My Top 10 Piano Duet Books for Beginners
Piano duets have always been an important part of my teaching. I've written about them many times before and recently reviewed a brand new book for piano duet. With restrictions…
Rest and the Music Teacher
I don't know about you, but as a teacher, I spend a lot of time talking about rests. I think they're underrated. It's often much harder to 'play' rests than…
Online Music Exams: Our Experiences So Far
A year ago, only LCM offered any kind of online music exams, and that was their Performance Awards. These consisted of a video submission of the candidate's performance which was…
Beginner Piano Lessons: 3 Essential Ingredients
Beginner piano lessons with a student of any age can be pivotal. They can be 'make or break', so it's no wonder they can make us piano teachers so nervous.…
Mindful Reflection, Before and After the Music Lesson
It’s easy amidst the hustle and bustle of the online world, to feel that as teachers, we're not keeping up. There’s an almost limitless number of things we could teach…
My Top 10 Books for Instrumental Teachers
Over the past 18 years, I've acquired many books related to music education and instrumental teaching. If you're looking to expand your library, explore some new ideas or collect together…
5 Reasons Why It’s a Good Idea to Have a Studio Policy
When I had lessons as a child, no teacher I encountered seemed to have any formal policy when it came to the lessons they offered. It was predominantly pay by…
4 Ways for Instrumental Teachers to Avoid ‘Resource Overwhelm’
I don't know about anyone else, but one of my jobs over the summer is to make some attempt to sort and reorganise music, organise resources and generally tidy up…
10 Things I’ve Learnt in 18 Years as a Private Music Teacher
I've recently celebrated 18 years as a private music teacher. In that time, there have been many 'ups and downs', and after 18 years, I've definitely learnt a few things…
4 Ways to Make the Most of the Music Exam Mark Sheet
If you're reading this, you've probably taken a music exam fairly recently. Congratulations! Whatever the outcome, I have a huge amount of admiration for any learner who puts themselves forward…
DipLCM(TD): Delivering an Effective Demonstration Lesson
In this blog post, I want to share some thoughts about planning, rehearsing and delivering your demonstration lesson as part of the DipLCM(TD) teaching diploma. The advice given here is…
8 Myths of Private Instrumental Teaching
Over the past 18 years, I have come across many myths surrounding the nature of private teaching as a professional occupation. Sometimes these myths are perpetuated by those outside of…