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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
How to help a student who struggles with rhythm
Have you ever had a student who just cannot seem to get the rhythm right in any of their pieces? Join me for today’s podcast and I’ll talk you through some strategies to help these struggling students.
12:0204/02/2019
Rhythm systems – which one is best?
Confused by all the different rhythm systems out there? Ta, ti, du and 1 2 3 4? Let me talk you through them in this episode so you can get them straight and figure out what might be best for your students.
17:3628/01/2019
5 Ways to use solfa singing in your music lessons
So you’re on board with using solfa in your private music teaching studio...but how? All of the resources seem to be designed for classroom teachers!In this episode, I’ll share 5 simple exercises to get you going with solfa with minimal nervousness or planning on your part.
17:1921/01/2019
An introduction to Kodály and solfa
Are you a bit confused by Kodály and solfa? Can’t tell movable do from fixed do or Curwen hand signs from Kodály rhythm syllables?Tune in to this episode for a simple run-down on solfa and how you might use elements of Kodály methods in your studio.
18:3614/01/2019
Recharging your music teacher batteries
Teachers are so giving, and they can sometimes be guilty of not taking time for themselves. Get my tips for disconnecting and recharging in this episode.
12:4817/12/2018
Goal setting with students
Goal setting is an important part of studying a music instrument. I believe goals should be set not just by the teacher, but by the student and teacher collaboratively too. Take a listen to find out how.
14:1710/12/2018
INTERVIEW - Practising Practice with Graham Fitch
In this fantastic interview with Graham Fitch (first recorded in February 2018) we talked about practice strategies, and managing practice expectations with adult students.
31:3810/12/2018
Your Biggest Teaching Frustration and How to Overcome it
What’s your biggest frustration as a music teacher? That’s a question I ask all readers of the Colourful Keys blog and in this episode I want to help you with the most common one.
12:5506/12/2018
Wow touches for your next recital
What takes a recital from alright to totally WOW? It’s the little things. Get inspiration and ideas for how to make your next recital sparkle in this episode.
17:2926/11/2018
Planning your recital & coordinating
There’s so much to do when prepping for a recital. What are the essentials that need to go on your checklist? And when does each thing need to be done?! I’ll talk you through it all in this episode.
17:3019/11/2018
Reframing Your Makeup Lesson Mindset
Do you reschedule your music lessons or offer makeup lessons? I’m here to convince you that you need to rethink that. Join me for this podcast episode and reframe your makeup lesson mindset for good.
20:5112/11/2018
3 emails you should send all new piano parents
The first few months with a new student are vital for establishing the right relationships and practice routines. So what are the most important touch-points? What emails should we send and when?
19:1905/11/2018
Group teaching and overlapping lessons case study with Lynnette Barney
There are so many ways to structure your lessons, it doesn’t have to be just 30 minutes one-on-one. Lynnette has tried quite a few of the possibilities and I’m delighted to have her on the show today to talk about innovative and interesting lesson formats.
01:02:4430/10/2018
How to Make Your Marketing STAND OUT
You don’t want to be just another studio claiming lessons for “all ages and levels”. You don’t want to be thought of as just nice. Find your unique awesomeness in this episode. Make your marketing different, stand out and get noticed!
16:3529/10/2018
Marketing for music teachers...the how and the when
Whether you have a bunch of open spots or just need to add to your studio’s waiting list, you always need to be marketing your studio in some way. In this episode, I’ll talk you through the most common marketing methods for music teachers and which I have found to be most effective.
21:1622/10/2018
How to reveal the magic of scales & chords with circle of fifths improv
The circle of fifths is a very useful tool to bring all of the key signatures together and reveal their relationships to each other. But how can we help students to understand this? How can we allow them to feel the magic? That’s where improvising your way around the circle of fifths can be so useful. Find out how today.
15:5615/10/2018
Vibrant Music Teacher Questions and Answers
In this episode, I’ll answer some great questions from members about improvisation, finger dexterity, concerts and note reading struggles.
26:4714/10/2018
How to use monthly themes in your studio
Using monthly themes in your studio can give you the clarity you need to really move your students’ learning forward in particular areas. Find out in this episode how this could work for you and get some ideas for monthly themes you could use.
21:1101/10/2018
3 Stages of Gamifying Piano Scales
Do your students think scales are fun? I promise you they can, it just takes a little know-how and some imagination on your part. But it’s so worth it!
33:3729/09/2018
How to teach keyboard geography to newbie piano students
Teaching keyboard geography is something that is often neglected by piano teachers, but do your students really know the piano keys? Could they find the correct key quickly and easily or do they work from C every time? Learn my tips for teaching this core skill thoroughly in this episode.
16:4324/09/2018
Finding and filling the transfer student gaps
Transfer students are tricky because what they know so far won’t necessarily align with what we would have taught them. In this episode I’ll share strategies to catch them up, fill in the gaps and have success with your transfer students.
21:1517/09/2018
What to Do in Your First Lesson with a Transfer Student
Transfer students can be tricky. We don’t know what they learned with their previous music teacher, never mind what they retained. Find out what you should do in the first lesson with a transfer student in this episode.
20:3003/09/2018
How to Include More Improvisation and Improve Your Communication
As private music teachers, it’s SO easy to feel overwhelmed. There are so many ideas that we could be trying, and so much to do in a day...what should we prioritise? How can we feel good about what we’re achieving?
38:5830/08/2018
Taking Action Against Music Teacher Overwhelm
As private music teachers, it’s SO easy to feel overwhelmed. There are so many ideas that we could be trying, and so much to do in a day...what should we prioritise? How can we feel good about what we’re achieving?
18:0527/08/2018
Lesson plans that make sense for music teachers
What types of lesson plans actually work for music teachers? How can we plan out our lessons but still be flexible? Find out how to plan your lessons and fit more into the same amount of time on this episode.
17:2320/08/2018
Keeping Parents in the Loop All Year Long
It’s so important to keep expectations and goals aligned so that parents are happy in our studio, sign up again next year, and their children have a great musical experience. What can we do to make sure parents are on the same page as us?
14:5112/08/2018
Practice, Practice, Practice...the ins and outs of forming a practice habit
Next to make-up lessons, practice motivation is one of the top answers when you ask teachers what they’re struggling with. So how can we motivate our students to practise? What can we do when they just won’t? And how do we make practice more efficient and bring in strategies that our students will actually follow through on at home?
17:1006/08/2018
How to Get Ready (Really Ready!) for a New Teaching Term
Are you ready for a new year of teaching? Follow along with my step-by-step process for putting everything in place and making sure that you don’t feel overwhelmed or stressed with everything we need to do at this time of year in our music teaching studios.
18:0604/08/2018
What to expect from the Vibrant Music Teaching Podcast
Take a listen to this introductory episode to find out why I'm starting this podcast and what to expect.
04:5504/08/2018