Category: Teacher Tips
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To plan or not to plan.
Lately I’ve seen a lot of questions and debate about lesson planning in the piano teaching world. All teachers have different personalities and will find different strategies that work for their studio, and therefore what works for me may not be your cup of tea. But today I’m sharing what has worked well in my…
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The Practice Game Changer You Need for Your Studio in 2025
It’s here and finally available to you! After several years of testing and tweaking in my own personal studio, I am super excited to introduce you to the number one practice enhancer that has transformed what at-home practice looks like for most of my students 🙂 This is a piano practice journal, but not your…
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Welcome back
It’s been awhile. And for those who have still been checking out the website from time to time … thank you! Turns out that I am not one of those people who can or aspire to do it all 😉 So when Baby Boy #1 arrived in April 2023, I cut back and focused my…
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My Top 2022 Studio Practices and Purchases
It’s that time of year again! Amidst all of the craziness I find it monumentally important to carve out time to reflect and reevaluate what worked well this year and what can be changed or adjusted for 2023. I always find this process interesting. Undoubtedly there are things that worked better than expected and others…
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Habits – Why They Should Matter to the Musician.
As I was looking over my reading lists from the past few years, I realized that I’ve read an unusual amount of books about habits. And though their titles and premises may all seem very different, I was startled to look back and realize that all of them relate to the phrase “how we spend…
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Summer Strategies: Warming up to Piano Practice
Any studio that chooses to teach through the summer understands that it will present its own unique challenges. Schedules change, motivation can wane, and those who are not as self-motivated in personality tend to struggle through practice during the months off of a school routine. With this in mind, there are two ways to gear…
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Questions to Ask Before Your Child Quits Piano
It’s that time of year where schedules change, tuition increases are implemented, and those who have been contemplating whether or not to continue lessons will make the final call as the calendar switches to summer. Sometimes those that move on are not a surprise, while others seem to quit out of nowhere. But it never…
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Women in Music: Women’s History Month 2022
What do your students learn about composers and professional musicians in your studio? Because I desire to see my students become composers and invested musicians themselves, it is monumentally important that I introduce them to a wide array of musicians. Who can be a musician? Anyone! Color, race, gender, or any other category do not…
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Black History Month in the Music Studio
Welcome to February! The month where all things love, winter (snow seems to fall a bit extra in Cleveland), and Black History month converge! While I strive to incorporate Valentine’s Day and weather-related activities in with my student’s learning, February presents a unique opportunity to celebrate artists and music styles in a very specific and…
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Is there an advantage to music learning?
In Cleveland it has been snowy, cold, and generally the perfect weather to stay inside and curl up with a blanket, a good book, and my thoughts 🙂 Now I don’t often sit with my thoughts and ask the question as to whether or not my profession has value – both musically and in making my…