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

What’s the right approach to using technology and gadgets in your studio? Find out how you could be thinking about using iPads and other tech toys backwards and what a better approach is for music studios.

Do most of your students do exams as standard every year? I want to question that. Let’s think about what exams are good for and what they’re not good for and come to a more balanced view of where they should sit in our studios.

Let’s face it, playing a game with an adult is not as fun as playing with another kid your age...but that doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable and beneficial. Get my top tricks for making games work in private music lessons in this episode.

In this extra episode, we'll talk about how you can stay calm with everything that's going on and how to get help and support if you need it.

Do you feel like you never have enough lesson time for all the things you want to do? It’s definitely challenging to stretch those minutes to everything we need to cover but in this episode, I’ll give you some strategies to help you make the most of them.

How do you build boundaries in your business when you work from home? And when your students fill your brain every hour of every day? In this episode, we’ll try to get to the root of that question.

Recitals take a lot of work, but they don’t have to be overwhelming. In this episode, I’ll give you a mantra and a checklist, so you feel less stressed and scattered this recital season. We got this!

Do prospective piano parents ever tell you they just want their kid to “have fun”? Or that they don’t want him to be a concert pianist? I know why it gets on some teachers’ nerves. But in this episode, I want to unpack what they’re really saying there and how we can help them see things differently.

Do you have a studio website? Have you ever considered exactly who it’s for? Thinking about the purpose your music studio website is serving can make it so much more effective. In this episode, I’ll help you figure it out and put some best practices in place.

Do you do any dancing in your music lessons? This is a fantastic way to get students to understand different time signatures, feel the metre, and also just shake off some of the mid-lesson wiggles!

What does it mean to be “talented”? Let’s think about our word choices and how to develop more grit and hard work in our students instead of reliance on natural abilities.

Do you think about how you spend your time? When you run your own business, every minute matters. Join me as we discuss the different types of work we all do and how you can make more time for the important tasks on your to-do list.

Do you have students that don’t practice? Do you find it frustrating? In this show, I want to unpack the practice problem and why it requires some further investigation before dismissing these students.

Why? That’s the question I want to encourage you to ask more on today’s show. I think we should all resolve to investigate the why behind what we do and how we do it, and to encourage the same inquisitiveness in our students.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the options and ideas available to you as a music teacher? It helps to understand which elements are essential and how they relate so that we can piece the pieces together and create holistic musicians. Listen to this 7 part series of episodes where we’re exploring the essential music lesson ingredients and how to balance them.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the options and ideas available to you as a music teacher? It helps to understand which elements are essential and how they relate so that we can piece the pieces together and create holistic musicians. Listen to this 7 part series of episodes where we’re exploring the essential music lesson ingredients and how to balance them.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the options and ideas available to you as a music teacher? It helps to understand which elements are essential and how they relate so that we can piece the pieces together and create holistic musicians. Listen to this 7 part series of episodes where we’re exploring the essential music lesson ingredients and how to balance them.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the options and ideas available to you as a music teacher? It helps to understand which elements are essential and how they relate so that we can piece the pieces together and create holistic musicians. Listen to this 7 part series of episodes where we’re exploring the essential music lesson ingredients and how to balance them.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the options and ideas available to you as a music teacher? It helps to understand which elements are essential and how they relate so that we can piece the pieces together and create holistic musicians. Listen to this 7 part series of episodes where we’re exploring the essential music lesson ingredients and how to balance them.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the options and ideas available to you as a music teacher? It helps to understand which elements are essential and how they relate so that we can piece the pieces together and create holistic musicians. Listen to this 7 part series of episodes where we’re exploring the essential music lesson ingredients and how to balance them.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the options and ideas available to you as a music teacher? It helps to understand which elements are essential and how they relate so that we can piece the pieces together and create holistic musicians. Listen to this 7 part series of episodes where we’re exploring the essential music lesson ingredients and how to balance them.

Lyndel Kennedy is a truly inspirational teacher and her creative methods are sure to light a spark with you as you listen to this episode. This interview was done as part of my research for my new book Playful Preschool Piano Teaching. Pick up your copy at: playfulpreschoolpiano.com

My guest on the show today, Carina Busch, is a piano teacher in Germany. She got into teaching preschoolers a few years ago and I’m so grateful she came on the show to share her experiences. This interview was done as part of my research for my new book Playful Preschool Piano Teaching. Pick up your copy at: playfulpreschoolpiano.com

In this episode, you’ll hear from Kris Skaletski about teaching preschoolers in groups and how to create the perfect class environment. This interview was done as part of my research for my new book Playful Preschool Piano Teaching. Pick up your copy at: playfulpreschoolpiano.com

In this podcast, I’m sharing an excerpt from my new book Playful Preschool Piano Teaching, all about getting started with teaching piano to preschoolers. You can pick up a copy of the book at playfulpreschoolpiano.com

“Play is the work of the child.” – Maria Montessori What does this quote mean and how does it relate to music teaching? What can we learn from the Montessori approach to education and play? Listen to this podcast episode to find out more and learn how to make your studio more truly playful.

Poor technique habits can mean that your students don’t stick with music long-term. Have you made any of the technique teaching mistakes? Listen in to find out if you’re in the same boat as me. You may even get some inspiration to try things differently.

Do you have a music teaching tribe? Do you feel connected to other like-minded teachers? Find out why this is important and how to find your tribe.

What’s the best way to start a lesson to get things off on the right foot? Creatively of course! When we allow our students to warmup with improvisation or a fun game, things run so much more smoothly for the whole lesson. Get 5 ideas for creative openers in this podcast episode.

What is this silly, made-up word “creativise” all about then? And why is it important? Tune in to find out more.

This is the podcast version of a talk that I gave at NCKP in July 2019 titled ‘The Five Foundations of Successful Preschool Piano Teaching’. Listen to learn about the building blocks of teaching 3-5 year olds and how to do it effectively.

In the Studio Business Cleanse I’ll help you level-up your teaching and get re-focussed for a new year or term of teaching with 5 days of challenges and discussions. Day 1: Who you teach Day 2: Why you teach Day 3: Your superpower Day 4: Showing off Day 5: Sustainable systems

In the Studio Business Cleanse I’ll help you level-up your teaching and get re-focussed for a new year or term of teaching with 5 days of challenges and discussions. Day 1: Who you teach Day 2: Why you teach Day 3: Your superpower Day 4: Showing off Day 5: Sustainable systems

In the Studio Business Cleanse I’ll help you level-up your teaching and get re-focussed for a new year or term of teaching with 5 days of challenges and discussions. Day 1: Who you teach Day 2: Why you teach Day 3: Your superpower Day 4: Showing off Day 5: Sustainable systems

In the Studio Business Cleanse I’ll help you level-up your teaching and get re-focussed for a new year or term of teaching with 5 days of challenges and discussions. Day 1: Who you teach Day 2: Why you teach Day 3: Your superpower Day 4: Showing off Day 5: Sustainable systems

In the Studio Business Cleanse I’ll help you level-up your teaching and get re-focussed for a new year or term of teaching with 5 days of challenges and discussions. Day 1: Who you teach Day 2: Why you teach Day 3: Your superpower Day 4: Showing off Day 5: Sustainable systems

Do you take your music teaching business seriously? And do you enjoy the business side of what you do? It’s so important to be able to balance these different sides of what we do. Learn how in this show.

Setting up a music studio calendar is a great way to make sure everyone stays on top of the events and breaks in your studio. Find out how to set one up and what to include in the episode.

This is a taster from my Piano Powerbooster Three course where we explore singing with solfa, theory games and a creative improvisation idea. Tune in to be inspired.

Method books are comforting and sort of...easy for us teachers. We know everything is moving along nicely when we keep turning those pages. But what do we do when students graduate from a method book? Where do we go next?

Are all your teenage students quitting when the going gets tough? Friends, school and other hobbies pull teens in so many different directions. Let’s find a way to keep them in lessons so they don’t turn into the adult who wished they hadn’t quit!

Does your studio have a community feeling? Do the students and parents feel like they belong to something? Listen in to get tips on great events to build community and keep students in your studio longer.

Some students can be very reluctant to singing in their music lessons. Perhaps someone told them they couldn’t sing or they’re just shy in general. Find out how to help those students in this episode.

Do you sing in your music lessons? Singing can be a valuable way to wake up your students’ ears and improve their musicianship. Find out 4 easy ways to get started in this episode.

Are you getting ready to make a big change in your music teaching studio? Whether you’re moving to no make-up lessons or bringing in groups, I’ve got the step-by-step process you need to help you make the transition.

There are 3 things that I see teachers doing when they introduce a new lesson format or group lessons that make me want to shout out a warning! Listen in to find out how to avoid these common pitfalls.

In this episode, I’ll give you a taste of my Mini Musicians program and how I’ve structured it to include improvisation, games and fun patterning activities.

Have you considered teaching preschoolers but you’re just not sure which type of program would be right for you? In this episode, I’ll help you weigh up your options and decide between group and private lessons for your preschoolers.

Do you wish you could teach during the daytime so that you could have a better work-life balance? Preschool music lessons could do that and much more. Find out about the benefits of teaching preschoolers in this episode.

Summer...ugh. It should be a wonderful time for music teachers to be able to take a break and chill out, but you can’t do that if you’re struggling to pay the bills. In this show, I’ll talk you through your options to solve the summer music studio income issue.