Great teaching doesn’t just happen—it’s intentionally nurtured, modeled, and passed on. In this episode, I’m joined by Megan Desmarais, who shares how she balances running a large, thriving piano studio with mentoring college pedagogy students through hands-on teaching experience. Megan talks about her group/private hybrid model, how she customizes lessons for every student, and why she’s passionate about teaching all ages, from toddlers to seniors. We also dig into how she uses tools like Easy Notes and the Learning Style Inventory to create engaging, multi-sensory lessons. Whether you're a new or seasoned teacher, Megan’s approach to creative, modern pedagogy will spark fresh ideas for your own studio.

Guest Links Mentioned

Today’s Guest

Megan Desmarais is your Piano Teacher North Star. In addition to running a successful piano studio for students ages 1-75, she is also committed to mentoring the next generation of piano teachers through modern, creative piano pedagogy. As a teacher of both students and teachers, she has a knack for finding innovative approaches to piano lessons. She strives to make every lesson a special, one-of-a-kind learning experience for students and equips other teachers with tools, techniques and ideas to do the same.

Megan runs verypiano.com and teachpreschoolmusic.com, which are online resource hubs for music teachers. Her Very Piano Shop is full of digital and physical teaching tools, including E-Z Notes products, Piano Progress Pins and other resources. She studied piano at the University of Tulsa and earned a Masters in Piano Pedagogy from Wichita State University. She has extensive training and experience with Preschool Music and Recreational Music Making.

About Rachel Ehring

Dr. Rachel Ehring is a pianist, teacher, music administrator, and lover of piano teaching gadgets. She holds a DMA in Collaborative Piano from the University of Colorado Boulder and a MM in Accompanying from the University of Kansas. She currently serves as Director at St. John’s Conservatory of the Arts in Orange County, CA. Previously, she held positions at Concordia University Irvine and Henderson State University. Rachel is passionate about empowering music teachers to create engaging and exciting lessons for students of all ages. When she isn’t playing the piano, you might find Rachel reading books with her son or walking her beagle Frieda.

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