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Online piano teacher Dr. Melody Payne

5 Online Activities for Online Piano Lessons

This article includes a free list of online resources and activities that we can use to supplement our online piano lessons. A wide variety of options and ideas are shared, and I hope your students enjoy these activities. Includes practicing challenges, theme of the week, music and art parties, and more!
Learn How to Teach Online Piano Lessons with this Essential Guide

Learn How to Teach Online Piano Lessons with this Essential Guide

Eliminate the overwhelm, put your fears behind you, and learn to be a successful and confident online piano teacher with the step-by-step information included in my eBook course “Teaching Music Lessons Online”. Learn what equipment you will need, how to set it up, the pros and cons of online lessons, how to teach an online lesson, tips for teachers & students, and much more in this guide for piano teachers.
Beginning piano books on a desk

Teaching Beginning Piano Technique to Young Piano Students

Introduce your students to major and minor pentascales, chords, and arpeggios in a colorful and engaging way with this vibrant beginning piano technique book. The study of piano scales, chords, and arpeggios is extremely important to a pianist’s development. Help your students become Scales Superstars as they work their way through this valuable beginning piano scales book.
Picture of music note flash cards on a desk

5 Ways to Use Music Note Flash Cards in Piano Lessons

Help your student review treble and bass clef notes on the grand staff in a colorful and engaging way with this vibrant set of music note flash cards. Music note flash cards can give students a fun way to review note names, learn to spell chords & scales, and improve their speed and fluency at note recognition. Click here for 5 really fun games and activities you can play with your students to help them review treble and bass clef notes, plus sharps and flats, on the grand staff.
Circle of fifths on a desk with colorful pens

Introducing the Circle of Fifths to Your Students

Introduce your students to the circle of fifths in a vibrant and engaging way, and teach scales, key signatures, majors and relative minors, and more. This colorful page is especially great for visual learning styles, and is perfect for students who are being introduced to scales and key signatures. It’s also easy to use as a quick reference sheet on your iPad. The black and white version can be printed and used as a coloring sheet to keep your students on track as they learn their scales and chords. 
Piano teacher and student at the recital

How to Create Professional Piano Recital Programs – The Easy Way!

These beautiful editable recital kits are the perfect way to save yourself time & energy as you prepare for your studio recital, & give your event a polished, professional, and cohesive look! These recital kits are created to be used in Google Slides™. Each kit is editable in Google Slides™ and is so easy to use! The kits include invitations, programs, & certificates in multiple colors and designs. Perfect for piano recitals, & any musical performance or concert!
Child playing the piano

Develop Strong Sight-Readers with “The Great Sight-Reading Challenge”

Sight-reading is an incredibly valuable skill for musicians. While some piano students naturally gravitate towards exploring new music and sight-reading fearlessly, others are more hesitant to begin developing this important skill. I created “The Great Sight-Reading Challenge” to give all of my students some sight-reading motivation and to challenge them to sight-read three pieces or sight-reading flash cards/exercises each day at the piano and to help them become strong sight-readers.
Little boy at his first piano lesson

9 Essentials to Include in a First Piano Lesson

Whether you’re teaching a first piano lesson, a trial piano lesson with a prospective student, or a meet & greet, you’ll need a solid plan to teach the student and interview the student and parents effectively and efficiently. Here’s my own lesson plan for a first piano lesson with a brand new student who comes into my studio for the first time for what I call a meet & greet mini lesson (definitely a low pressure and friendly name for our first meeting!).
Phone and coffee on desk

How to Use the AnyTune Pro App in Piano Lessons

AnyTune Pro is an app that allows you to change the tempo and key of a piece or song, and even set practice loops to drill a specific section! My students and I are loving this app, and I wanted to share with you how we use it in piano lessons. Perfect for practicing, performing, playing in a band, learning lead sheets and chord charts, and even for using with piano method books! Click here to learn more and grab a free download to help you get started!
How to Teach Online Piano Lessons

How to Teach Online Piano Lessons

Thanks to videoconferencing tools such as Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, and many others, teaching online piano lessons is becoming more and more popular among teachers all over the world. Learn about finding the right clients, introducing concepts in online lessons, visual aids, having online students perform in your studio recitals, what to do when your screen freezes, and more.
Piano student using sticky notes

How to Use Printable Sticky Notes in Piano Lessons

Printable sticky notes in piano lessons can give students ownership over their own practice sessions. Quick, easy, customizable sticky notes work for scales, solo repertoire, theory, recital prep, and so much more! Students follow their own practice steps, make practice time more effective and efficient, and come to lessons more prepared.

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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