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

Teaching preschoolers can bring you students earlier in the day and increase your reach in your community – but it's not without its challenges. Find out the foundations of great preschool piano lessons in this episode.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

What would happen if your students' ran the show? As teachers, we need to guide our students. But we also need them to have ownership over what they're doing.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Scales seem to be a given in piano lessons, but, should they be? And if they are, how can we teach them differently so that our students actually enjoy piano scales and learn them more effectively.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Music is often not taught according to a rigid curriculum. But would we do better if we did have a standard curriculum for piano? And how much should we individualise for each student?Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Do you struggle with transfer students? Here are some tips for making sure they start on the right foot in your studio.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

It's fun to celebrate occasions in our studios and Valentine's Day is a great time to bring your studio community together. Here's a fun project and freebie to help you do just that!Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Tune in for my list of goals for the first year of lessons, divided into 2 age brackets.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Joanna Shiel is on the show today and we're chatting about choosing great exam pieces that are motivating and inspiring for students.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Getting ahead of your students' music theory can have enormous benefits. Here's how you can do it.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

A step-by-step system for the simplest way to keep track of items you loan to students.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Journaling or note taking after each lesson might seem like a lot, but it can make a big difference to the quality of your music teaching. Tune in to find out how and why.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Music exams can be wonderful...when they're used with the right student at the right time. Let's unpack the pros and cons together.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Piano performance anxiety is a manifestation of certain beliefs that your student holds.Some of these thoughts might be: Fear of failure Fear of judgement or criticismMessing up in front of their peers Expectations on how their performance should go Thinking that the performance must be a perfect renditionNot trusting in their abilitiesThere might also be some aspects of the performance or exam itself that might make your student feel nervous, such as:How prepared your student is Experience level of performingHow many people will watch the performance?Length of the performance – if a student has a 20-minute recital, this will be very different from a 1-minute performance.Context of the performance - for example, performing for an examiner would be very different to playing just for their family.Getting to the root thoughts of anxiety with your student can be really revealing and a good place to start.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Piano exams require some thought and balance to get all the components ready for the big day. Here's how I handle it.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

When are piano exams a good idea, what's the long term benefit and risk involved.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Sometimes, your student is just not feeling the lesson you’ve planned and you need something fresh inspiration to stop the lesson getting stale. Learn how to teach the 12 bar blues and you’ll never be stuck for what to do when a student hasn’t practised or is out-of-sorts.Being able to teach the 12 bar blues at the drop of a hat is a great trick to have up your sleeve. There isn’t just one way to teach the blues, of course. But in this article, I’ll explain the method I’ve used countless times now to rescue a lacklustre lesson. Jump in with this step-by-step process any time you feel like your student needs something fresh and different.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Singing should be included in ALL music lessons. But what if your student doesn't want to sing? And how can you help them sing better if you're not a voice teacher?Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Are YOU a hypocrite? I think we all are. And we need to talk about it.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

We all hit slumps from time to time. Follow this checklist to get your love of teaching back and maintain a positive attitude throughout your career.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Do you give your students any free stuff when they join your studio? Why do you do it? Let's unpack why you would or wouldn't want to give out t-shirts, bags and other goodies to new students.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Teenagers aren't going to be impressed by just using apps for technology's sake in their piano lessons. These apps are tried and tested by our team and teens love them!Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Some times our teenage music students just need a break from practice. In this episode, we’ll find ways to keep it fun and engaging in those busy periods.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Are you being honest enough with your teenage students? Is your fluffiness driving them out of your studio? Find out how to say it straight and keep them in lessons longer in this episode.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Understanding the motivation of different types of teen piano students will help you to help them succeed. Here are the 4 types I see regularly in my studio.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

There are so many ways for your students to meet a new pieces. Get creative with these 9 new strategies!Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

A few bits of exciting news from VMT!

7 types of pieces that all your students should learn...how many are on your list already?Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

How do you choose pieces for your recitals? I'll chat through the two approaches and pros and cons in this episode.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Make your music book budget go further and reignite your passion for repertoire with these tips.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

When it comes to choosing repertoire for our students, I believe in giving them the picking power. Here's how I do that.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

These 5 ideas can be used to prepare for any new piano piece in your lessons. Try one out and let me know how it goes!Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Well, it looks like online lessons are here to stay. And if you’ve heard all the great benefits to teaching piano in a group setting, why not add a group lesson program to your virtual offerings too?Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

When it comes to group workshops, there are many different kinds and valid ways to run them. Here are my general recommendations for all types of music groups.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Whether you're teaching preschoolers or teens in a group format, there are a few big mistakes you might come across. Avoid them by listening to this episode!Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Parents of neurodiverse students sometimes need more assurances and support in your studio. Here are some tips for making them feel welcome and valued.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Children do not fit in little boxes. But when you understand the most useful tools for different types of neurodiverse piano students, you can prepare your teaching toolkit appropriately.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

It can be hard to get your head around all the different diagnoses but understanding ADHD, ASD and dyslexia can help you prepare properly for your students. In this epsiode, we'll go through what these mean to piano teachers.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Everyone’s journey to becoming a full-time piano teacher is different. Some of us had a smooth pathway from college to studio and others (me included) took many more twists and turns on the way to full-time piano teaching.In this episode, I’m sharing my personal journey to becoming a full-time piano teacher. This is not a prescription or a recommendation. It’s just my story of how I went from a teenager handing out flyers to running a studio of around 70 students.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Most studios do not have tons of wiggle room in their bank accounts. That's why it's important to assess your expenses and run a tight ship so you can stay profitable and stay in business.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

So you have piano teaching policies...great. But do you follow them? If not, what good will they do?Let's find a way to say what we mean and mean what we say.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Undercutting the competition is not the route to a profitable studio. Let's look at what your music teaching rates should be and how to change them.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Take a moment to decide what you want your piano teaching salary to be and how you're going to achieve it. Your bank balance will thank you and so will your mental space.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Do you struggle with your mindset around money? Do you feel like you don’t have a good grasp over your finances or never quite seem to make enough as a music teacher?It’s not surprising many music teachers struggle to make enough money and end up taking on day jobs to pay the bills. And that’s not because teaching music is inherently unprofitable.It’s because we don’t talk about money.We don’t face it head-on and say, “Hey, money, wanna be my friend?” 😍So. Why not? Why do so many of us avoid even thinking about our finances?I believe there are three biases that might be making you think of money as your enemy. You’re an artist.You’re on a mission.You’re female.Even just one of those things means that society has taught you that money should be neither seen nor heard. And if you’re three for three? Well, that’s a tough one and I’ve been there. But none of those things should mean that you can’t make a good income, if we stop and think about it.The gender pay gap is very real, but I don’t think any of us think it’s how things should be. (If you do think women should be paid less for the same work or that the jobs women tend to do have a lower value, please just go away. Thanks!)Having a greater purpose behind our work shouldn’t mean that we don’t get paid properly, either. We need good people to do good work. In order for those people to have the mental space to do that work, they need to not be worrying about money.And, finally, we need artists. At the risk of making you blush, humanity needs you to create beautiful things and teach other people to create beautiful things. Otherwise, honestly, what is the point of it all anyway? The folks trading on wall street and investing in silicon valley have nothing to play with if artists don’t create.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

The old model of the teacher dispensing information while students quietly absorb it is dead. Good ridance, too. Now it's about building great relationships with mutual respect in our studios.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Many teachers feel like iPad apps are coming for their jobs. But are they really? What can we do to make sure we stay relevant?Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Sometimes teachers need some time off. When you want to take a trip, go on maternity leave or do something else during regular teaching weeks – these options can save the day.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Using an iPad in your piano studio might seem like a great idea...until you get one and realise you have no idea what to do with it!There’s one big mistake that I see teachers make with iPad use all the time. I want to help you to sidestep that mistake and head straight for iPad piano studio success!So You’ve Got an iPad, Now What?When you first get an iPad for your studio, it’s super exciting. And then it’s mystifying.You know you’ve seen all these cool ideas other teachers were doing with the iPad in their lessons. But now that it’s in your hands you have no idea where it’ll fit in.Is this just one more thing to try to cram into your lesson plans?It can be. Or it can be a fantastic tool to help you teach. The choice is yours.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

To teach great piano sight-reading skills, you need to make the thought process into tangible movements and activities. These preparatory steps are essential for any beginner or intermediate student to do before sight-reading a new piece of music.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Teaching by rote, when done right, is a great way to teach the piano. You can bring rote learning into many aspects of teaching piano, and these days, sight reading is one small part of my teaching the piano rather than the only thing.Students develop many important skills learning through rote such as: recognising patterns, developing their internal ear, and refining outstanding technique. This translates well when they go on to sight read a piece.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Invest in these sight-reading skills in your studioImagine cliff diving blindfolded into unfamiliar waters without knowing what is below. Are your students feeling cliff diving like fears when asked to sight read?Sight reading can feel scary, but adding fun to the process and equipping students with skills by engaging them in sight reading games can help tackle their fears of on-the-spot playing.Find out more about membership at vibrantmusicteaching.com.