Piano Teaching

Category: Piano Teaching

Piano recital ideas, piano teaching tips, piano studio challenges, and more.

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.
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!
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?
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. 
Chest Stretches to Improve Piano Posture

Chest Stretches to Improve Piano Posture

In this interview with Dr. Stephanie Elkins, DPT, we’ll learn how to improve piano posture with chest stretches. This is Part 3 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. 
Upper Back Exercises for Piano Teachers

3 Upper Back Exercises for Piano Teachers

Piano teachers are complaining of back pain, neck pain, and shoulder pain from spending hours each day teaching online piano lessons. Learn how to address these issues with three upper back exercises for piano teachers in Part Two of my interview with Dr. Stephanie Elkins, DPT.

Welcome!

At MelodyPayne.com, our mission is to provide piano teaching resources, sheet music, and ideas that will help you and your piano students thrive!

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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