The Vibrant Music Teaching Podcast | Proven and practical tips, strategies and ideas for music teachers

Teaching technique in online piano lessons requires some rethinking and creative ideas to make it work. In this episode, I’ll go through my top tips for teaching technique effectively to online piano students.

There’s one thing stressing many teachers out when it comes to online music lessons...what about when it all goes wrong?! What do we do when the internet drops out or the student has an off-day? In this episode, we’ll discuss strategies for dealing with all the technology frustrations and how to put a back-up plan in place for your online music lessons.

What teaching strategies work for online music teachers?  In this episode, we’ll unpack the adjustments most teachers need to make when teaching online music lessons. We’ll also discuss some great ideas for learning from your online lessons and improving your teaching across the board.

Are your online lessons feeling a bit stale? Are you wondering if there’s a better way to engage with your students over video call? In this episode, I’ll help you figure out how to inject some fun into your online teaching with games, surprises and teaching tricks.

Do you have good systems in place for your online lessons? Are you happy with how you take notes, plan or send assignment sheets to students? We’ll look at the best planning methods in this episode so you can upgrade your systems and make your lessons run as smoothly as olive oil.

You can absolutely get started with teaching piano online simply. All you need is your computer and something to run the video call.  When you’re ready to level-up, though, there are a few things you can do to make things run more smoothly and provide a fantastic experience for your students. We’ll dive into a few great options in this episode.

When it comes to your online teaching kit a few upgrades can make a huge difference. But it can be SO confusing! In this episode, I’ll break down all the microphone and camera jargon so that you can get to the bottom of what will work for you in your music studio.

Are you trying to figure out what your music teaching studio will look like this year? Whether you’ve decided to teach online or in-person, or have no idea what you’re going to do yet, I hope that these suggestions for safe and socially-distant piano studios will be helpful for you during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Are you ready for a new year of teaching? There are several things you can do to get your head and your systems set up for a new school year.  In this episode, we’ll look at setting up your calendar and timetable, finding the balance in the busy seasons, and making sure your new students get off to the best possible start in your studio. 

Have you ever felt like you and a student were just meandering through lessons? Everything was going sort of ok...but where was it going, exactly? In this show, I want to talk to you about what it means to be a purposeful teacher and how planning can help you achieve more and be more satisfied by your work.

Choosing repertoire that feels relevant and that our students love sounds like it would be an obvious priority for us as teachers. But, sometimes, we can get so caught up in the weeds of teaching that we forget about the music. Take a step back with me and check in to see if your studio meets this foundational criteria.

The primary goal of my studio and how I structure my curricula is all about opening doors for my students. I want them to have excellent technique and reading skills, yes, but I also want them to know about improvisation, lead sheets, composing and all genres of music so that they have a wide variety of musical paths to choose from.

Being a fun music teaching studio means a lot more than just having a smile on your face or playing games every once in a while. It can also mean your students learn faster and more thoroughly. Find out how in this episode.

Would your students describe you as “cool”? We’re diving into what it means to be a cool teacher and why your relationships with your students are so important to their progress in this episode.

Being perceived as a professional is an important part of having the respect and attention of your students and their parents. Find out the three foundational factors that can make your business more professional in this episode.

Have you thought about the experience of a new student and their parents in your studio? Do you think they would feel welcomed and validated in their decision to join right from the get-go? We’ll explore strategies to make sure they do in this episode.

If your music teaching studio is a business – and it is – then one of your primary goals should be to make a profit. To do that, you need to plan for it and put procedures in place that make your income predictable.

This episode is part of the Vibrant Music Studio 101 which will take you through 10 foundational building blocks for all great music teaching studios. Consistency is the name of the game this week. Is your studio consistent? Do you have policies and procedures and do you actually stick to them?

This episode is part of the Vibrant Music Studio 101 which will take you through 10 foundational building blocks for all great music teaching studios. In this first episode, we’re focussing on being deliberate with our businesses and taking them (and ourselves!) seriously.

This special episode celebrates our 100th episode in style by sharing some of the lessons listeners have learned over the past year. I hope you’ll tune in as we take a look at what lifelong learning means to these music teachers.

Listening skills are vital to becoming a great musician, and yet, many teachers never find time for developing them in lessons. Learn about active listening and an idea for working on it with students in this episode.

Have you made a budget for your music studio? This is an important factor if you want to manage your income better and be able to take time off without stressing in the summer. Take a listen to learn how to set up a simple budget for your studio.

We all get stressed or overwhelmed from time-to-time so it’s important to have strategies to decompress and relax quickly. Try out these ideas at the end of your next teaching day and let me know how you get on!

Developing a great relationship with your music students is vital to ensuring they follow your directions (both in the studio and at home) and have a great lesson experience that makes them stick with it long-term. Learn how to develop rapport with students of all ages in this episode.

Are you overusing praise in your music studio? Could you be providing feedback in a more neutral way instead? On this episode of the podcast, we’ll talk about how to find the balance between feedback and praise and where a neutral tone might be more useful.