Recent
blog posts

Teach music confidently without the stress

Recent Guitar Pedagogy Creativity Repertoire Beginners Studio Business

The Real Reason Teens Are Quitting Your Studio – Part 3: Technology

by Tim Topham

Teenagers and Technology – a match made in heaven This is the last article in a 3-part series I’ve been writing about retaining and motivating teenage piano students. This week, in the final part of the series, we’ll discuss how keeping up with technology can help you motivate and retain teenagers in your studio. The initial idea ... The Real Reason Teens Are Quitting Your Studio – Part 3: Technology

04/11/2014 Read more

The Real Reason Teens Are Quitting Your Studio – Part 2

by Tim Topham

Why write about teens? I decided to write a short series about teaching teens because there seems to be a lot of teachers out there for whom teaching teens is becoming a bit of a struggle. You might have read their posts on piano teaching groups, wondering aloud why teenagers don’t want to have lessons ... The Real Reason Teens Are Quitting Your Studio – Part 2

03/29/2014 Read more

“Coffee with Ray” – a remarkable new piano teaching textbook/novella by Nick Ambrosino

by Tim Topham

A piano teaching textbook that reads like a novel! I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading Nick Ambrosino’s new book: Coffee with Ray. The title certainly caught my attention (“coffee” tends to have that effect!) but how could a book about having coffee with someone called Ray possibly help me with ... “Coffee with Ray” – a remarkable new piano teaching textbook/novella by Nick Ambrosino

03/23/2014 Read more

The Real Reason Teens are Quitting Your Studio – Part 1

by Tim Topham

Is it just me or is it getting harder to keep teenagers interested in piano these days? No one has any time, every after-school minute is jam-packed with activities, and despite the costs and logistics of piano lessons, practice always takes a back seat to everything else that’s going on. But, is that the real ... The Real Reason Teens are Quitting Your Studio – Part 1

03/13/2014 Read more

Motivating teenage piano students | Teen Teaching Toolkit

by Tim Topham

I’ve recently had lots of people ask me about where they can get their copy of my new eBook: The Teen Teaching Toolkit. It’s a totally free resource devoted to helping you engage and motivate your teenage piano students more effectively. Here is what a couple of teachers have recently said about the Teen Teaching ... Motivating teenage piano students | Teen Teaching Toolkit

02/28/2014 Read more

Impressions Suite – Jennifer Eklund | Sheet Music for Teens

by Tim Topham

Looking for great piano music at a low price with no copy restrictions? Jennifer Eklund of PianoPronto.com is a busy composer, teacher, presenter and author, well known in America for her Piano Pronto method books. Towards the end of last year, she released a number of new books of solo piano music suited to adults ... Impressions Suite – Jennifer Eklund | Sheet Music for Teens

02/20/2014 Read more
 

Join the the preeminent professional development, learning and networking community for instrumental music teachers.

 
topmusic topmusic
 

How to set up and use playlists for students on YouTube

by Tim Topham

There’s no time to waste! Has the start of your year with a student ever gone something like this? Teacher: “OK, it’s time to choose your new pieces for the year” Student: “Great” Teacher: “So these are the options for your exam List A piece” (plays 4 – 5 options) Teacher: “So, do you like ... How to set up and use playlists for students on YouTube

02/18/2014 Read more

The History of Piano Technique: Studies and Exercises | Graham Fitch

by Tim Topham

Teaching Piano Technique I just had to repost this great article from Practising the Piano by Graham Fitch, which discusses the sometimes controversial topic of piano technique and more specifically, exercises and studies such as Hanon and Czerny. The article, which is a précis of a section in his Practising the Piano eBook series, gives a ... The History of Piano Technique: Studies and Exercises | Graham Fitch

12/19/2013 Read more

Improve Your Piano Teaching through Self-Assessment

by Leah Coutts

Self-assessment to Improve your Piano Teaching It’s that time of year when many of us have just received our students’ exam results and sent out progress reports to parents. Tracking student progress is definitely an important activity, but what about our progress as teachers? Is the fact that our students are returning to us next ... Improve Your Piano Teaching through Self-Assessment

12/18/2013 Read more

NotateMe | notation app for Piano Teachers

by Tim Topham

NotateMe app for piano teachers If you’ve ever been frustrated by the difficulty of using traditional notation software such as Finale or Sibelius, you are sure to like NotateMe. I’m just old enough to remember when notation and recording software cost thousands of dollars, required huge processing power and memory and large desktop computers. With the advent ... NotateMe | notation app for Piano Teachers

12/07/2013 Read more

10 Best Piano Teaching Facebook Pages

by Tim Topham

As promised in my article Top 4 Piano Teaching Facebook Groups – get connected!, here is a list of Facebook Pages that I recommend to other piano teachers. Piano Teaching Facebook Pages For those of you new to Facebook, or still considering whether you should join, a Facebook Page is like a profile except that ... 10 Best Piano Teaching Facebook Pages

12/04/2013 Read more

Piano Teaching Technology: iPad Piano Studio | Book Review & Giveaway

by Tim Topham

Is your studio an iPad Piano Studio? If you’re a bit of a newbie when it comes to using technology in your studio, make sure The iPad Piano Studio is in your Christmas stocking this year! As you will know from my previous posts (Piano teaching tips: Best iPad apps for piano teachers, The iPad ... Piano Teaching Technology: iPad Piano Studio | Book Review & Giveaway

12/03/2013 Read more