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Welcome to the blog at Melody Payne – Music for a Lifetime!

From piano teaching tips to games and activities for piano lessons, sheet music, and much more, we have something just for you! 

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Laptop, piano studio policies, latte, coffee on a desk

10 Favorite Freebies for Piano Teachers

Did you know there’s an entire library of free resources on my website that were created just for you and your piano studio? Today I’m going to take you on a quick tour of my 10 favorite freebies for piano teachers so you can download and start using them today.
Video Piano Lessons

Teaching Pre-Recorded Video Piano Lessons: A Free Mini-Course

In this free mini-course, I’m answering all of your questions about pre-recorded video lessons. And there are some fantastic questions! I’ve also included demonstration videos of pre-recorded video lessons to give you an idea of how easy they are and what a great addition to your skillset and lesson options they can be.
Practice challenge chart with piano keys and gingerbread men

How to Host a Piano Practice Challenge

I love challenging my students to practice a specific number of pieces, measures, pages, minutes, days, at a predetermined tempo, or accomplishing a specific goal or goals over a short period of time. Why? Because practice challenges are highly beneficial to students in a number of ways. Learn how practice challenges benefit students, and how to host your own!
Copyright symbol, following copyright and trademark law in the piano studio

How to Follow Copyright and Trademark Law in the Piano Studio

Copyright and trademark: These aren’t topics you’d particularly expect on a piano teaching website, right? But with more and more of our businesses going online every day, and with more and more of us designing piano teaching resources for our own studios and to give away or sell to other teachers, these are topics that absolutely cannot be overlooked and ignored. Continue reading to see how you can ensure you are following copyright law in your piano teaching business.
Studio Management Software for Piano Teachers: My Music Staff

My Music Staff: The Best Studio Management Software for Piano Teachers

My Music Staff, MMS, is web-based studio management software that can help you with a variety of administrative tasks that you do for your piano studio. It’s like having your own personal assistant! If you’re an independent studio owner, or if you own a music academy with multiple teachers, My Music Staff can automate many of your administrative tasks to give you more freedom in your schedule to do what you really love – teach!
Young piano student enjoying playing the piano

Cultivating Motivated Students in the Piano Studio

How to motivate students—the age-old dilemma. It’s wonderful to have internally motivated students. They come to lessons prepared and enthusiastically soak up every morsel of teacher wisdom you can offer. But what about the other students? The ones with little to no weekly progress and an ambivalence that can make you want to stand on your head just to get their attention. Or what about a student who started strong but fell into a rut and now seems disinterested? How can we motivate our students to want to practice, study, and persevere in piano studies so they obtain a lifetime of enjoyment?

Show Multiple Camera Views Simultaneously with OBS During Online Piano Lessons

In a recent post, I showed you how to set up an overhead camera to enhance your online teaching setup by giving you the ability to show your students an overhead view of your piano keys. This week, I interviewed Ian Belloso to demonstrate how to show your students multiple camera views at once with free software called OBS. Read the brief summary, then watch our entire conversation and Ian’s demonstrations of OBS in the video.

How to Set Up an Overhead Camera for Online Piano Lessons

Teaching online piano lessons full-time has provided lots of opportunities for growth, especially in the area of trying new equipment! Here’s an easy way to set up your overhead camera so you can share a view of the piano keys with your students as you teach your online piano lessons.
Little girl composing a song during her piano lesson

5 Off-Bench Activities for Piano Lessons

It’s a well-known truth that children learn best through play, and we can take advantage of that bit of knowledge and use a variety of activities during piano lessons to keep things fresh, engaging, and most of all, fun! These activities can be used both in-person, and online with a few modifications, so they’re ideal for a variety of teaching situations. They’re also great for groups.
How to Teach Piano Key Geography to Beginning Piano Students

How to Teach Piano Key Geography to Beginning Piano Students

Teaching keyboard geography to young piano students is one of my favorite parts of teaching beginners! Showing them an easy way to remember the piano keys opens up a brand new world to them, and I’m happy to play a role in that learning process. In this free piano pedagogy workshop, watch how I teach piano key geography to beginning piano students, and to learn some of my philosophies of why I teach the piano keys the way I do.
Piano student who doesn't want to practice

How to Help the Piano Student Who Doesn’t Practice

Do you teach students who don’t practice? In this article, we’ll define the student who doesn’t practice, list reasons why this piano student doesn’t practice, and discuss specific things we can do to help the student become an excellent and motivated practicer. There’s even a list of things you can start doing in your lessons today to motivate and encourage your students and help them learn how to practice!
Easy lower back stretch for pianists

Easy Lower Back Stretch for Pianists

In this interview with Dr. Stephanie Elkins, DPT, we’ll learn how to improve piano posture with an easy lower back stretch for pianists. This is Part 4 of our piano posture series, in which we’re addressing the issues that cause neck and back pain from spending hours each day teaching piano lessons in person and online. 

Welcome!

Hi! I’m Melody Payne, a pianist and piano teacher, educational resource author, a fun-loving wife to the most wonderful and talented hubby I could ask for, and a lifelong learner who loves to share. I want to make your life as a music teacher easier by writing and sharing helpful and relevant music teaching articles, and by creating educational resources with your very own students in mind. If you are a parent who wants to enroll your child in piano lessons, I’d love for us to get started building those skills that can give your child a lifetime of musical enjoyment!

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