Piano Parent Podcast: helping teachers, parents, and students get the most of their piano lessons.

"Practice only on days that end in Y."

It's playful, it's catchy, and it makes you laugh at first. But when we dig deeper, this phrase offers a profound truth about growth, mastery, and commitment. It’s a reminder that the journey to excellence doesn’t happen just on the days we feel motivated, or only when things are convenient.

It happens every day.

Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/361

Join the practice challenge at www.PIANOVEMBER.com

On the podcast, we've talked about what to do when you have to miss a lesson but we've never talked about how to respond when your teacher needs to take an extended absence.

Using my family's circumstance from this past year, here are ten ways my students responded when I had to take a two-week break during the semester.

Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/360

Crystal Boyack is a leader in early childhood violin pedagogy and the best selling author of Wee Violin: Music for Young Violinists Preparatory to Twinkle.

She currently teaches at the University of New Mexico’s Lab School and runs a private studio teaching Suzuki Violin and Music Together in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

She loves spending her time gardening, doing yoga, and spending time with her husband and four young children.

On today's show, Crystal shares some of the joys and frustrations of parenting four musical children.

Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/359

Crystal Boyack is a leader in early childhood violin pedagogy and the best selling author of Wee Violin: Music for Young Violinists Preparatory to Twinkle.

She currently teaches at the University of New Mexico’s Lab School and runs a private studio teaching Suzuki Violin and Music Together in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

She loves spending her time gardening, doing yoga, and spending time with her husband and four young children.

Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/358

Mr. Fred Rogers was born on March 20, 1928. This encore presentation is in honor of his 96th birthday, with gratitude for his life, well lived.

What an example and inspiration for us all!

Learn more at www.PianoParentpodcast.com/143.

What's your best deflection technique? Sometimes I'll answer a question with another question to avoid giving an uncomfortable answer.

What's your piano kid's best deflection technique? Do they try to memorize all their music to avoid sight reading? Do they blame the metronome when they aren't able to play along with it?

Learn some common "artful dodges" in today's teacher chat with Becki Laurent and Clinton Pratt.

Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/357

Do you ever feel like you're living the same piano lesson week after week? Listen to today's show to learn some reasons why music is re-assigned at the lesson and how you can help your piano kid keep moving forward.

Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/356

24 hours each day, 7 days every week.

We all have 168 hours each week. If we're not careful, those hours will get filled with other people's agendas. Now is the time to take inventory of your schedule and make time for the things that are important to you.

Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/355

In the style of Mike Rowe’s podcast “The Way I Heard It” and Paul Harvey’s radio show “The Rest of the Story”, this episode of the Piano Parent Podcast brings you the backstory of a musician or song or a moment in music history. I use these musical mysteries to tell you something you might not know about someone or something that is somewhat familiar.

In this case, I will tell you the story of a young author who never wrote the great American novel but still managed to go “Down in History”. 

Find the original episode at www.PianoParentPodcast.com.266

In today's episode, author and international teacher of piano teachers, Tim Topham shares his approach to music learning in his new book, "No Book Beginners". Rather than stifling your piano kid's enthusiasm for piano by slowing down music-making with foreign terminology and symbols and expecting them to learn to read music before they expore the interesting sounds the piano can create, Tim's book offers a different approach.

Get your piano kid creating music and exploring sounds right from the first lesson!

Learn more at www.PianoParentPodcast.com/354.