Tim Topham

Hopefully many of you are familiar the wealth of great resources for piano teachers on the web, but you’ve probably also realised that there is a lot of rubbish out there! Here is a list of my top picks on the web.

Firstly if you’re teaching in Victoria, Australia, make sure you are signed up to receive AMUSE emails by entering your email address on http://www.amuse.vic.edu.au/. This will keep you in the loop with all the best PD, conferences, jobs, etc., much of which doesn’t get advertised any other way.

FORUMS FOR TEACHERS:

• www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/forums/26/1/Piano%20Teachers%20Forum.html – Great forum for piano teachers to post or respond to questions.  Includes forums about pianos, digital pianos, etc. and those for adult learners, performers, etc. – great for advanced and adult students.
• http://www.abrsm.org/forum/index.php?showforum=2 – Even if you don’t teach the ABRSM syllabus, this is a forum worth checking every couple of weeks.
• http://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php – Lots of different topics and another great resource for sheet music.

BLOGS:

• http://elissamilne.wordpress.com/ – Elissa Milne is a NSW-based composer and teacher well-known for her enthusiastic presentations and witty blog entries. Well worth subscribing to.
• http://practisingthepiano.com/ – fantastic blog by UK teacher Graham Fitch.
• http://crosseyedpianist.wordpress.com/- blog from another great UK piano teacher, Fran Wilson.
• http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/author/stephenhough/ – Stephen Hough writes a witty blog for The Telegraph and is an accomplished concert pianist.
• http://colorinmypiano.com/- well worth subscribing. Jo shares HEAPS of great resources and ideas.

FACEBOOK:

• http://www.facebook.com/AustralianPianoTeachersMusicHub – Great resource from Hal Leonard
• http://www.facebook.com/pages/Classical-Music-Humor/207019572653107 – funny stuff
• http://www.facebook.com/musicbumblebees – good general interest, especially for teachers of young children

SHEET MUSIC – DOWNLOADS:

• http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page – just about every piece of classical music ready to download. Best resource for out-of-copyright music.
• Here’s a link to all my sheet-music-bookmarks. You should be able to import these into your favourites/bookmarks if you like (google how to “import bookmarks” for your browser). Please note I take no responsibility for any copyright issues arising out of the use of these websites.

SHEET MUSIC/BOOKS – DELIVERY:

• http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/ – free worldwide delivery. Fast too. Highly recommended as it’s cheaper and much faster than Amazon. Best online bookstore by far.
• http://www.fishpond.com.au/ – NZ-based version of Book Depos. Both of these sites carry a fair bit of music at discount prices including method books, etc.
• www.sheetmusicplus.com?aff_id=455955  – great resource for sheet music. They have some music available for download, the rest you can have delivered. Delivery has taken up to 2 months to get to me in the past, so be aware it’s not quick, but they do have books that no-one else has at competitive prices.

PIANO TEACHING:

• http://www.rosshamilton.com.au/index.cfm – for all your general knowledge/viva voce needs
• http://www.opusmusicworksheets.com/ – online music teaching worksheets galore
• http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2012/07/the-40-best-sources-free-music-education-online/ – summary of all the best free music resources online
• http://insidemusicteaching.com/studiostationery/index.html – great for certificates for students + heaps more

I’m sure there are other great sites out there – please leave a comment if you know of any other goodies!