Piano Lessons Archives - Page 3 of 6

16 Apr

My Best Online Teaching Tip

Like everyone else, I have experienced a very steep learning curve by embracing online teaching. I have developed skills I never thought I’d have: camera use, audio adjustment, screen-sharing – the list goes on! Teachers have been SO generous in sharing their insights, discoveries and expertise with each other that I think I have actually become a bit overwhelmed with all the information.
So this short post is about the ONE thing I have found to be most useful in online teaching.

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Samantha Coates 5 Comments

23 Oct

Piano Lessons

‘How Much Should My Child Practice?’

For parents who say they “just want their child to have fun”… 4-5 practices per week means students can actually have fun with piano.

Posted on October 23, 2019October 23, 2019 by Samantha Coates 12 Comments

07 Aug

Music Exams, Music Lessons, Piano Lessons

After 47 Years, I Can Finally Play Octaves

Last week, I learned how to play the piano. This may sound strange, as my bio clearly states that I’ve been playing piano for 47 years.

Posted on August 7, 2019 by Samantha Coates 27 Comments

An Open Letter From An Overscheduled Child

13 Feb

General, Music Lessons, Piano Lessons

An Open Letter From An Overscheduled Child

After years and years leaping at every opportunity and upskilling myself as much as humanly possible (and often more), I’ve learned five things that I think every person aged 8 or up who’s got that perfectionist streak needs to hear. Everything in moderation – especially moderation! Here they are.

Posted on February 13, 2019February 13, 2019 by Courtney Coates 6 Comments

28 Sep

Piano Lessons

Five Ways to Get Students Out of a Rut

With a COVID-19 edit to this post, here are five helpful strategies to get students out of a rut, work through that trough, and get back to a peak of enthusiasm!

Posted on September 28, 2018September 17, 2020 by Samantha Coates Leave a comment

22 Aug

Music Lessons, Piano Lessons

Why Piano Playing is Like Bike Riding

Ok, so this probably sounds like a very far-fetched analogy, right? But I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the different factors involved in riding a bike, and how similar they are to the factors involved in a successful piano playing experience.

Posted on August 22, 2018March 14, 2019 by Samantha Coates 29 Comments

The Progress Matrix Part 2: What defines progress and support?

02 Feb

General, Piano Lessons

The Progress Matrix Part 2: What defines progress and support?

In Part 1 I talked about this matrix: Practice Not much or No practice Support 1 Fastest possible progress 2 Slow progress Not much or No support 3 Reasonable progress (unusual) 4 No progress In Part 2 I’ll talk more about each individual quadrant: what support means and what marks progress, and how to […]

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Samantha Coates 6 Comments

The Progress Matrix: Making Parents Responsible

15 Dec

General, Piano Lessons

The Progress Matrix: Making Parents Responsible

I am a member of several piano teacher groups on Facebook. To me it seems that the conversation that comes up most often is on how to retain students who don’t practice. There are rants about the schedules that don’t permit enough practice time, the parents who expect everything to be fun and easy, the arguing between parent and student at home (and sometimes between student and teacher in the lesson!) and the expectations from all that are rarely met.

Posted on December 15, 2017March 26, 2018 by Samantha Coates 9 Comments

12 Oct

Piano Lessons

No Pain, No Gain: The Biggest Myth of Piano Practice

“No pain, no gain” is something that we hear so often in the world of physical accomplishments. But it is a dangerous approach in piano and in fact my physiotherapist tells me it’s an absolute myth in any physical pursuit.

Posted on October 12, 2017October 12, 2017 by Samantha Coates 9 Comments