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Nicola Cantan
Practical and proven tips, ideas and advice for private music teachers. Listen in to improve your instrumental or vocal music studio business and find that oh-so-elusive feeling of balance in your life.
Welcome to The Vibrant Music Teaching Podcast! This is the show for you if you’re an instrumental or vocal music teacher that wants friendly, creative and accessible advice.
I’m your host Nicola Cantan. My membership site, Vibrant Music Teaching, helps teachers all over the world to include more games and creativity in their lessons, so that their students giggle their way through music theory and make faster progress. I also run a popular blog, Colourful Keys, where we write about creative ideas and teaching strategies and an interview show, Teaching Studio Stories.
Every Monday I provide bite-sized bursts of inspiration and ideas for instrumental and vocal music teachers. The episodes are usually between 10 and 20 minutes – the perfect length of time to put away some of the music books scattered all over your studio and hide the rest of them in the piano bench.
Listen to a few episodes and hit the subscribe button. When you come across an episode you love, make sure to tell your teacher-friends they can get it for free in any audio app that supports podcasts.
https://vibrantmusicteaching.com
https://colourfulkeys.ie
https://instagram.com/colourfulkeys
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vibrantmusicstudioteachers
Top Findings from the 2020 Vibrant Music Teaching Industry Report
Want to know what the average music studio teacher makes? Or what exactly they're teaching? Find out in the Vibrant Music Teaching Industry Report.
41:4714/12/2020
Five Questions to Ask Yourself at Least Once a Year
Reflecting on the past year is an important part of getting ready for a new one. Tune in to find out my top 5 questions that I believe all teachers should be asking themselves right now.
21:3907/12/2020
Getting Strategic About How You Teach Reading
This conversation is an excerpt from one of my member Strategy Sessions. In this call, a member and I worked to uncover the issue behind her students’ reading fluency.
I hope you’ll enjoy listening and that it will help you problem-solve for your own students.
18:4430/11/2020
Lead Sheet Basics: Where to Find Them and How to Use Them
Lead sheets are a vital tool for teaching other concepts and skills. But where do you find them? And once you do, how should you use them?
18:2223/11/2020
How to Teach Pop Music to Piano Students
What approaches really work when it comes to teaching pop music to piano students? And where do we find great pop music arrangements, anyhow?
We’ll dive into all that and more in this episode.
23:0816/11/2020
Why You Should Teach Pop Music in Your Studio
Do you teach pop music to your piano students? Why or why not?
In this episode, I’ll explore the reasons I believe we should be teaching pop music in our studios so you can see if it’s right for you.
18:4409/11/2020
How to make your data TALK
Are you collecting and analysing data in your studio? If not, you might be missing out on the important information that numbers can give you.
In this episode, we’ll talk about the data you should collect in your studio and how to put it to work for you.
26:2302/11/2020
Teaching Beginner Reading in Online Piano Lessons
Have you been struggling with the idea of teaching the beginner stages of music reading online? I’m here to help!
I found the idea of introducing the staff to my students through online lessons pretty overwhelming in the beginning but I’ve found what works and I’m happy to be sharing it with you on the show today.
22:4826/10/2020
Teaching Rote Pieces in Online Piano Lessons
Teaching rote or pattern pieces to piano students online has its own unique challenges. How do we make sure students remember these pieces? How do we demonstrate clearly and check their position on the piano through video calls?
I’ll cover all this and more in this episode.
26:3619/10/2020
Teaching Technique in Online Piano Lessons
Teaching technique in online piano lessons requires some rethinking and creative ideas to make it work. In this episode, I’ll go through my top tips for teaching technique effectively to online piano students.
23:1712/10/2020
Backup Plans for Online Music Teachers
There’s one thing stressing many teachers out when it comes to online music lessons...what about when it all goes wrong?! What do we do when the internet drops out or the student has an off-day?
In this episode, we’ll discuss strategies for dealing with all the technology frustrations and how to put a back-up plan in place for your online music lessons.
23:0505/10/2020
Teaching Strategies for Online Music Teaching
What teaching strategies work for online music teachers?
In this episode, we’ll unpack the adjustments most teachers need to make when teaching online music lessons. We’ll also discuss some great ideas for learning from your online lessons and improving your teaching across the board.
29:2728/09/2020
How to Make Your Online Music Lessons FUN
Are your online lessons feeling a bit stale? Are you wondering if there’s a better way to engage with your students over video call?
In this episode, I’ll help you figure out how to inject some fun into your online teaching with games, surprises and teaching tricks.
20:1921/09/2020
Planning and Systems for Online Music Lessons
Do you have good systems in place for your online lessons? Are you happy with how you take notes, plan or send assignment sheets to students?
We’ll look at the best planning methods in this episode so you can upgrade your systems and make your lessons run as smoothly as olive oil.
19:4014/09/2020
Tools and Software for Teaching Piano Online
You can absolutely get started with teaching piano online simply. All you need is your computer and something to run the video call.
When you’re ready to level-up, though, there are a few things you can do to make things run more smoothly and provide a fantastic experience for your students. We’ll dive into a few great options in this episode.
34:1807/09/2020
The Best Equipment for Online Piano Lessons
When it comes to your online teaching kit a few upgrades can make a huge difference. But it can be SO confusing!
In this episode, I’ll break down all the microphone and camera jargon so that you can get to the bottom of what will work for you in your music studio.
33:1931/08/2020
Suggestions for Safe and Socially-Distant Piano Studios
Are you trying to figure out what your music teaching studio will look like this year? Whether you’ve decided to teach online or in-person, or have no idea what you’re going to do yet, I hope that these suggestions for safe and socially-distant piano studios will be helpful for you during the Covid-19 pandemic.
34:1224/08/2020
How to Get Ready for a New School Year
Are you ready for a new year of teaching? There are several things you can do to get your head and your systems set up for a new school year.
In this episode, we’ll look at setting up your calendar and timetable, finding the balance in the busy seasons, and making sure your new students get off to the best possible start in your studio.
24:2024/08/2020
Vibrant Music Studio 101 – Purposeful
Have you ever felt like you and a student were just meandering through lessons? Everything was going sort of ok...but where was it going, exactly? In this show, I want to talk to you about what it means to be a purposeful teacher and how planning can help you achieve more and be more satisfied by your work.
11:1517/08/2020
Vibrant Music Studio 101 – Relevant
Choosing repertoire that feels relevant and that our students love sounds like it would be an obvious priority for us as teachers. But, sometimes, we can get so caught up in the weeds of teaching that we forget about the music. Take a step back with me and check in to see if your studio meets this foundational criteria.
11:4010/08/2020
Vibrant Music Studio 101 – Open
The primary goal of my studio and how I structure my curricula is all about opening doors for my students. I want them to have excellent technique and reading skills, yes, but I also want them to know about improvisation, lead sheets, composing and all genres of music so that they have a wide variety of musical paths to choose from.
15:5903/08/2020
Vibrant Music Studio 101 – Fun
Being a fun music teaching studio means a lot more than just having a smile on your face or playing games every once in a while. It can also mean your students learn faster and more thoroughly. Find out how in this episode.
12:4427/07/2020
Vibrant Music Studio 101 – Cool
Would your students describe you as “cool”? We’re diving into what it means to be a cool teacher and why your relationships with your students are so important to their progress in this episode.
14:5220/07/2020
Vibrant Music Studio 101 – Professional
Being perceived as a professional is an important part of having the respect and attention of your students and their parents. Find out the three foundational factors that can make your business more professional in this episode.
15:2113/07/2020
Vibrant Music Studio 101 – Welcoming
Have you thought about the experience of a new student and their parents in your studio? Do you think they would feel welcomed and validated in their decision to join right from the get-go? We’ll explore strategies to make sure they do in this episode.
16:4306/07/2020
Vibrant Music Studio 101 – Profitable
If your music teaching studio is a business – and it is – then one of your primary goals should be to make a profit. To do that, you need to plan for it and put procedures in place that make your income predictable.
16:5629/06/2020
Vibrant Music Studio 101 – Consistent
This episode is part of the Vibrant Music Studio 101 which will take you through 10 foundational building blocks for all great music teaching studios. Consistency is the name of the game this week. Is your studio consistent? Do you have policies and procedures and do you actually stick to them?
13:3722/06/2020
Vibrant Music Studio 101 – Deliberate
This episode is part of the Vibrant Music Studio 101 which will take you through 10 foundational building blocks for all great music teaching studios. In this first episode, we’re focussing on being deliberate with our businesses and taking them (and ourselves!) seriously.
10:5515/06/2020
Teacher Lessons Learned in the Past Year
This special episode celebrates our 100th episode in style by sharing some of the lessons listeners have learned over the past year. I hope you’ll tune in as we take a look at what lifelong learning means to these music teachers.
21:1408/06/2020
Listen. No Really, Listen. No, REALLY Listen.
Listening skills are vital to becoming a great musician, and yet, many teachers never find time for developing them in lessons. Learn about active listening and an idea for working on it with students in this episode.
11:2301/06/2020
Prevent Summer Stress with a Studio Budget
Have you made a budget for your music studio? This is an important factor if you want to manage your income better and be able to take time off without stressing in the summer.
Take a listen to learn how to set up a simple budget for your studio.
11:2025/05/2020
5 Ways to Decompress in 5 Minutes
We all get stressed or overwhelmed from time-to-time so it’s important to have strategies to decompress and relax quickly. Try out these ideas at the end of your next teaching day and let me know how you get on!
14:3618/05/2020
How to Show You’re on Their Side
Developing a great relationship with your music students is vital to ensuring they follow your directions (both in the studio and at home) and have a great lesson experience that makes them stick with it long-term. Learn how to develop rapport with students of all ages in this episode.
18:4211/05/2020
Good, and Again. Good, and Again.
Are you overusing praise in your music studio? Could you be providing feedback in a more neutral way instead? On this episode of the podcast, we’ll talk about how to find the balance between feedback and praise and where a neutral tone might be more useful.
11:5104/05/2020
The Patience of Understanding and Understanding Patience
Teachers do not need patience when they have true understanding and are involved in the learning process. Find out what patience can teach us and our students in this episode.
16:0027/04/2020
Studio Review 2019 and Plans for 2020
It’s important to take stock and reflect once in a while so that your studio doesn’t take on a character you didn’t design. Find out what changes I’m making to my studio for next year and how I’m implementing them in this episode.
30:0320/04/2020
Strictness vs. Authority
How do you maintain control of a lesson without becoming a strict and unpleasant teacher? For me, it’s all about understanding the difference between strictness and authority. The former is unnecessary, the latter is essential.
16:1613/04/2020
I Bought a New Toy – How Should I Use It?
What’s the right approach to using technology and gadgets in your studio? Find out how you could be thinking about using iPads and other tech toys backwards and what a better approach is for music studios.
14:0606/04/2020
An Argument for Alternating Exam Years
Do most of your students do exams as standard every year? I want to question that. Let’s think about what exams are good for and what they’re not good for and come to a more balanced view of where they should sit in our studios.
20:5830/03/2020
How to Make Private Lesson Games Less Lame
Let’s face it, playing a game with an adult is not as fun as playing with another kid your age...but that doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable and beneficial. Get my top tricks for making games work in private music lessons in this episode.
11:1723/03/2020
BONUS EPISODE – A quick COVID-I9 update
In this extra episode, we'll talk about how you can stay calm with everything that's going on and how to get help and support if you need it.
09:4917/03/2020
3 Ways to Invent Time in Your Music Lessons
Do you feel like you never have enough lesson time for all the things you want to do? It’s definitely challenging to stretch those minutes to everything we need to cover but in this episode, I’ll give you some strategies to help you make the most of them.
19:0816/03/2020
Building (Friendly) Boundaries
How do you build boundaries in your business when you work from home? And when your students fill your brain every hour of every day? In this episode, we’ll try to get to the root of that question.
17:1309/03/2020
A Recital Mantra for This Headless Season
Recitals take a lot of work, but they don’t have to be overwhelming. In this episode, I’ll give you a mantra and a checklist, so you feel less stressed and scattered this recital season. We got this!
24:0002/03/2020
I Just Want Him to Have Fun
Do prospective piano parents ever tell you they just want their kid to “have fun”? Or that they don’t want him to be a concert pianist?
I know why it gets on some teachers’ nerves. But in this episode, I want to unpack what they’re really saying there and how we can help them see things differently.
10:2124/02/2020
Who is Your Studio Website For?
Do you have a studio website? Have you ever considered exactly who it’s for?
Thinking about the purpose your music studio website is serving can make it so much more effective. In this episode, I’ll help you figure it out and put some best practices in place.
19:3317/02/2020
Feel the Beat in Your Feet
Do you do any dancing in your music lessons? This is a fantastic way to get students to understand different time signatures, feel the metre, and also just shake off some of the mid-lesson wiggles!
11:3710/02/2020
One of my Least Favourite Words
What does it mean to be “talented”? Let’s think about our word choices and how to develop more grit and hard work in our students instead of reliance on natural abilities.
08:5603/02/2020
The Nothing Tasks
Do you think about how you spend your time? When you run your own business, every minute matters.
Join me as we discuss the different types of work we all do and how you can make more time for the important tasks on your to-do list.
12:1327/01/2020
I Don’t Teach Kids That Don’t Practice
Do you have students that don’t practice? Do you find it frustrating? In this show, I want to unpack the practice problem and why it requires some further investigation before dismissing these students.
20:1120/01/2020