Randall Faber

Music Alive!

Using the science of neural pathways as a metaphor for human connection, let’s examine how traditional models of teaching provide the best framework for the new and the novel.

Samantha Coates

Making Pedalling Easy From The Start

Good pedalling requires coordination, balance, and above all, good listening. Samantha will demonstrate her fool-proof way of teaching students of any age how to pedal successfully, and will showcase suitable exercises and pieces for developing pedalling techniques.

Every Good Boy Deserves… Flashcards

The beauty of the flashcard is that it can be used to teach so much MORE than naming and reading notes. In this session Samantha will show how to use flashcards to teach listening, improvising and composing, and will also demonstrate why mnemonics are counterproductive. You won’t look at a set of flashcards the same way again!

Angela Turner

Developing the “hearing eye”, “seeing ear” and “mind’s ear”

In this session, Angela will discuss and demonstrate practical activities for ear training, keyboard musicianship, musical memory and audiation.

“A problem well stated is a problem half solved” – developing purposeful practice strategies & techniques

Do you often have to remind your students that mindlessly playing through pieces is not efficient practicing? Angela will offer some practical suggestions on how teachers can help provide a scaffold for practice, so that students can develop their own understanding of the process. This presentation will discuss the key ingredients for quality practice, also drawing upon the research of leading cognitive psychologists.

Kathryn Raats

“Elevate your Business with Bespoke Branding” 

Is branding really that important as a piano teacher? The short answer is YES! 
Branding underpins every single decision we make in our businesses, and it’s through authentic branding that your studio will soar.
In this session, I’ll show you how to find your unique studio voice which will transform how you conduct and grow your business moving forward.

Carly McDonald

“How Young Is Too Young?”

Here’s what to expect when you’re expecting…..a preschool student!
Have you ever wondered how young is too young to start a piano student? Welcome to the world of possibilities for different ages and stages and resources I use in my studio!

Paul Myatt

Wake Up with Whole Body Learning

Many of our students have after school lessons. After a day at school concentrating, how do we engage our students’ brains for another 30-60 mins? In this session, you’ll find out why movement is the key to learning anything, especially music. Whole Body Learning is an approach to instrumental teaching based on the philosophies of Orff-Schulwerk, Kodály & Dalcroze which incorporates listening, singing, movement, playing, reading and creating or improvising and can be used with any repertoire (tutor book, song, exam piece).

Dr Anita Collins (Bigger Better Brains) research has shown that when the following eleven elements are combined in learning music it represents, “best practice” for optimal cognitive development.

Whole Body Learning is an ideal teaching strategy for all students as it embraces the key music learning factors for cognitive development. 

11 Elements for Optimal Cognitive Development in Music Learning:

Learning an instrument
Incorporates Singing
Uses Movement
Teaches Reading
Is taught in a Lesson
That the lessons are weekly
Encourages students to commence lessons before the ages of 7
Recommends trained teachers (ie. not from YouTube)
Student participates in ensemble experiences or playing with backing tracks
Encourages Performance opportunities
Encourages learning for a minimum of 2-3 years

When teaching using a Whole Body Learning approach, most of the learning happens in the lesson. WBL is so brain-friendly and efficient that even if students don’t practice during the week, they tend to remember what has happened because learning has been embodied through singing and moving, and students seem to get by with less practice than students learning using a traditional approach.

Whole Body Learning strategies for teaching music are not new. Combining and bringing them together in a pedagogically sound, educational pathway for instrumental and piano teaching is unique

Join one of the creators of the Whole Body Learning approach, Paul Myatt for an action-packed session that will definitely keep you awake after lunch.

How to grow your Reading Tree.

To be able to confidently read, students need to integrate all 26 parts of the Reading Tree. These include knowledge and senses. Learn why the foundation of reading is actually beat and how to develop an excellent sense of beat and rhythm so that reading is improved. Whilst reading is one of the greatest challenges in learning piano, once skills are developed through understanding the Reading Tree, students will be far more engaged in reading.

You’ll receive a copy of the Reading Tree which will help you explain to parents why reading is complicated and how a multi-sensory approach to learning which includes a range of activities will improve and develop reading skills.

Julian Morgan-Smith

6000 parts, 230 strings, 18 tonnes of tension – an insight into the tool of our trade: the piano.

Social worker, counsellor, baby-sitter, accountant, mentor, bookkeeper, repertoire expert, scheduling expert – these are just a few of the many “hats” a piano teacher wears in today’s teaching landscape.

To add to this list, piano teachers are now increasingly required to be specialists in the tools (or in this case, the tool) of their trade: the piano. Our instrument hasn’t changed much in the past 150 years, but developments in manufacturing technologies and sound production (among others!) continue to drive forward the ways we interact with the music that we make and the creative tools we use.

As an education and facilitator of piano education, it is important to understand how the technical aspects of acoustic pianos can affect the playability, usability and lifespan of the instrument. In this session, presented by Yamaha’s Head Piano Technician, Julian Morgan-Smith, we’ll explore the complexity of the piano’s mechanism, easy ways to assess its quality and ways we can offer solutions to our students.