Posts Tagged 'piano teacher'

Tim Topham: The Ultimate Piano Teaching Conference

Guest post by Tim Topham, host of the popular Creative Piano Teaching Podcast.

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Well, this is super exciting news. After months of planning, we are just weeks away from Piano Pivot Live, my very own piano teaching conference here in Melbourne.

I’ve spoken and been to conferences for years now.

If you’ve been to a piano teaching conference, chances are you probably learnt quite a few things.

But there was probably room for even more professional growth.

Meet the speakers: Here are my fabulous keynote speakers for Piano Pivot Live

That’s why I’m going to do things a bit differently at Piano Pivot Live 2020.

It’s going to be a two-day conference that features the lot — workshops, teaching and of course tips on how to run your business.

I’ve hand-picked each presenter, and I’ve seen them all speak before so I know they’re fantastic. I’ve also included masterminding sessions so that you can make action plans right away…and much more.

Dual Focus: Business and Teaching

One of the big differences I think at Piano Pivot Live is going to be the dual focus on piano teaching and also business.

As teachers, we often start with that early on. We feel more comfortable teaching and being at the piano than we are with running a business.

This is where we let ourselves down — we can be a bit lazy with the administrative side or just don’t know enough about how to run a business and can actually miss out on maximising our income.

That’s why at my piano teaching conference, I want to put a big focus on piano teaching business as well as creative teaching techniques.

A well-paid, happy studio owner makes a happy piano teacher.

You will leave this conference excited and with actionable ideas you can implement RIGHT AWAY.

It’s unlike any conference you’ve been to before!

One-Stream, Group Learning

If you’ve been to a multi-day piano teaching conference, you know how crazy it can be trying to fit everything in

Sometimes, you just can’t.

Sessions clash or you don’t have the time to fit it all in.

Well, at Piano Pivot Live you won’t be forced to pick between presentations!

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Our one-stream event setup means we all share two days together, and listen and learn from each other.

Also, the presentations will not be passive.

Learn by listening and by doing. Experience workshops, live teaching, masterminds and implementation sessions.

Rub shoulders with some of the world’s most creative and innovative teachers.

Speakers and Presenters

As you might have guessed, I will be your host!

But I’ve also enlisted the help of some of the world’s brightest music minds to bring you the best in music pedagogy.

I have amazing keynote speakers in Samantha Coates, Carly McDonald, Philip Johnston and Anita Collins.

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The wonderful Nicola Cantan, Joyce Ong, Paul Myatt and others will also be speaking and presenting at the event.

There are a few different types of presentations you can expect at Piano Pivot Live from these wonderful speakers.

  • Keynote presentations: You can’t have a conference without some keynote speakers sharing their wealth of knowledge with you.
  • Live teaching: Watch me teach a student live on stage! You will see exactly how I teach creatively on stage for 30 minutes.
  • Masterminds, Fireside Chats and Panel Events: Connect with other teachers and share your knowledge in our mastermind sessions, guided by a topic expert. Ask your questions to our panel of experts. We’re here to help you.
  • Practical workshops: Sometimes you just have to DO things. After learning a variety of pedagogy and business techniques, you will brainstorm ways to implement them so you can leave the conference with an action plan.

More Information

To find out more about Piano Pivot Live 2020 and to grab your ticket, just click on the button below.

I’m so excited for you to share in what will be an incredible learning experience.

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TimTopham.jpgTim Topham has one mission in life: to stem the tide of children quitting music lessons by helping teachers maximise student engagement through creativity, technology and innovation. Tim hosts the popular Creative Piano Teaching Podcast, blogs regularly at topmusic.co and speaks at local and international conferences on topics such as pedagogy, business, marketing and entrepreneurship. Tim has been featured in American Music Teacher, The Piano Teacher Magazine, Californian Music Teacher and EPTA Piano Professional. Tim holds an MBA in Educational Leadership, BMus, DipEd and AMusA.

5 Handy Tips for New Piano Lesson Enquiries

Guest post by Dr. Sally Cathcart of The Curious Piano Teachers. View the original on The Curious Piano Teachers blog HERE.

CuriousPianoTeachersLogoHave you had many new piano lesson enquiries recently? Do you ever find yourself caught ‘off-guard’ by phone calls? I know I certainly do! When this happens I can end up babbling on and feeling that I am not representing my work and worth to the best of my ability.

The next three months are probably the peak season for receiving phone calls or emails from potential students. Here’s some top tips from some of the highly organised Curious Piano Teachers members. Continue reading ‘5 Handy Tips for New Piano Lesson Enquiries’

How to Get More Piano Students

Guest post by Kristin Jensen of MyFunPianoStudio.com. View the original on Kristin’s blog HERE.

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Everything I’d done to try to get more piano students was a waste of time with little or no results.

We’d moved to a new town and I was determined to fill my studio quickly. I worked hard to get the word out — in fact I even strapped my 4 month old into a baby carrier and handed out over 150 fliers at a grocery store on Coupon Tuesday.

Guess how many phone calls I got from those fliers? Zero.

I’ve since learned that there are much more effective ways to advertise a piano studio.

Effective advertising means a full studio so that you reach your full income potential. It will also help you build a waiting list, so that when one student leaves, a new one can fill the vacancy without missing a beat.

Read on to learn the most effective strategies used by expert teachers to get more piano students. Empowered with this info, you can focus on what works and stop wasting money and energy on ineffective marketing strategies. Continue reading ‘How to Get More Piano Students’

Tom Gerou’s Alfred Music Workshop for Piano Teachers

 

Video description: Tom Gerou’s workshop for piano teachers presented at the San Francisco Community Music Center on February 1, 2018.

Link to earlier Sheet Music Plus interview with Morty Manus, co-author of Alfred’s Basic Piano Library: https://sheetmusicplus.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/sheet-music-plus-interviews-morty-manus-co-author-of-alfreds-basic-piano-library/

Lori Bastien’s Workshop for Piano Teachers

Video description: Lori Bastien’s workshop for piano teachers presented at the San Francisco Community Music Center on January 23, 2018.

Link to earlier Sheet Music Plus blog post: “Method Spotlight: Bastien New Traditions”: https://sheetmusicplus.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/method-spotlight-bastien-new-traditions/

Shop the whole Bastien New Traditions series at Sheet Music Plus.

Piano Methods Correlation Chart

The Faber Piano Adventures Correlation Chart is a helpful resource for piano teachers because it shows what topics are addressed at each Piano Adventures level and how that corresponds to books in other piano methods series. For example, if you have a student who you just finished the Bastien Piano Basics primer book, you would start her with Piano Adventures 1B.

Piano Methods Represented in Chart:

To save a copy of this chart for your future use click here: Faber Piano Adventures Correlation Chart

Shop piano methods on Sheet Music Plus

 

How to Get Testimonials from Your Music Students

Guest blog post by Doug Hanvey, author of Piano Lab Blog

Testimonials and Online Reviews = A “Real Reason to Believe”

In these days of overhyped marketing of nearly every product and service – and yes, that sometimes includes music lessons! – it is more important than ever to communicate why your prospective students should have what marketing experts call a “real reason to believe” in you and your studio.

The best way to communicate a “real reason to believe” is via testimonials from current or former students/parents.

Of course, testimonials now include online Google reviews, Yelp reviews, etc. Testimonials and online reviews are effective because they are based on the actual experience of a student/parent. They are thus more believable to prospective students/parents than anything you personally say about yourself and your teaching. Continue reading ‘How to Get Testimonials from Your Music Students’

Method Spotlight: Piano Junior

Request your free copy today!

From Hans-Günter Heumann and Schott Music comes a new piano method, Piano Junior. In this creative and interactive piano course, children will join PJ the robot and Mozart the dog in discovering how much fun playing the piano can be! The online resources, including audio and video recordings and interactive extras, bring the method to life for today’s tech savvy kids. Discover more about this method’s approach in our interview with the author, below, and request your free copy today!* Continue reading ‘Method Spotlight: Piano Junior’

Method Spotlight: Bastien New Traditions

From the family that wrote the ever popular Bastien Piano Basics method comes a new, all-in-one series designed for today’s students. Sheet Music Plus had the opportunity to interview Lisa Bastien to find out what makes Bastien New Traditions so unique!

1. What was the inspiration behind the Bastien family developing a new method?

We were inspired to develop Bastien New Traditions by our students and their needs in today’s world. My mom (Jane), Lori and I are first and foremost full time passionate piano teachers. It became clear to us that the learning environment has changed and that a different approach to teaching piano was needed to effectively engage today’s students.

2. What makes this method unique from other methods? 

Bastien New Traditions is different in a number of ways that make it a captivating and dynamic way to teach.  It’s an ALL IN ONE Piano Course that takes the solid, time tested 50+ years of Bastien pedagogy and presents it in a fresh, modern way. Here are some of the unique features that teachers, students and parents are enjoying: Continue reading ‘Method Spotlight: Bastien New Traditions’

Dennis Alexander – Artist Interview

By Brendan Lai-Tong

Dennis Alexander

Today we had the opportunity to interview Professor Dennis Alexander, a prolific composer on staff at Alfred Music Publishing. In addition to his compositional duties at Alfred, Dennis is also an active soloist, accompanist, chamber musician and clinician.  Keep reading to learn more about Dennis and how he approaches his compositional process.

You may know his compositions from some of the books below:

What inspired you to start a career in music? 

 I grew up in Continue reading ‘Dennis Alexander – Artist Interview’


About Take Note:

Thought-provoking articles by musicians for musicians

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