The Piano Pantry Podcast

If you’ve ever experienced emotional labor determining makeup lesson policies in your studio, today’s episode will provide a little therapy. Australian-based piano teacher Samantha Coates invites a perspective that paints a vivid picture of why a no-makeup policy is absolutely reasonable.

Putting together formal student evaluations can be very time-consuming. If you like the idea of evaluations or progress reports but struggle with the time required to craft them, I’m here to offer an alternative solution!

Regularly scheduled downtime from teaching is important not only for us but also for our students and for maintaining a well-run business. Time off isn’t just about having unending hours to read, deep clean your freezer, or go for two-hour walks; it can also mean releasing ourselves from our normal routine to make room for other things.

Ponderings on how we use the term “friend” within the context of our relationships with each other in the piano teacher community

Opportunities for independent teachers to get conference-type professional development in both large and small-scale formats, including the pros and cons of each setting.

You will surely be delighted by Amy’s conversation with Seattle-based pianist, teacher, and clinician Peter Mack, current President of Music Teachers National Association (MTNA)!

They chat on a variety of topics, including teaching specialties, Peter’s natural knack for using visual descriptors, what it’s like to be on a conference planning committee, tips on the proposal submission process, and much, much more.

Amy and her friend Joy Morin of the Color in My Piano blog share six ways they’ve used Notion (a productivity and note-taking app) this week as independent piano teachers.

Canva is an online graphic design tool that can be used for anything from social media content to presentation slides, resource creation, and more. Here are nine special features that you’ll want to know about - many of which Amy wishes she had known about sooner!

How to run a note-naming challenge in your studio. We’ll cover things like objectives, leveling, scheduling, rewards, frequently asked questions and more. (The main content of this episode is a replay of episode 061.)

Amy hands out “Valentines” to 9 items that she loves. More specifically, she’s featuring things she has found enhancing her life through beauty and simplicity.

Would you like to have a more streamlined approach to your group classes or have a few more tried and true activities in your back pocket? Listen in as Amy shares some of her favorite go-to activities to conduct during group class weeks.

While Amy’s not big on what you might know as traditional “Freezer Meals,” she has some time-saving tips on setting up your freezer to cover you when your dinner prep hours are teaching-filled hours.

Take time to rethink, readjust, and thus renew yourself for the upcoming season. We’re not talking about setting goals - that comes later. First, let’s pause and consider what’s working and what’s not. Hear the story of Amy’s biggest pain point in recent months and how the reflection and evaluation process she went through can help you.

Amy takes time to look back at some of the big events and happenings in the world of independent piano teachers in 2022 and 2023.

Amy had a little fun playing around with Chat GPT to write you a song as you head into Christmas break. Hear a little about the process she went through guiding Chat GPT, receive the special holiday wish, and get a holiday-themed tiny tip (also AI-style!)

A few basics on utilizing the forScore digital sheet music app, including how to digitize and import sheet music, a little on the benefits of the Apple Pencil, how to edit and maintain consistency with metadata information, organizing setlists, and more.

Organizing, keeping, and maintaining a waiting list: I hope my hard lessons will be ones you can avoid! (this episode is a replay of episode 22)

A random handful of some of Amy’s favorite things.

Canadian composer, piano teacher, and blogger Rebekah Maxner shares insight for piano teachers of all levels - from beginner to advanced - on what it can mean to teach a neurodiverse student. She touches on nearly 15 indicators and how certain characteristics can be signs of neurodiversity.

Do you struggle with finding suitable venues for holding recitals, or do you just feel like shaking things up a little in your studio this upcoming holiday season? In today’s episode, I hope to save you a little energy and brain power with a little more than a half dozen recital ideas, from large in-person events to small-scale, intimate recitals, online-type digital events, and more.

Amy chats with Sally Eppert, an Indiana friend and colleague who was recently named the 2023 Indiana Music Teacher Association Teacher of the Year. Sally manages a large studio and four teachers - offering both group and private piano lessons, voice, and percussion.

In this episode, Sally and Sharon from The Curious Piano Teachers share eight types of questions we can utilize in our lessons, from what they call “skinny” or easy, closed questions to meta-cognitive, emotional, and more.

Do you enjoy including Halloween-themed activities in your music studio during the month of October? Amy has tried all kinds of stuff over the years, and in this episode, you’ll hear ten items that have made the cut and continue to be staple activities this time of year in her studio.

Are you a sucker for top tools, recommended resources, and favorites lists? Here are nine items that I regret not investing in sooner that will be helpful in both your business and everyday life.

In reaction to the Tonara shutdown announcement, this is a special teacher talk episode. After briefly covering a list of Tonara alternatives, Amy shares a step-by-step process for easing the pain in your Tonara transition. Interspersed with Amy’s advice, you’ll also hear short audio snippets from eight of her teacher friends sharing their own thought processes, feelings, and ideas for moving forward. Even non-Tonara users who are interested in different ideas on how to give assignments to students will benefit from this episode.

Why do we often find ourselves struggling on the whole to give or not to give questions in regards to gifts for students, whether that be Christmas gifts, birthday, or even recital gifts? In this episode, we talk about the decision-making process, the emotions behind it, and some practical gift ideas as you plan your year.

While it’s important we as teachers support our composers and publishers, sometimes it’s nice to know a few ways to save a little here and there (because we buy a LOT of music)! Here are 12 ways to save.

While getting meals on the table is a daily life task many in this world understandably struggle to execute, the schedule of an independent music teacher seems to make it even harder. It’s easy for meal-planning efforts to often focus on dinner - leaving the midday meal a little in the lurch. In this episode, I’ll share six ways you can help your lunchtime meal plans.

As we shift into fall-scheduling mode, find inspiration for setting your own daily work-life schedule by hearing highlights and snippets from seven previous teacher-talk guests.

Four teachers chat up all the good stuff from the NCKP: The Piano Conference in Chicago, Illinois. As you can imagine, it was an extra special time as it was the first in-person NCKP since the pandemic.

Are you tired of the struggle when it comes to fall scheduling? Today I have seven things I want to arm you with that might be the easy answer you need to make things work for all involved. A lot of this has come from experiences of my own over the years as well as things I see others doing. I’ll also share a little look into how I handle my own scheduling because I know you all love logistics!

7 extensions (plus 3 bonus ones!) that you might find useful to use on Chrome. We’ll also talk about why Chrome is the browser of choice for many, what an extension is, and how you can get them.

Being productive doesn’t always have to be about freeing up time to get more things done. Think about it as a means of creating margin and space in life. Here are five of Amy’s best hacks for setting up a more productive digital workspace.

Amy chats with attendees from the 4th Piano Pantry Retreat - Florence Phillips, Laurie Bender, Shelley Pritt, and Laurel Carroll - from her home in Northeast Indiana.

Sometimes changes we make result from weeks - if not months - of ruminating and pondering, and sometimes they occur on the fly when something suddenly doesn’t feel right. Here are seven things that Amy is rethinking in her own studio.

Are you curious about travel teaching? In this episode, piano teacher and composer Chrissy Ricker shares her experiences as a traveling piano teacher: the advantages, disadvantages, and lessons learned from over a decade of teaching piano in students' homes.

Amy chats with attendees from the 3rd Piano Pantry Retreat - Lou Ann (Pope) Knight, Jennifer Kurtz, and Gabrielle Tee - from her home in Northeast Indiana.

How many shelves, tubs, or binders do you have full of old class notes and professional magazine subscriptions? In this episode, we consider why we hold onto so much old information we rarely, if ever use and how we can sort through and save it in a more useful way for the future.

Amy chats with Jason Sifford, a freelance pianist, teacher, and composer from Iowa.

How we manage to accumulate sheet music exponentially; steps for purging and maintaining a more intentional music library.

In this episode, we talk about why we have so many tools and resources we never use and how five little questions can help us easily decide what should stay or go. Let’s start purging!

Adding a video element to your end-of-year evaluations can be a simple, effective, and wow-inducing approach to displaying student progress.

This episode is a replay of episode 021 - A Simple, Effective, and Magical Element for Student Evaluations.