Recent
blog posts

Teach music confidently without the stress

Recent Guitar Pedagogy Creativity Repertoire Beginners Studio Business

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

Piano music for boys | 15 of the best pieces by Daniel McFarlane

by Tim Topham

Piano Music for Boys Finding motivating piano music, especially for beginner and intermediate teenage boys, can be difficult. Thankfully, there are a number of composers writing really good music for this demographic around the world. I’ve already blogged about Jo Kochie and Geri Rea; today’s profile is on Brisbane-based composer/teacher Daniel McFarlane, who offers readers of topmusic.co a ... Piano music for boys | 15 of the best pieces by Daniel McFarlane

11/17/2013 Read more

Top 4 Piano Teaching Facebook Groups – get connected!

by Tim Topham

I’ve been a Facebook user for some time now. When I first started using it in my mid 20s, it was mainly for connecting with friends, keeping up with news and the usual time-wasting social media activities: browsing the news feed, looking at pictures, playing online games and generally wasting time! In fact, I was ... Top 4 Piano Teaching Facebook Groups – get connected!

11/05/2013 Read more

Whatever you do, don’t stop! 5 Sight Reading Tips for Piano Teachers

by Tim Topham

Most students and teachers dread working on sight reading, but in the last year, my students have genuinely started to enjoy the challenge of making it a regular part of their practice. Best of all, they have started to see improvement in their reading. The practice is paying off! I attribute this to a few ... Whatever you do, don’t stop! 5 Sight Reading Tips for Piano Teachers

10/13/2013 Read more

How to mark a piano exam | “On Your Marks” ABRSM

by Tim Topham

If you’ve ever wanted to be a ‘fly on the wall’ at one of your students’ piano exams, have a look at this great free offering from the ABRSM. What is it? The ABRSM has just released a great feature on its website called “On Your Marks”. This resource allows you to watch and assess all the ... How to mark a piano exam | “On Your Marks” ABRSM

10/01/2013 Read more

Teaching video: LH improv patterns for student compositions

by Tim Topham

I’ve had a lot of people ask me about teaching basic improvising, especially for their teenage and adult beginner students, so I thought I’d show you an excerpt from a lesson where I introduce left hand patterns that can form the basis for exciting student compositions. There’s a great blog called Pianofeeling that has a ... Teaching video: LH improv patterns for student compositions

09/08/2013 Read more
 

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

 
topmusic topmusic
 

Piano music for boys > 10 of the best pieces by Jo Kotchie

by Tim Topham

I first met Perth-based teacher and composer Jo Kotchie at the APPC conference in 2011. In July this year, we reconnected in relation to the presentation I was giving at the APPC in Toowoomba titled “Fast and Furious: Techniques and Repertoire for Boys” which inspired this blog series. Jo has written a huge amount of music which ... Piano music for boys > 10 of the best pieces by Jo Kotchie

09/05/2013 Read more

Teaching Video: Students improvising backing tracks for scales

by Tim Topham

Most students find scale practice pretty dull. So do I. in fact, I find teaching scales pretty dull too! What’s more, starting lessons with the same old, “Well, let’s hear how your scales have gone this week”, is not likely to inspire students if it’s the same greeting every single lesson. With this in mind, ... Teaching Video: Students improvising backing tracks for scales

09/03/2013 Read more

Free recital pieces from InsideMusicTeaching.com

by Tim Topham

As you know, I’m always on the lookout for new repertoire for my students. On a recent visit to Philip Johnston’s InsideMusicTeaching website, which is a fantastic resource for all sorts of things piano-teaching-related, I came across his new “Repertoire Browser” page where he has uploaded nine of his own piano compositions which are great ... Free recital pieces from InsideMusicTeaching.com

08/25/2013 Read more

10 Must-Follow Blogs for Piano Teachers

by Tim Topham

As part of my own professional development, I keep a close eye on blogs from piano teachers around the world. You can learn so much and get great links to other resources by following a few key blogs. You don’t have to check these websites yourself every week as you can subscribe to receive emails ... 10 Must-Follow Blogs for Piano Teachers

08/20/2013 Read more

Adult piano students: 3 great online resources

by Tim Topham

Adult Piano Students’ Resources Just a short post today to share with you some links that your adult piano students might find useful. I suggest these more for adults than younger students as I’ve found that committed adult students tend to have more time and interest in doing extra background research into their study than, say, teenagers. The Raven’s ... Adult piano students: 3 great online resources

08/07/2013 Read more

10 of the Best Piano Pieces for Boys by… Geri Rea

by Tim Topham

This is the first in a new series of articles I’ll be writing featuring my favourite piano pieces for boys by a variety of Australian and International composers. I had the fortune to meet Geri Rea at a piano teachers’ PD day at the Convention Centre in Melbourne 2010. Geri is a talented teacher and ... 10 of the Best Piano Pieces for Boys by… Geri Rea

07/28/2013 Read more