’ll also hear short audio snippets from eight of her teacher friends sharing their own thought processes, feelings, and ideas for moving forw...

Why do we often find ourselves struggling on the whole to give or not to give questions in regards to gifts for students, whether that be Christmas gifts, birthday, or even recital gifts? In this episode, we talk about the decision-making process, the emotions behind it, and some practical gift ideas as you plan your year. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

All the students want to play them! But did you know that lead sheets and chord charts teach many important and practical piano skills? In this episode, Davis and Olivia will hit the highlights of why and how you should teach lead sheets and chord charts to all your piano students… even the beginners. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, and the transcript, [ CLICK HERE ].

While it’s important we as teachers support our composers and publishers, sometimes it’s nice to know a few ways to save a little here and there (because we buy a LOT of music)! Here are 12 ways to save. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

While getting meals on the table is a daily life task many in this world understandably struggle to execute, the schedule of an independent music teacher seems to make it even harder. It’s easy for meal-planning efforts to often focus on dinner - leaving the midday meal a little in the lurch. In this episode, I’ll share six ways you can help your lunchtime meal plans. For the rest of the show note...

As we shift into fall-scheduling mode, find inspiration for setting your own daily work-life schedule by hearing highlights and snippets from seven previous teacher-talk guests. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

Four teachers chat up all the good stuff from the NCKP: The Piano Conference in Chicago, Illinois. As you can imagine, it was an extra special time as it was the first in-person NCKP since the pandemic. Whether you attended the conference, lived vicariously watching the happenings online, or have never been part of an event like this and are curious to hear more, I think you’ll enjoy hearing our s...

Are you tired of the struggle when it comes to fall scheduling? Today I have seven things I want to arm you with that might be the easy answer you need to make things work for all involved. A lot of this has come from experiences of my own over the years as well as things I see others doing. I’ll also share a little look into how I handle my own scheduling because I know you all love logistics! Fo...

7 extensions (plus 3 bonus ones!) that you might find useful to use on Chrome. We’ll also talk about why Chrome is the browser of choice for many, what an extension is, and how you can get them. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

Being productive doesn’t always have to be about freeing up time to get more things done. Think about it as a means of creating margin and space in life. Here are five of Amy’s best hacks for setting up a more productive digital workspace. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

Amy chats with attendees from the 4th Piano Pantry Retreat - Florence Phillips, Laurie Bender, Shelley Pritt, and Laurel Carroll - from her home in Northeast Indiana. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

Sometimes changes we make result from weeks - if not months - of ruminating and pondering, and sometimes they occur on the fly when something suddenly doesn’t feel right. Here are seven things that Amy is rethinking in her own studio. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

Are you curious about travel teaching? In this episode, piano teacher and composer Chrissy Ricker shares her experiences as a traveling piano teacher: the advantages, disadvantages, and lessons learned from over a decade of teaching piano in students' homes. Chrissy Ricker, NCTM, is a pianist, composer, and arranger from North Carolina. She enjoys sharing her ideas with other piano teachers an...

Amy chats with attendees from the 3rd Piano Pantry Retreat - Lou Ann (Pope) Knight, Jennifer Kurtz, and Gabrielle Tee - from her home in Northeast Indiana. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

How many shelves, tubs, or binders do you have full of old class notes and professional magazine subscriptions? In this episode, we consider why we hold onto so much old information we rarely, if ever use and how we can sort through and save it in a more useful way for the future. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

Amy chats with Jason Sifford, a freelance pianist, teacher, and composer from Iowa. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

How we manage to accumulate sheet music exponentially; steps for purging and maintaining a more intentional music library. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

In this episode, we talk about why we have so many tools and resources we never use and how five little questions can help us easily decide what should stay or go. Let’s start purging! For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

Adding a video element to your end-of-year evaluations can be a simple, effective, and wow-inducing approach to displaying student progress. This episode is a replay of episode 021 - A Simple, Effective, and Magical Element for Student Evaluations. For the rest of the show notes, including the links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

Samantha Coates is the creator of BlitzBooks, a popular music education series focusing on theory, rote repertoire and sight reading for piano. Her 35+ years of teaching experience combined with her entertaining presentation style has made Samantha a sought-after lecturer on a wide range of pedagogical topics. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [CLICK HERE].

Ashley Danyew, Ph. D., is a musician, educator, and entrepreneur. She is the Founder and Editor of Musician & Co., a website for self-employed musicians and entrepreneurs; writes a blog and teaches online courses for church musicians and music educators; hosts the podcast  Field Notes on Music Teaching & Learning ; and maintains a private piano studio in Rochester, NY. For the rest of the...

Eight YouTube channels piano teachers could benefit from following. Included in this list are those with high-quality theory videos, reliable performances of student repertoire, “how-to-teach” repertoire advice, and more. You’ll even get two bonus highlights with my go-to tech guru and favorite exercise channel. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].

Amy chats with Carly Walton about some of their favorite “digital tech tools,” from browser extensions to cloud storage, website builders, social media scheduling, and more. For the rest of the show notes, including links mentioned, [ CLICK HERE ].