Creative Piano Pedagogy

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In this second episode on dyslexia with Dr. Olivia Colomaio, we explore how dyslexia shows up in piano study and share tools that replace quick fixes with sound-first learning and real transfer. Practical strategies, honest self-assessment, and effort-based awards help students grow skills and confidence without gimmicks. If you’ve wondered how to support dyslexic pianists with compassion and precision, this conversation gives you a map you can use today!

Don’t forget to share this with a teacher friend that you think might enjoy it! 

Check out The Dyslexic Advantage recommended by Dr. Olivia

📚The Spring session of the Piano Teachers Book Club starts soon- Join us!

Don't miss the new freebies and teaching resources on the CPP shop or Etsy

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You can find all of our favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
[email protected]
As an Amazon Affiliate, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through our links. Thank you for helping support the podcast! 

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In part 1 of the conversation with Dr. Olivia Colomaio, we dive into what dyslexia actually is, why it’s often misunderstood, and how those myths affect piano teaching and our students. Olivia shares research, lived experience, and practical ways teachers can adapt without waiting for a diagnosis, while we urge more empathy for families navigating dyslexia and neurodiversity.

We also talk openly about why parents may not disclose diagnoses, the emotional journey of seeking answers, and how music teachers can approach families with respect, curiosity, and care. Most importantly, we offer practical, compassionate strategies you can use right away with your own students.

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--> And don't miss out on the new teaching resources [and freebies] on the online store!

📚 The spring session of the Piano Teachers Book Club starts soon- Join the waitlist!

Questions about piano teaching? Feel free to contact us:
Dr. Olivia- [email protected]
Dr. Elizabeth- [email protected]

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Support the show

Subscribe to our email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Love the show? Buy us a coffee and support the podcast.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
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Follow on YouTube

You can find all of our favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
[email protected]
As an Amazon Affiliate, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through our links. Thank you for helping support the podcast! 

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We share eight concrete (but easy) changes that made teaching calmer, more creative, and more student-centered in 2025, from consolidating schedules to story-driven composition. Along the way, we explore deeper questioning, smarter research habits, and small rituals that fuel focus and joy.

If you’re ready to teach with more intention and less noise, this conversation offers concrete steps and tools you can try this week. Subscribe, leave a review if this helped you, and share the episode with a colleague who could use a calmer, more creative start to their teaching year.

✨ You can also watch the podcast on YouTube!

Support the show

Subscribe to our email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Love the show? Buy us a coffee and support the podcast.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube

You can find all of our favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
[email protected]
As an Amazon Affiliate, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through our links. Thank you for helping support the podcast! 

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Teaching doesn’t require superhero energy; it requires humane rhythms, clear anchors, and courage to pivot. We sit down to unpack the real weight of lesson planning during a busy season, how we manage exhaustion without guilt, and why lowering the pressure can raise the music. From the “sacred 45” minutes that protect our focus to the 15-minute pauses that keep us present, we share small rituals that sustain big care.

We also tackle neurodivergent-friendly strategies with honesty and warmth. When plans flop, we don’t panic—we adapt.  Along the way, we invite your questions for a crowd-sourced Q&A in January and share details about our upcoming teacher chat on Zoom.

If you’re craving practical ideas for piano pedagogy, neurodiversity-aware teaching, and low-stress recital planning, you’ll feel right at home here. Press play, save your favorite tips, and tell us what you’ll try next. If this conversation helped, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review so more teachers can find it.

Support the show

Subscribe to our email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Love the show? Buy us a coffee and support the podcast.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube

You can find all of our favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
[email protected]
As an Amazon Affiliate, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through our links. Thank you for helping support the podcast! 

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What if the most powerful teaching shift is letting go of how the lesson “should” go? We unpack four hard-earned insights from years of teaching gifted and neurodivergent piano students—ideas that lower stress, boost engagement, and bring the joy back to the bench.

If you teach music, special education, or any special learner, these stories and strategies will help you teach with calm, clarity, and heart. Listen, try one idea this week, and tell us what changed. If the conversation helped, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review on Spotify or Apple to help others find the show!

Support the show

Subscribe to our email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Love the show? Buy us a coffee and support the podcast.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube

You can find all of our favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
[email protected]
As an Amazon Affiliate, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through our links. Thank you for helping support the podcast! 

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The holidays can be magical—and completely overwhelming. Between school concerts, studio plans, nonstop decorations, and family expectations, our students’ senses get flooded and their routines get disrupted. We talk frankly about what actually helps neurodivergent learners during this season and how we, as teachers, can be the steady, calm center when everything else speeds up.

If you’re craving a simple, humane approach to the holidays, this conversation gives you the scripts, structures, and small tips that make a big difference. Subscribe, share with a teacher friend who needs a calmer December, and leave a review to tell us which strategy you’ll try first!

Subscribe to the new blog!

Looking for some new holiday fidgets, no-prep activities or Elizabeth's students' favorite Scratch Ornaments? Check them out here!

Check out our favorite Christmas/holiday repertoire (including the music mentioned in today's episode)

Support the show

Subscribe to our email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Love the show? Buy us a coffee and support the podcast.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube

You can find all of our favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
[email protected]
As an Amazon Affiliate, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through our links. Thank you for helping support the podcast! 

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Big shifts are brewing at Creative Piano Pedagogy, and we’re inviting you behind the scenes! After five years of building resources solo, we’re leveling up into a true partnership that pairs big-picture creativity with sharp systems and operations. That means better courses, clearer communications, and a brand-new website designed to make it easier to find the tools you need to teach with confidence. Expect offerings that blend evidence-based strategies with simple, practical steps you can use in lessons right away.

To keep things human, we also loosen up with rapid-fire questions: what we listen to when we’re not teaching, the coffee orders that fuel us, and the composers we love to play but hesitate to teach. 

If you’re a piano teacher looking for inspired ideas grounded in solid research, you’ll feel at home here. Tap play, meet the team, and help shape what comes next by sharing your studio challenges and wish list. Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a colleague who’s ready for fresh energy in their teaching.

Links:

Check out the new Etsy shop!

Jingle Bells- Elizabeth's favorite 4-hand arrangement by Robert Vandall (or get the single sheet music here)

Browse our favorite Christmas ensemble collections

Check out our favorite Christmas solo music (beginner-advanced)

Listen to Tara's first episode on the podcast

We are partners with Amazon's Affiliate Program to earn a small commission from purchases made through our links at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the podcast and mission of CPP!

Support the show

Subscribe to our email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Love the show? Buy us a coffee and support the podcast.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube

You can find all of our favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
[email protected]
As an Amazon Affiliate, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through our links. Thank you for helping support the podcast! 

Send us Fan Mail

This episode challenges the myth that teachers need a diagnosis to teach well and offers practical ways to create a welcoming intake, read the learner in real time, and build trust with parents who value privacy. We share scripts, strategies, and a mindset shift: see the student, not the label.

• privacy and dignity as non‑negotiables
• welcoming intake that centers the learner
• improvisation and co‑composition as assessment
• lowering parent defenses with empathy
• labels as hypotheses, not prescriptions
• repertoire choice as motivation and access
• language that invites, not interrogates
• challenge to adapt teaching before seeking labels

Please tap the review button on Apple and leave a quick note about what you enjoyed or which episode was your favorite so Apple, Buzzsprout and Spotify will recommend the podcast to others! 

Support the show

Subscribe to our email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Love the show? Buy us a coffee and support the podcast.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube

You can find all of our favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
[email protected]
As an Amazon Affiliate, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through our links. Thank you for helping support the podcast! 

Send us Fan Mail

What if the “wiggles” are actually your student’s brain doing its best work? Elizabeth opens up about being diagnosed with ADHD at age three and the unexpected way piano became her first tool for focus, self-regulation, and joy. From caffeinated laps at a recital hall to discovering that busy hands can calm a busy mind, this story threads personal insight into practical strategies any teacher can use.

The episode leans into creative problem solving. Through it all runs one idea: teach the student in front of you, not the stereotype. When we design for a busy mind and busy body, we uncover a musician who thrives on challenge and learns fast.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a teacher friend, and leave a quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts—it helps others find these conversations and supports more inclusive, effective music teaching!

Support the show

Subscribe to our email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Love the show? Buy us a coffee and support the podcast.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube

You can find all of our favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
[email protected]
As an Amazon Affiliate, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through our links. Thank you for helping support the podcast! 

Send us Fan Mail

What does autism really look like in the piano studio? Autism Spectrum Disorder exists on a continuum as varied as the individuals who experience it. We explore why nonverbal doesn't mean unable to understand, why avoiding eye contact doesn't signal disinterest in social connection, and why differences in neurological processing aren't deficits but simply different pathways to learning. 

This episode dismantles common misconceptions that limit our expectations and teaching approaches. Through real-life examples and touching student stories, you'll gain practical insights into creating more inclusive and effective piano lessons.

Links

Interested in learning more about the best approaches for teaching neurodivergent learners? Take advantage of the 50% sale on Adaptive Piano Pedagogy 101! Use code FLASH50 at checkout.

Check out Dr. Scott Price's book, Autism and Piano Study

Blog posts on Autism Spectrum Disorder + piano teaching

Need some fidget toys for your neurodivergent students? Here are Elizabeth's favorites! {affiliate link}

Support the show

Subscribe to our email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Love the show? Buy us a coffee and support the podcast.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube

You can find all of our favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
[email protected]
As an Amazon Affiliate, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through our links. Thank you for helping support the podcast!