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February is Black History Month—a time to honor and celebrate the contributions of African Americans. As a music teacher, this prompts me to pause and evaluate what I’m teaching, but also why. I ask questions like: How much diversity is present in my students’ method books and repertoire? Which pieces should we skip due to their complicated history? How can I make more thoughtful, informed choices about the music I put in front of my students—choices that are pedagogically sound and historically responsible? This year, I want to focus more on the existing repertoire and the creators behind it. In this episode, I’m going to introduce you to seven Black composers of elementary and intermediate piano repertoire. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support! Ep. 045 - The Blues Composition Project “This Is What Diversity Sounds Like” by Linda Holzer (Piano Magazine) RCM Celebration Series Preparatory A Piano Repertoire A Collection of Florence Price’s Teaching Music, Vol. 2 3 Sketches for Little Pianists (Florence Price) RCM Celebration Series Level 7 Piano Repertoire Expanding the Repertoire: Music of Black Composers, Levels 1 and 2 (compiled & edited by Dr. Leah Claiborne) Arise & Shine: Piano Music by Black Composers for Kids 2022 RCM Piano Syllabus Five Animal Sketches (William Grant Still) Portraits in Jazz (Valerie Capers) Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora, Vol. 1 (compiled & edited by William Chapman Nyaho) RCM Celebration Series Level 6 Piano Repertoire RCM Celebration Series Level 6 Piano Etudes If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together: 1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come. 2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics. 3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

It’s my last week of teaching for the year, and I've been reflecting on the supplemental books that have been most successful with my elementary and early intermediate students this year. The new year can be a great time to start fresh: with new repertoire, new technical routines, or new creative challenges for our students. As we prepare for the Spring semester and look forward to lessons resuming in January, I want to share nine collections I’ve been using with my students this year. Some are etudes based on specific technical patterns, others are solo repertoire books. Most of these are available through Piano Safari, though they can be used alongside any method book. For reference, my elementary and early intermediate students are in Piano Safari Levels 1-3 and range from 2nd-7th grade. If you're looking to refresh your teaching materials for January or add some variety to your studio library, I hope you'll find a few gems here that spark your interest. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support! Miniatures (Juan Cabeza) Piano Safari Level 3 Through the Windowpane (Chee-Hwa Tan) A Child’s Garden of Verses (Chee-Hwa Tan) Diversions, Books 1 and 2 (Juan Cabeza) Free download: 12 Variations on Diversion 12 (Juan Cabeza) Friends at Last (Amy Glennon) Here Comes Treble (Amy Glennon) Audio recordings Piano Safari Level 1 The Kitchen Suite, Op. 26 (Charles Stier) 21 Amazingly Easy Pieces (Barbara Arens) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together: 1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come. 2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics. 3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

One of the things I love about teaching is that we can draw on many disciplines to make our work better—art, psychology, learning theories, and even neuroscience. Recently, I’ve been reading about what brain research can tell us about practicing and how we learn, and it’s fascinating. Welcome back to our 2-part series on practicing. In part 1, we talked about the art of practicing. I shared what I’m learning from Madeline Bruser’s book, The Art of Practicing, and how I’m carrying these concepts and strategies into my practice sessions and studio. In this episode, part 2, we’ll explore Molly Gebrian’s book, Learn Faster, Perform Better. This book is all about the neuroscience of practicing: how we learn, process, and retain information. If you’ve been reading along with us in the Musician & Co. Book Club, you likely have some insights of your own, but I wanted to share what stood out to me and how it’s impacting my practicing and my teaching. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support! The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music From the Heart (Madeline Bruser) Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician’s Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing (Molly Gebrian) Join the Musician & Co. Book Club (it’s free!) Sign up for the Lunch & Learn: Practicing Workshop on 11/10 (it’s free!) Well-Tempered Clavier, Volume 1 (J.S. Bach) Ep. 038 - The Secrets of Interleaved Practice: What We Can Learn From Cognitive Science If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together: 1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come. 2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics. 3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

This fall, I read two books about practicing: The first is Madeline Bruser’s, The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart. The second is Molly Gebrian’s 2024 release, Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician's Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing. Art and science. Because practicing requires both. This is part 1 of a 2-part series about practicing and what I’m learning and applying from both books. In this episode, part 1, we’ll talk about the art of practicing. I’ll share what I’m learning from Madeline Bruser’s book and how I’m carrying these concepts and strategies into my practice sessions and studio. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support! The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music From the Heart (Madeline Bruser) Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician’s Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing (Molly Gebrian) Join the Musician & Co. Book Club (it’s free!) Well-Tempered Clavier, Volume 1 (J.S. Bach) The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self (William Westney) Ep. 060 - How Do We Approach Mistakes in Music Teaching & Learning? If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts. Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together: 1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come. 2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics. 3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings.

It was about this time last year when I got a panicked email from a parent: “Jack broke his left wrist this week. What does this mean for piano? He’s in a cast.” Has this ever happened to you? Some parents may assume that lessons need to be paused during this time. I mean, they can’t play with only one hand… or can they? The answer is yes, and there’s more and more one-handed repertoire available. With a broken foot, we can focus on repertoire that doesn’t use the pedal, or they can learn to pedal with their left foot for a few weeks. But more importantly, what I want to convey to parents (and students) is that playing is only one facet of musicianship. There are so many other things we do in lessons, so many other skills we’re working to develop. It reminds me of something Frances Clark once said, “Teach the student first, the music second, and the piano third.” Today, I’m sharing a list of nine lesson activities you can do with a broken arm. Some of these are specific to piano, but some are relevant no matter what instrument you teach. I hope the next time you find yourself in a situation like this, you’ll have just what you need to continue learning and making music together. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support! Sight-Reading and Rhythm Every Day (Helen Marlais) Rhythm Keeper, Vol. 1 (Samantha Steitz & Steve Aho) Ep. 059 - 7 Ways to Practice Rhythm Ep. 026 - My Favorite Aural Skills Games + Activities Ep. 085 - Everyone Can Improvise Ep. 083 - Bernstein and Bill Evans If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together: 1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come. 2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics. 3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

Learning to play the piano isn’t just about learning repertoire pieces. It’s about developing a set of keyboard skills that lets you make music anywhere, with anyone, in any style. Technique, performance, and sight-reading are part of it, but so are harmonization, transposition, chord knowledge, and voice-leading. It’s more than the ability to perform what’s on the page; it’s understanding how the music is made. In this episode, I’ll share why keyboard skills matter for students of all ages and a few strategies I’m using in my studio to build them into lessons from the very first year of study. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support! RCM Piano Syllabus Piano Safari Repertoire Book 1 Diversions (Juan Cabeza) Piano Safari Friends Piano Safari Sight-Reading Cards Sight-Reading and Rhythm Every Day (Helen Marlais) Rhythm Keeper, Vol. 1 (Samantha Steitz & Steve Aho) Ep. 085 - Everyone Can Improvise Through the Windowpane (Chee-Hwa Tan) A Child’s Garden of Verses (Chee-Hwa Tan) Free download: 12 Variations on Diversion 12 (Juan Cabeza) Create First! Duet (Forrest Kinney) Free download: 27 Easy Chord Progressions (Tim Topham) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together: 1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come. 2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics. 3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

When I was in grad school, I took an elective class on Improvisation. I remember shuffling into the 3rd-floor classroom that first day, pulling a blue chair into the semicircle like everyone else, unfolding the desk and preparing to take notes. Everyone was quiet. There was a palpable uncertainty among the group—all classical musicians by training. When had we ever been asked to improvise? No one wanted to be put on the spot. We started by talking about where to start with improvisation. “Improvisation is something we can all do,” our professor, Dr. Christopher Azzara began. “We’re born improvisers.” The challenge sometimes is trusting that creative process. Trusting that we have something interesting and musical to say. Improvisation is a skill like anything else; it can be learned and developed. Of course, there’s safety in writing it down, but learning the fundamentals of improvising and giving yourself time to experiment and practice this can be really fulfilling, especially in teaching. Today, I’m sharing a few simple ways to build improvisation into your teaching practice in meaningful ways, even if it’s new to you. You’ll learn what improvisation is and how to get started, how to find inspiration and musical ideas, and activities to do with your students in lessons. I’ll also share a few examples and recordings from my studio recently. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support! Developing Musicianship Through Improvisation, Book 1(Azzara & Grunow) A Systematic Introduction to Improvisation on the Pianoforte(Czerny) Piano Safari Repertoire Book 1 Ep. 066 - A Winter Improvisation Prompt for Elementary Piano Students Piano Safari Repertoire Book 2 Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style(William Gillock) “Chromatic Monochrome” in Moving Pictures (Naoko Ikeda) Ep. 021 - How to Use Praise With Intention Ep. 036 - Let’s Talk About Improvising If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together: 1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come. 2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics. 3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

Earlier this month, I hosted my 14th studio piano recital. There’s always so much that goes into planning and preparing for an event like this: Choosing repertoireBooking the venuePolishing memoryEmailing parentsPracticing “piano bows”Coordinating with the facilities manager and the piano tunerBorrowing percussion instruments from the music teacherScheduling duet and ensemble rehearsalsFinalizing and printing programsPlanning a reception We spend months learning the music and practicing performing. What happens if you play a wrong note or miss a key change? What happens if you forget the repeat or play the first ending twice? We discuss arm movement and phrase shapes, articulation, and projection, and how it feels and sounds different in the big theater vs. the classroom where we have our lessons. We listen and observe. Today, I’m sharing my own recap and reflection on this year’s recital—how it went, what I learned, what I observed, and how it’s shaping my teaching practice for the year ahead. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support! Ep. 070 - The 3-Month Recital Plan Ep. 064 - How I Plan a Year of Student Repertoire Circus Sonatinas (Chee-Hwa Tan) Through the Windowpane and A Child’s Garden of Verses(Chee-Hwa Tan) The Simpsons Theme Celebrated Lyrical Solos, Book 1 and Celebrated Virtuosic Solos, Book 5(Robert Vandall) Inspired Piano Teaching (Marvin Blickenstaff) Piano Safari Repertoire Level 2 “Criss Cross” (Florence Price) Musikal Husky Ep. 081 - Celebrating Women in Music: An Inside Look at Our Studio Informances Ep. 077 - A New Approach to Teaching Group Classes Ep. 071 - 3 Things I Learned From Hosting a Musical Informance If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together: 1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come. 2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics. 3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

It starts simply. Two blocked jazz chords with I-V in the bass. And then the vocalist comes in: “Twenty-four hours can go so fast. You look around, the day has passed…” This is Leonard Bernstein’s song “Some Other Time” with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, written for the 1944 musical, On the Town. It’s about three sailors on 24-hour leave in New York City who meet three women before leaving for war. Four characters perform this song (in the stage version), hoping to catch up some other time, but knowing they may never see each other again. I first heard this song a few weeks ago on Bill McGlaughlin’s weeknight radio show, Exploring Music. We’ve been listening to this show for over 16 years—we have it on while we cook and eat dinner. A few weeks ago, he did a series called “Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace).” Nestled in the middle of the Wednesday night program, he paired Bernstein’s “Some Other Time” with jazz pianist Bill Evans’ improvised solo piano recording, “Peace Piece.” I was captivated. I got up from the dinner table and went to the piano to find the two chords by ear, playing along gently with the recording. Today, I’m taking you behind the scenes of these two pieces of music—exploring how they’re made, what they have in common, and how hearing them played back to back inspired a listening and improvisation project in my intermediate-level studio class last month. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned “Some Other Time” (Bernstein) Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin “Peace Piece” (Bill Evans) The Profound Impact of Peace Piece – Bill Evans Time Remembered Documentary Film “Flamenco Sketches” (Miles Davis) “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” (Harry James) “Put on Your Sunday Clothes” (Wall-E) “It Only Takes a Moment” (Wall-E) Ep. 042 - What Does It Mean to Be a Teacher-Facilitator? Get a free 15-minute consult with me If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together: 1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come. 2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics. 3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

Some of you may not know this about me, but I’m a musician and an artist. I always loved art as a kid—from finger painting in my blue smock at my Little Tikes easel to coloring and tracing to the pastel class I took one summer. For a while, my answer to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was “An artist or illustrator.” Music was always there, too—singing and playing the piano, learning letter names as I learned the alphabet, and later, accompanying, teaching, performing, and arranging. At some point, I set art aside to focus on music. I still did craft projects from time to time, but I didn’t consider myself an artist. Then, during the pandemic, I found myself drawn to it again. In between online lessons, baking Jim Lahey’s No-Knead Bread, and reading through Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words, I watched online painting tutorials. I practiced mixing colors in an art app on my iPad. I ordered supplies and started painting tiny acrylic landscapes. Now, five years later, I have a dedicated art table in my home office. I have a somewhat regular artistic practice alongside my music work. I’ve found that painting is a different facet of my creativity, a new form of artistic expression. And I have to say, it makes me come alive—to embrace my creativity as a whole, to invest in multiple aspects of my creative self at once. And I’m not the only one. From Felix Mendelssohn to Arnold Schoenberg, Joni Mitchell to Miles Davis, many musicians have found painting to be another form of artistic expression that complements and informs their musical side. In this episode, I’m exploring what art is teaching me about music. Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, I hope this inspires you to think about all the different facets of your creative self—and how to embrace them in your work. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through some of these links. Songs Without Words (Mendelssohn) On the Spiritual in Art (1910) (Kandinsky) Pictures At an Exhibition (Mussorgsky) Clair de Lune (Debussy) “October,” Lyric Preludes (Gillock) Piano Mastery (1915) (Brower) “Waltz for Miles,” Portraits in Jazz (Capers) “Rainbow Colors,” Piano Safari Repertoire 2 (Hague) Prelude in C, Op. 11, No. 1 (Scriabin) My artistic process Daily Rituals: How Artists Work (Mason Currey) Join the Musician & Co. Book Club (it’s free!) On Developing a Daily Ritual: Insights From Mason Currey’s Book If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together: 1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come. 2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics. 3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

March is Women’s History Month and by extension, Women in Music Month—an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate women’s contributions to our field. As a teacher, I love finding ways to honor and celebrate things like this with my students. A few years ago, we did a studio-wide blues composition project (see Ep. 045) during the month of February, Black History Month. Then, there was the year I created a 4-week study unit for one of my high school students focused on women composers. In Ep. 057, I talked about the composers and scores we were planning to study and shared a resource list of elementary and intermediate piano music written by women composers that you can reference in your teaching. This year, we’re celebrating Women in Music Month with a series of musical informances. In this episode, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re preparing including how I’m structuring the events, how we’re highlighting women’s contributions to the field, expectations I have for my students, and ways we can include the audience in the process. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through some of these links. Ep. 045 - The Blues Composition Project Ep. 057 - Women in Music Month in the Studio The Oxford Handbook of Public Music Theory (2022), ed. J. Daniel Jenkins Ep. 071 - 3 Things I Learned from Hosting a Musical Informance Democracy and Education (1916/1997), John Dewey Musical Informance Planning Guide If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways we can work together: 1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we’ll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come. 2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics. 3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

When you think about practicing, what do you picture? Maybe you think about your instrument in the living room or your favorite practice room at school. Maybe you picture your studio with morning light streaking across the floor or in the evening with a few lamps casting a cozy glow.  Certainly, practicing happens in all of these spaces. But it can also happen at your desk, in the car, at the breakfast table, on a walk, in a carrel at the library, or in a classroom where no instrument is present.  How? Because practicing is more than the mechanics of playing an instrument. Practicing involves all the different components of musicianship—many of which can be practiced and developed away from your instrument. It all starts by thinking a little more creatively about what practicing can look like.  In this episode, you’ll learn about the importance of thinking in music plus 14 practical ways to practice away from your instrument (for students, teachers, and music professionals alike). For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through some of these links. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (Cal Newport) The Music Man (1962) Speaking the Piano: Reflections on Learning and Teaching (Susan Tomes) The Gordon Institute for Music Learning How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens (Benedict Carey) Ep. 023 - How to Practice Efficiently in 30 Minutes Or Less Ep. 039 - The Secrets of Interleaved Practice: What We Can Learn From Cognitive Science Ep. 60 - How Do We Approach Mistakes in Music Teaching & Learning? If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew

The Spring semester can be busy. With extra performances, we end up focusing more on performance skills—starting and finishing well, lifting hands back to our laps, how to practice performing at home, bowing, and memorization strategies. But as you know, there’s so much more that happens in a music lesson—so much more that we’re teaching and cultivating in our students. It’s not just about performance or mastery or checking things off. It’s about developing musicianship—developing musicians—and helping them develop the skills and creativity and confidence they need to continue making music throughout their lives. I made some notes about this in my teaching journal at the end of last year. As I was preparing for the first week of lessons last week, I recognized six things I’ve been focusing on and prioritizing in lessons recently that I want to make sure to carry into this new year. I hope this inspires you to reflect on what you’re prioritizing in lessons and to plan your lessons and classes with intention. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Ep. 068 - How to Plan a Musical Informance Ep. 069 - A Musical Informance to Celebrate the Solar Eclipse Ep. 071 - 3 Things I Learned From Hosting a Musical Informance Musical Informance Planning Guide: A Resource for Studio Teachers Piano Safari piano curriculum Hand Position at the Piano: 5 Foundations of Piano Technique, Part 1 (Kate Boyd) The Thumb in Piano Technique (Kate Boyd) How to Use Notability for Assignment Sheets in Your Studio Piano Safari, Repertoire Book 2 The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self (William Westney) Ep. 60 - How Do We Approach Mistakes in Music Teaching & Learning? Insights from William Westney’s “The Perfect Wrong Note” (Musician & Co. Book Club) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew

It’s the middle of December, which means you’re probably caught up in the rush of holiday performances, concerts, and recitals, studio classes, parties, and general busyness as we wrap up the year. Your to-do list is long, but the days are short, and you’re doing your best to stay on top of it all. But as busy as this time of year is, it can also be a time to pause and reflect. To embrace the quiet and stillness that comes with the first snowfall or sitting in the living room late at night or early in the morning by the light of the Christmas tree. As a teacher, December is a time to acknowledge everything you’ve created and accomplished this year—everything you’ve learned and all the ways you’ve changed and grown and evolved as a musician and educator. That’s what today’s episode is all about. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. The Gap and the Gain (Benjamin Hardy & Dan Sullivan) Join the Musician & Co. Book Club Ep. 071 - 3 Things I Learned from Hosting a Musical Informance Through the Windowpane (Chee-Hwa Tan) Ep. 077 - A New Approach to Teaching Group Classes Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (Carol Dweck) Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You (Ali Abdaal) Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle (Emily Nagoski & Amelia Nagoski) Mindfulness for People with Voice Disorders - Body Scan (Catherine Brown) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew

I have a love/hate relationship with studio classes. I love the idea of them, and I love being able to offer them to my students. But I’ve never found a structure or approach that works.  At the school where I teach, I’m limited to a classroom with a single piano, which means students have to take turns or do activities that don’t involve an instrument. In addition, having a group of 6-8 students in a room together for 45-60 minutes (again, with one instrument) was challenging. It’s difficult to keep everyone engaged and focused, give directions, facilitate meaningful learning activities, and assess each student individually. As an introverted teacher, it can feel a little chaotic and overwhelming. This year, I was committed to figuring this out. I decided to offer more classes than last year, limit the number of students in each group, and plan more level-specific musicianship activities. Today, I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes look at one of my studio classes from this month and as always, a few things I’m experimenting with this year. For show notes + a full transcript, click here. Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Teaching Piano in Groups (Christopher Fisher) Frances Clark Library for Piano Students The Music Tree, Part 1 Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style (William Gillock) Chord Inversion Worksheet (Chrissy Ricker) Preludes in Patterns (Kevin Olson) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >> Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew