Piano Teaching

How to Host an Online Piano Recital

How to Host an Online Piano Recital

Every year in my studio, we celebrate the end of the school year with a spring recital.

Each student prepares two pieces — sometimes memorized, sometimes with duets played by me or a parent or an older sibling or even a friend in the studio, and always with lots of supportive friends and family members in the audience.

This spring, like teachers around the world, I found myself suddenly immersed in the world of online teaching.

I knew that instead of gathering in person in the school theater on a Saturday morning in late May, we’d need to find another way to celebrate this year. We’d need to find a way to move the recital (like everything else in life) online.

How to Teach Music Lessons Online (+ Inside My Home Teaching Studio)

How to Teach Music Lessons Online (+ Inside My Home Teaching Studio)

A few weeks ago, I made the decision to keep my studio virtual this year.

Some schools are reopening here (with lots of precautions, staggered starts, alternating live and virtual days, etc.), including the school where I normally teach. I spent a lot of time this summer thinking about the in-person lesson experience and what that might look like:

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How to Teach a Virtual Studio Class

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How to Teach a Virtual Studio Class

A few years ago, I started teaching monthly group classes in my studio.

The idea was to include more opportunities for informal performance, observation, musical discussion, and developing musicianship skills in a supportive group environment. All students are invited and encouraged to play something each time, even just part of a piece.

This gives us an opportunity to:

  • show works in progress

  • talk about practicing, learning processes, challenges, and rewards

  • give feedback (positive + constructive)

I also plan a few musical games and activities related to listening, movement, creative musicianship, and composition — things we can’t really do in our one-on-one lessons.

This year, I planned to teach five studio classes specifically for 3rd-6th graders, two studio classes for 7th-12th graders, and monthly buddy lessons for my K-2nd grade students.

But what to do when the world shuts down and everything moves online?

Host a Zoom studio class, of course.

Last week, I taught two studio classes (3rd-6th grade and 7th-12th grade) and two buddy lessons (K-2nd grade). Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how I set these up, how I structured our time together, and what activities I created to play virtually.

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22 Creative Ideas for Teaching Music Online (for All Ages)

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22 Creative Ideas for Teaching Music Online (for All Ages)

Like many of you, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to teach music creatively online these past few weeks.

  • What tools work best to facilitate connection, dialogue, and musical experience?

  • What strategies lend themselves best to online teaching?

  • What assignments will foster music-learning during this time?

As many of us are navigating this new territory of learning how to teach online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I thought I’d put together a master list of ideas for teaching in a variety of settings: church music, community teaching, and K-12 music.

I’m also including a list of tech tools that I’m using personally, have used in the past, or have heard recommended from other music teachers in the field.

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How to Transition to Teaching Lessons Online (Due to COVID-19)

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How to Transition to Teaching Lessons Online (Due to COVID-19)

We’re living in unprecedented times.

With the recent worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, more and more schools and studios are choosing to close and transition to remote learning.

Maybe you’re like me in thinking that some subjects lend themselves well to being taught online: history, language, math. But music? How do you teaching piano to a 1st grader online? How do you teach choir or band? How do you teach group lessons?

This week, numerous music educators have put together resources, kits, and teaching guides to help others transition to online learning, learn about tools that are available, and get ideas. There are Facebook groups and webinars, blog posts and Google Docs summarizing all the music-related tech tools that are offering special discounts right now.

Here in Rochester, NY, schools are closed and moving online until further notice.

As such, I’m transitioning my studio to online learning. Today, I want to share what that looks like, including:

  • The notes I’m sending home to parents

  • Three models for online education I’m offering to all my students (K-10th grade)

  • Steps I’m taking to plan and prepare for this change

  • Resources and printables I’m pulling together for the next few weeks

  • Tools I’m using on the tech side of things

  • My best recommendations for studio teachers in this situation

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Five Teaching & Learning Myths to Debunk This Year

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Five Teaching & Learning Myths to Debunk This Year

You know those things you’ve heard that seem true? I mean, they sound plausible. Plus, if enough people say it, it must be true, right?

Before long, we find ourselves buying into the hype, retelling the story, believing something we’ve heard without stopping to ask questions.

This is how myths begin.

Sometimes, there’s simply a lack of information—nothing to disprove this theory or that idea. Other times, they sound good on paper but are only surface-level with no substance to back them up.

Whatever the case may be, we’ve all encountered myths (big and small) in various parts of our lives.

But have you ever stopped to think about myths related to teaching and learning? What stories are being told out there that affect our work and how we approach things? What’s being shared as fact when there isn’t research to back it up?

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Do We Really Teach How We Were Taught? Three Things You Should Know

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Do We Really Teach How We Were Taught? Three Things You Should Know

Do you ever think back to the teachers you had growing up?

Maybe a private music teacher or a choir director or your high school English teacher or a professor you had in college.

What do you remember about them? What was your learning experience like? What approaches did you observe? What do you find yourself incorporating into your own teaching?

There’s an age-old adage that says we teach how we were taught.

This isn’t the full story, of course: we all have unique backgrounds and a variety of experiences that inform the people we are today and the teachers we are becoming.

10 Ways to Help Your Child Practice

10 Ways to Help Your Child Practice

This is a letter to all the parents and guardians and babysitters and older siblings and neighbors and friends who support young musicians: those who encourage the pursuit of music, tote children and books and accessories back and forth to lessons each week, and help with practicing at home.

Dear parents + guardians:

Thank you for supporting your child’s musical pursuits. You play a crucial role in your child’s success in learning to play an instrument. Even if you don't play the piano yourself, your support and guidance at home during the week is extremely important to their music-learning process. 

How to Create a Repertoire Plan Using the RCM Piano Syllabus

How to Create a Repertoire Plan Using the RCM Piano Syllabus

A few summers ago, I attended the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP) for the first time (read my recaps here, here, and here). 

In addition to a wealth of new teaching ideas, I learned about new methods and curriculum materials, some of which I’ve been using in my teaching ever since. 

Perhaps the most influential and valuable resource I discovered at NCKP was the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM—Canadian division) and Music Development Program (MDP - US division).

Founded with a commitment to developing strong musicianship skills from the very beginning, the program includes level-by-level guides to repertoire, technique, and musicianship skills (plus supplemental materials for music history and theory) for a variety of different instruments.

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Ways to Praise: Words that Inspire, Encourage, and Motivate

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Ways to Praise: Words that Inspire, Encourage, and Motivate

Have you ever thought about how you give praise and offer encouraging words? Is there a way to do this that promotes learning?

How can we use our words to foster the development of intrinsic motivation and a positive self-image in those we teach?

Think of a time when someone praised you for something you achieved or shared a word of encouragement. How did it make you feel? What do you remember about those moments?

Maybe you remember feeling appreciated or valued.
Maybe those words inspired you to keep going, to learn more, to challenge yourself to achieve greater things.
Maybe you remember feeling special and proud of yourself.

Praise is a powerful tool and one that we as educators can use to equip and empower those we teach to be the best they can be.

Follow along with my creative work and daily adventures: @ashleydanyew

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