132: Piano Ninjas, Dog Music, Memberships, and More with Lisa Spector

Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs in a career come from the moments we never planned for. Today, I'm chatting with Lisa Spector, a Juilliard-trained pianist whose career has taken her from concert stages to composing calming music for anxious dogs to building a global membership for adult pianists. We talk about her journey from over-practicer to practice strategist, the hand injury that changed how she thinks about music, and what she's learned about building a membership from scratch. Lisa also shares some surprisingly simple tips for helping nervous students perform with more confidence. Lisa shared how her mother's piano playing first drew her to the keys. How Earl Wild's minimal-movement technique shaped her practice tricks. Lisa admitted spending years as a classic over-practicer at Juilliard. Why most practice struggles come from undoing bad habits, not building new ones. She described the Piano Ninja Tricks system, running from mindset to technique. How her Quick Reflex Motion technique trains direct movement instead of wide arcs. How a 2017 hand injury led doctors to tell her she'd never play again. Lisa shared how left-hand-only music reshaped her view of where music comes from. How a calming puppy at her music school launched her dog music company. Why steady, slow, predictable music calms dogs' nervous systems. Lisa noted that over 70% of dogs experience some form of anxiety. The importance of finding your teaching niche before building a membership. She recommended a "messy" launch to start a membership before content exists. Links Mentioned Lisa's website:lisaspector.com Lisa's Instagram page:@lisaspectorpiano Lisa's YouTube channel:www.youtube.com/@LisaSpector Lisa's free resources for podcast listeners here:lisaspector.com/topmusic Today’s Guest Lisa Spector is a Juilliard alum who once performed two concerts for 18,000 people each in China, where she also had (and needed) a bodyguard. In 2017, an accident shattered her right hand. Multiple surgeries followed. When she was told by a medical professional that she'd never play piano again, she started learning music for left hand only. It changed how she thinks about music. Turns out it doesn't come from the hands. It comes from the heart. Today she performs concerts with one and two hands. In 2021, Lisa founded the Piano Ninja Tricksters Club, a global membership where she helps advanced adult pianists learn twice as much in half the time. She's spoken at Juilliard's Entrepreneurship Symposium, delivered the keynote at Stanford's Women in Entrepreneurship Summit and presented on music memberships at the 2025 Music Teachers National Association Virtual Conference. She's also the first classical pianist to top the Billboard Classical charts... with music written for anxious dogs. 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