Online Piano Lessons – Part 2
This week is week 3 for my students doing online lessons and so far, I think things are improving! I'm feeling more energy and connection in lessons. We're getting used to the technology - although one students' phone did keep sliding down... over and over the entire...
Material Fees
Our students need books and materials to study piano, there's no getting around that! So every studio has to decide how they are going to handle the purchase of new books. My studio charges a flat fee of $25 per semester (Spring, Summer, and Fall) that covers all...
Upcoming Presentations
I have the privilege of being the Guest Clinician for the Oklahoma MTA State Conference next weekend. I'll be giving two very different presentations on topics that I love. That's one of the great things about being a piano teacher, there are so many niches and...
Ear Training In Your Studio
Question: When was the last time you did ear training work with your students? If I'm honest, it was probably in preparation for the theory test... and before that test came up? Yikes. It's always so busy to fit in all we want to teach in 30 minutes so we've found...
Finger Number Activities
Anyone else love playing finger number games as you teach finger numbers? I love hearing the little giggles as we laugh our way through learning and practicing finger numbers with new students. This week, I came up with a little activity page to work through with...
MTNA eFestival Update
We love MTNA and all it offers teachers and students (see our posts about MTNA here and here). I shared with you awhile back about the new MTNA eFestival (read that post here). So today, I wanted to give you a little update! MTNA found a new way for videos to be...
Tuesday Teaching Tactic #21
Happy Tuesday! It's time for our twenty-first Teaching Tactic. Students are our first priority in teaching, but it's the parents who pay the bills! If the parents aren't satisfied you are going to lose your students. A little extra effort to connect with the...
Christmas Activities Round Up
As we get closer to winter vacation and recital time, the excitement in my house is becoming palpable! That's because we're having our 3rd child join us in just a few more days! Having this deadline set for months has helped me get ahead on Christmas gifts and...
Teaching Tactic #17
Another Tuesday means another Teaching Tactic here at 4D Piano! Today's tip is to simplify your language. This is something that really sunk in with me when I first started ballet as a brand new beginner (read more about that here). Ballet is so totally new to me...
Tuesday Teaching Tactic #15
Welcome back for another Tuesday teaching tactic. Today we want to ask you to think about your last five or ten lessons taught. Think about the activities and pieces you covered... How often did you get off the bench? Did you play a game on the floor? Pull out...
Tuesday Teaching Tactic #14
Today's teaching tactic is Breathe. As I considered what to share today, I decided on one word - Breathe. Then I thought of several ways to apply it in my daily teaching. Here are the applications for this word I came up with: 1. Is your student breathing? Check that...
Tuesday Teaching Tactic #13
The weeks are flying by and it's time for our thirteenth Tuesday Teaching Tactic! Our tip for this week is to take a step back. As teachers who want to help our students succeed, we often jump in right when they hit a challenge. But, sometimes our students need to...