All Keyed Up

Barbara Fast, Director of Piano Pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma and co-author of iPractice: Technology in the 21st Century Music Practice Room, offers guidance to teachers in working with their students on developing an efficient practice routine. Topics discussed include finding motivation to practice, practice journals, combatting a negativity bias, interleaved vs. blocked practice, and Hardest First Practice.

Tim Topham, internationally renowned music educator, piano teacher, writer, podcast host, and founder of TopMusic, discusses effective communication, both as a podcast host and as a piano teacher. Topics discussed include bringing out the best in others, being prepared while also staying present, building a brand, saying “um,” and vulnerability.

Clinton Pratt, owner of Piano Sensei, speaks about stress-free studio management. Topics discussed include the benefits of flat fee billing, invoices, group lessons, advertising, student acquisition, and student retention. Clinton offers many resources to help teachers manage their studios, available here.

Marvin Blickenstaff, world-renowned piano teacher, discusses his thoughts on some of the central aspects of piano pedagogy. Topics discussed include lesson planning, technical exercises, teaching rhythms, identifying notes through landmark reading and interval recognition, score study, emotional expression, and the lifelong project of continually improving as a piano teacher.

Shelly Davis, host of the Piano Parent Podcast, speaks about effective communication with piano parents. Topics mentioned include in-person versus written correspondence, parents sitting in on lessons, using parents as allies to encourage a productive practice schedule, and the show Supernanny! Shelly has created a page dedicated to "All Keyed Up" which outlines some of the episodes and resources discussed in the interview.

Selena Pistoresi, founder of Notable Music Teaching, discusses her work in helping piano teachers work with students with special needs. Topics mentioned include the DSM-V, creating a sensory friendly environment, stimming, the limitations of overuse of aural teaching, teaching technique to students with motor difficulties, and presuming competence.

Marcantonio Barone speaks about the importance of Bach’s music in his studio. Topics discussed include preparatory work leading up to the first Bach piece, developing hand independence, working with students on articulation choices and motivic analysis, teaching music history, and playing Bach with musicality.

Eleonor Bindman speaks about Bach's output and her easy piano arrangements and transcriptions of his works.

Ashley Frith speaks about her work as a composer and Director of Racial Equity and Belonging at Community MusicWorks. Topics mentioned include the connection between her compositions and her social justice activism, color blindness, stereotyping, approaches to scholarship and outreach, selecting repertoire, and the challenge of true self-reflection.

In this episode, Darryl Harper, jazz musician and Associate Professor of Music at Amherst College, speaks about his scholarship on improvisation. He discusses improvisation through many lenses, including history, culture, education, and neuroscience.