TopMusic Piano Podcast

Free printable from this episode: topmusic.co/piano138 Technique can get stale fast when you’re reaching for the same analogy week after week. Today, I’m sharing 10 practical tools for teaching beginner piano technique, from objects like bouncy balls and squishy ladybugs to simple posture cues like riding a horse. I pull some of these from Irina Gorin’s recent TopMusi Pro Spotlight Session, some from my own studio, and a few from unexpected places, like a baseball-loving student and a personal trainer. My hope is you walk away with at least one new idea to try in your very next lesson. Rachel shared holding a pencil loosely to feel a rounded hand shape, an idea from Irina Gorin. The horse-riding posture cue helps students sit tall and relaxed before playing a note. Why imagining a puppet string pulling from the head encourages good posture. Small bouncy balls give tiny hands a tactile sense of a rounded hand shape. The importance of staying patient with technique instead of rushing to the next song. Squishy ladybugs let students rest their hand in a relaxed, neutral position. Soft butterfly finger puppets help students feel light, floating movement at the keys. Technique practice can happen off the bench, through arm weight and shoulder relaxation. She encouraged teachers to keep rotating fresh analogies instead of relying on the same few. Links Mentioned Find out more about Spotlight Session here. 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. Visit her website at RachelEhring.com Visit her Instagram page: @rachelehring Visit her YouTube channel: @dreamlavendermusic6694 Visit her Etsy shop at Dream Lavender Music Thank you for tuning in! Consider implementing the ideas from this podcast by writing several actionable steps for your teaching practice if it’s inspired you. If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, which helps other teachers find our show. Stay updated by subscribing to this show, and get automatic delivery to your device every time a new episode goes live! We publish on Fridays weekly. TopMusicPro 14-Day Free Trial Heard about TopMusicPro Membership? As a valued podcast listener, I’d like to offer you a special chance to try our community free for 14 days. You can access a treasure trove of teaching resources, professional development courses, and creative lesson ideas. Click the link below to access your exclusive 14-day free trial for our Studio Membership. TOPMUSICPRO MEMBERSHIP 14-DAY FREE TRIAL

How a student learns to think in music, not just read it, shapes everything that follows in their playing. In this episode, I’m chatting with Anne Katherine Davis, an online piano teacher based in Mexico who built her teaching around Edwin Gordon’s Music Learning Theory. We talk about audiation, the foundation of this research-based approach, how it shows up in lessons from toddlers to teens, and how Anne found her way into this method without formal certification. She also shares where curious teachers can start exploring it for themselves. Anne shared how she moved to Mexico in 2019, then went fully online in 2020. How Music Learning Theory shifts teaching from fixing mistakes to understanding each student. Why audiation, the ability to think in music, is the theory’s foundation. She described how toddlers can identify tonic, dominant, and subdominant through play. Anne recalled being an improviser whose childhood teachers discouraged her own musical ideas. Her first student was her younger sister, who later earned a piano performance degree, too. How she discovered the theory through Edwin Gordon’s book at the University of Missouri. Marilyn Lowe built Music Moves for Piano directly from Gordon’s research. Anne described keyboard games as the informal, movement-based entry point for young kids. The value of movement in bridging the gap between language and musical thought. She called “Keyboard Games” Marilyn Lowe’s magnum opus, useful for any age. Why she trained informally through years of conversations with Marilyn Lowe herself. Anne runs a Zoom read-aloud series to help teachers learn the theory for free. She recommended the Gordon Institute’s skill learning sequence as a next step. Anne encouraged teachers to explore the free previews on the method’s website. Links Mentioned Anne's Instagram page:@akdpiano Music Moves for Piano The Gordon Institute for Music Learning The Rote Repertoire Project Facebook Group Today’s Guest Anne Katherine Davis is a pianist and pedagogue living in Central Mexico, offering online instruction to students and colleagues around the world. She focuses on research-based learning applying the work of Dr. Edwin E. Gordon. Ms. Davis holds a B.M. in Piano Performance from the University of Missouri, an M.M. in Piano Performance and a G.P.D. from The Boston Conservatory. 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. Visit her website at RachelEhring.com Visit her Instagram page: @rachelehring Visit her YouTube channel: @dreamlavendermusic6694 Visit her Etsy shop at Dream Lavender Music Thank you for tuning in! Consider implementing the ideas from this podcast by writing several actionable steps for your teaching practice if it’s inspired you. If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, which helps other teachers find our show. Stay updated by subscribing to this show, and get automatic delivery to your device every time a new episode goes live! We publish on Fridays weekly. TopMusicPro 14-Day Free Trial Heard about TopMusicPro Membership? As a valued podcast listener, I’d like to offer you a special chance to try our community free for 14 days. You can access a treasure trove of teaching resources, professional development courses, and creative lesson ideas. Click the link below to access your exclusive 14-day free trial for our Studio Membership. TOPMUSICPRO MEMBERSHIP 14-DAY FREE TRIAL

Turning a creative idea into a real product takes far more than a great design. In this episode, we're chatting with Claire Rehmke, founder of Musically Minted, a small business creating fun, musically accurate products for music teachers. We go behind the scenes of designing, manufacturing, and launching products, from her early lessons learned to her current best sellers. Claire also shares practical advice for teachers who want to create their own physical or digital products. Claire shared how virtual teaching in 2020 sparked Musically Minted. How a sticker-only start grew into apparel and accessories. She left classroom teaching in 2023 to go full time. Why Pantone colors matter when ordering manufactured products. The challenge of long sample timelines and 100-piece minimums. Some products, like sublimated items and pressed apparel, are made in-house. Best sellers include the birthday sticker roll and musical moment notepad. This year's holiday launch features Nutcracker and winter wonderland themes. Her digital shop offers worksheets, classroom decor, and rhythm resources. She learned Procreate entirely from TikTok tutorials. The importance of staying organized as a business grows. A teacher's story about feeling seen captures her mission. Why a brand-new product can take about a year to develop. The value of planning every detail of a physical product first. Links Mentioned Claire's Website:www.musicallyminted.com Instagram:@musicallyminted Today’s Guest Claire Rehmke is a music educator, artist, and founder of Musically Minted, a small business creating fun, musically accurate products for music teachers. She started Musically Minted in 2020 while virtually teaching elementary music from her apartment in Washington State, after realizing she couldn’t find the cute, music-teacher-specific products she wanted to wear and use herself. Before taking Musically Minted full time in 2023, Claire taught K–6 general music, multiple elementary choirs, and a 4th grade marimba ensemble. She studied Music Education at Pacific Lutheran University, earned her master’s in Music Education from Kent State University, and completed all three levels of Orff Certification through Portland Orff. Today, Claire still hand-draws every Musically Minted design and runs the business from her home alongside her husband, Daniel, and a small team made up largely of fellow music educators. Giving back to the music education community is a big part of her mission, whether that’s supporting music education organizations, helping teachers access professional development, or purchasing supplies from classroom wish lists. Above all, Claire wants music teachers to feel seen, supported, and celebrated. 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. Visit her website at RachelEhring.com Visit her Instagram page: @rachelehring Visit her YouTube channel: @dreamlavendermusic6694 Visit her Etsy shop at Dream Lavender Music Thank you for tuning in! Consider implementing the ideas from this podcast by writing several actionable steps for your teaching practice if it’s inspired you. If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, which helps other teachers find our show. Stay updated by subscribing to this show, and get automatic delivery to your device every time a new episode goes live! We publish on Fridays weekly. TopMusicPro 14-Day Free Trial Heard about TopMusicPro Membership? As a valued podcast listener, I’d like to offer you a special chance to try our community free for 14 days. You can access a treasure trove of teaching resources, professional development courses, and creative lesson ideas. Click the link below to access your exclusive 14-day free trial for our Studio Membership. TOPMUSICPRO MEMBERSHIP 14-DAY FREE TRIAL

The right method book can shape a student's entire first year at the piano. Today, I'm chatting with Phoenix Vera, known as The Tattooed Piano Teacher on YouTube. We compare popular beginner methods, from Piano Adventures and Piano Safari to Piano Pronto and Wonder Keys. Phoenix also shares how she chooses books for new students and a creative way to bring beginner technique to life. Phoenix shared why she mixes method books instead of following one series. Why Piano Adventures remains a balanced, moderately paced framework. The value of choosing a go-to book for each beginner age group. She tries a different method each lesson before settling on a final set. How Alfred's Premier moves faster than Piano Adventures with a classical lean. Why she prefers Alfred's Premier over the older Alfred Basic series. She described Piano Safari's rote pieces and pattern-based reading. The importance of teacher training when adopting Piano Safari. How Piano Pronto teaches through familiar tunes, best for ages 10 and up. WunderKeys hooks kids with comics but needs theory and technique supplements. Why she favors mixing books over all-in-one methods. The approach behind Chord First, which pairs lead sheets with traditional pedagogy. Chord First began as a simple printable and grew into three books. The value of teaching technique through imagery, like a left-hand cello. She outlined which older beginner method fits which type of student. Links Mentioned Find out more about the Spotlight Session here. The Tattooed Piano Teacher YouTube Channel The Tattooed Piano Teacher Shop Piano Skill Set Method Books Facebook page:Phoenix Vera (The Tattooed Piano Teacher) Instagram page:@thetattooedpianoteacher Today’s Guest Phoenix Vera is a pianist, composer, and piano teacher with more than 20 years of experience teaching students of all ages and levels. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and has run her own private piano studio for over a decade, developing creative approaches to theory, composition, and beginning piano instruction. Known as The Tattooed Piano Teacher on YouTube, Phoenix shares teaching ideas, piano method book reviews, and creative resources for piano teachers. She also composes original piano music and is the author of the Piano Skill Set series, which teaches skills through fun activities, and Chord First, a lead-sheet-based method for teens and adults. 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. Visit her website at RachelEhring.com Visit her Instagram page: @rachelehring Visit her YouTube channel: @dreamlavendermusic6694 Visit her Etsy shop at Dream Lavender Music Thank you for tuning in! Consider implementing the ideas from this podcast by writing several actionable steps for your teaching practice if it’s inspired you. If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, which helps other teachers find our show. Stay updated by subscribing to this show, and get automatic delivery to your device every time a new episode goes live! We publish on Fridays weekly. TopMusicPro 14-Day Free Trial Heard about TopMusicPro Membership? As a valued podcast listener, I’d like to offer you a special chance to try our community free for 14 days. You can access a treasure trove of teaching resources, professional development courses, and creative lesson ideas. Click the link below to access your exclusive 14-day free trial for our Studio Membership. TOPMUSICPRO MEMBERSHIP 14-DAY FREE TRIAL

A single bad memory from a recital can shape how a student feels about performing for years. Today, I'm chatting with Elizabeth Zajac, a Utah piano teacher known for her elaborate recital themes and hand-painted pianos. We talk about the recital that changed her whole approach, how she restores and repairs the old pianos she paints, and the creative touches that make her recitals memorable for the right reasons. Elizabeth also shares how she helps hesitant students ease back into performing at their own pace. Elizabeth shared how a post-COVID recital changed her whole approach to performances. How her painted piano idea started small, with solid colors, before going rainbow. The rainbow recital had students dress in color for rainbow-themed pieces. Why she buys cheap, used pianos from Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. She keeps the paint job a surprise from the piano's original owner. The value of swapping damaged ivory keys for new plastic tops. Why she lets each recital piano settle on-site for a few days first. The importance of offering low-pressure mini recitals for hesitant students. The value of asking fun interview questions, printed in the program, for each performer. Elizabeth encouraged teachers to keep recitals fun and pressure-free. Links Mentioned Elizabeth's Instagram page:@summit.music.co Find out more about the Spotlight Session here. Today’s Guest Elizabeth Zajac is an Utah piano teacher and the director of Summit Music Company. She studied piano and orchestral directing at BYU-Idaho and has spent the past 15 years teaching music both privately and with bands and orchestras throughout Utah. She currently serves as President-Elect of the Timpanogos chapter of the Utah Music Teachers Association and is passionate about creating positive, memorable performance opportunities for her students. Her studio is especially known for its elaborate recital themes and painted pianos. Elizabeth is also a wife and mother of six children, ages 10 to 2, and shares her creative studio projects and painted pianos on Instagram at @summit.music.co. 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. Visit her website at RachelEhring.com Visit her Instagram page: @rachelehring Visit her YouTube channel: @dreamlavendermusic6694 Visit her Etsy shop at Dream Lavender Music Thank you for tuning in! Consider implementing the ideas from this podcast by writing several actionable steps for your teaching practice if it’s inspired you. If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, which helps other teachers find our show. Stay updated by subscribing to this show, and get automatic delivery to your device every time a new episode goes live! We publish on Fridays weekly. TopMusicPro 14-Day Free Trial Heard about TopMusicPro Membership? As a valued podcast listener, I’d like to offer you a special chance to try our community free for 14 days. You can access a treasure trove of teaching resources, professional development courses, and creative lesson ideas. Click the link below to access your exclusive 14-day free trial for our Studio Membership. TOPMUSICPRO MEMBERSHIP 14-DAY FREE TRIAL