My 3 Keys to a Successful Piano Lesson

[@keys6]

I find defined structure shapes my lessons very well. I have fortnightly lessons. Each lesson has progressive scales/arpeggios OR sight reading and a piece. These alternate for each lesson whilst I do at home inbetween. Repetoire pieces are played alternate weeks. The week in between, I do daily sight reading and scales, work on specific parts of the piece learning in the piano. Technique is covered in every lesson. At home I play my repetoire pieces as often as possible during the week as well as recording to hear strengths and struggles!!! The little pieces (quick) I learn weekly. As an adult this is easy to do but I see the vid relates to teaching children so more guidance is neccessary.

[@annaanna5921]

I am a new teacher, and it is very encouraging to hear that I can't fit everything in one lesson. I like the idea, so I'll try it out. Thank you very much! Really appreciate your insight.

[@annaanna5921]

@@topmusicco thank you! My piano learning experience was extremely different. I went to a music school where piano, theory, ear training, ensemble playing all in separate lessons, 45 min each. For this reason, I was clueless and stressed about a different system. I could not understand how you guys do everything in one lesson! Thanks again. Very helpful.

[@tinacollins2678]

Fantastic Tim. Wow a breath of fresh air. I am an Aussie trained through the AMEB, now living in NZ. Thankyou

[@hanatomsova]

I am from Czech Republic (Europa) and I have just started teaching on-line piano lessons because od the Covid 19. Normaly I teach face to face at music school. This idea is so perfect to refresh teaching and finding new ways how to be better teacher fór my pupils. Thank You very much.

[@topmusicco]

Thanks hana!

[@irenebrewda-perry1163]

Really appreciate all your tips. Thanks a lot I will visit your website .

[@topmusicco]

Pleasure

[@carolkatz3420]

Carolmae Excellent ideas re. Technique, Repertoire, and Creative Thank you!!

[@topmusicco]

Thank you so much!

[@MissCraig]

Every student is different so it's good to customize the learning to their learning ability. I teach all ages. I taught a 5 year old and he learned better by singing his songs and having a microphone as if he is performing. Also, I always leave time for free improv or a fun piano learning game at the end of the session as a reward if he worked well that day. I had to keep things quick with him because he would become bored staying on one things too long.

[@topmusicco]

Spot on S.L. Gotta build lessons to suit each and every student :)

[@patrickwells4014]

Wonderful. It is great to teach creative skills in learning music as well as learning songs and pieces during the lesson . Right on!!! You must be some great teacher.

[@andrewfrancisjames]

Love your work Tim. Brilliant idea with infographic "choose your own adventure", i.e. choose your own lesson plan. Looking forward to hearing more in the future

[@tonih3433]

Yes please, chords drills! Thank you for this awesome video!

[@angiedawn4579]

Thank you for this! It has shown me that I dip in and out of all of these but am not really planning enough I’m a strong improviser but I’m aware I under use this skill in teaching.

[@topmusicco]

welcome Angie

[@jeremybasualdo4483]

super helpful as a new teacher

[@topmusicco]

Welcome to the profession!

[@MotifMusicStudios]

Great reminders here and love that aspect of building on success and taking the time needed!

[@MotifMusicStudios]

Love that 'something creative' aspect. Lovely.

[@anncott]

Thank-you. One of the best videos on teaching music that I have seen! Your ideas and your presentation - both great! I really like that you are encouraging the teacher and the student to analyze, classify, and to think about their learning - guess that is called metacognition.

[@topmusicco]

Thanks Ann!

[@MrLleal]

Great ideas! And I also appreciate very much the overall atmospherere of the video: sharing without saying "I am the master, and my method is the "panacea". Thanks a lot!

[@marshaschlangen4977]

I am an "Inner Circle" member. Yay! I really needed to hear this today. Great reminder, so I thank you Tim.

[@lindapoelzer6090]

Hey Tim. This has been great. Basically the creative side at the keyboard is where I am expanding this year.

[@jadelee1417]

Thanks for the tips and tricks💕 can’t wait to put them into practice, this James kid is inspiring me

[@annahd94]

Love this! Also, as a student they will love seeing that there are fun activities to look forward to and that boring parts have an end 😂

[@MarchGoldCoast]

Thank you Tim, indeed very helpful, how to strike the right balance by tuning into the individual's needs, lifestyle and personality.

[@alexporterfield4307]

Excellent Thank you

[@jomusak]

This is a great help to me!! I've been teaching 17 years and I've used all these strategies but never had proper structure on all these ideas... Thanks very much Tim.

[@annettevocalcoach859]

love the simplicity, love the icons on the laminate. Great ideas Tim, thanks for sharing.UK

[@donnaharris3014]

Great idea, very useful. Thanks for this. I have felt like I need to cover everything, but this helps as I will still be providing a balanced lesson. 😊

[@drivesaferidesafe1]

Thanks fo rthis, I am teaching my granddaughter and as a rusty piano player its great to get the new ideas!

[@topmusicco]

Welcome 🤗

[@yolandewilliams8067]

Hi Tim, loved your perspective on a piano lesson. Always nice to get fresh ideas and I look forward to using some in the future. Thanks for sharing.

[@rachelbartlett9783]

ありがとう Arigatou Thanks 🙏💐

[@lynetteperthwa.7774]

Just come across this Tim - as always, fantastic information! I have often felt that overwhelm - how do I fit everything in! Thanks Tim - fantastic idea and resource. Lynette (WA)

[@gstoltz578]

Hi Tim, thanks so much for this! One of the things I love most about teaching is all of the different personalities and learning styles I get to work with. But that also does make my job challenging to find what is best for each student. Thanks for all of the good ideas!

[@TheGreekPianist]

Thank you so much for these insightful and helpful videos Tim! I’m Jonathan, I’m 26, and I just got a wonderful job as a piano teacher at a children’s after school program. The pay is excellent and I want to do everything I can to be the best teacher possible! Most of the students I teach are between the ages 5-15 and a lot of them are on a beginner level. I want to do everything I can to make sure they learn while making it fun and engaging! Your videos are really helping me garner knowledge as a new piano instructor! Thanks so much man! 😁🎹🎶

[@topmusicco]

Awww thanks Jonathan. And congratulations on your role. How’s it been going since you left this message? If you’d like more in-depth help, do check out our TopMusicPro membership for too 👍

[@janj9650]

I was that student haha. If I never perfected any pieces then I just felt like I wasn’t “good” at piano and then would be discouraged and always wanting to quit. I made it to level 9 tho and completed my intermediate theory but have stopped playing recently…I’d love to get back into it and eventually teach part time. I feel so grateful to know how to read music and would love to pass that along.

[@topmusicco]

Do it!!

[@pmcampbell53]

I'm just beginning to teach beginner piano lessons. I just have one young girl but her mother has to bring her from 30 miles away and mother quit working because school is out. So she is short of money. So I'm working on getting more students. I have taken lessons for years.

[@topmusicco]

Hey Paula. Nice to hear from you. We’ve got lots more resources for finding students in TopMusicPro and a new one coming out very soon.

[@nitinkate3013]

Thanks for your videos. So much to learn, Pls upload a video for drills. It will help alot. Will appreciate, thanks!

[@krhkrahk44]

Thank you so much for this video. I have been trying to come up with ways lately to switch up my lesson plans so it is not so repetitive. This will be a great handout to follow and use every week for me. As far as the improv/ composing I never really got a great background in how to teach or do this myself. How can I go about doing this for my students? I love hearing what they have been playing and composing on their own at home so I would love to expand my knowledge and figure out how to incorporate this better into my teaching. It is also so great to hear that I can't fit everything in every week! I feel like I am always going a couple minutes over in my lessons because I run out of time. This will definitely help focus me and keep my lessons on track.

[@topmusicco]

Hi Kayla. Thanks for your comments - glad it’s given you some new ideas :) as far as getting more creative, that’s what we’re all about helping teachers with inside our membership at TopMusicPro.com. Have you considered joining us? We’ve got so many resources to help you get started 👍 let’s do it!!

[@keyboarddancers7751]

Pure gold!

[@ho9506]

what age could I start teaching and what grade should I be on? I’m only grade 5 but it’s my dream to teach and I love kids

[@topmusicco]

I say ‘go for it’ - check out our membership as we can help you get set up with our success path. How old are u? We’ve had teachers start with beginners when they were as young as 15-16. Age isn’t such an issue as your passion and teaching skills 👍

[@nean261]

Thanks Tim. Good information, as always.

[@acccesspianostudio1292]

Love this! So helpful

[@bernadetteserbin8271]

Thank you. I'm having trouble finding the download for the 3 Keys page you previewed. Could you please send me the link to download it. Thank you

[@topmusicco]

Hi Bernadette. Head to topmusic.co/3keys 👍

[@nollyrox]

I have also tried to squeeze too many different aspects in half-hour lessons. Just too much too cover apart from the basic necessities

[@Yuliana_lisova]

Thank you for another amazing video! And, YES, please, I would love to know how do you teach chord drills in technique section.

[@raincat6]

Love this video and approach, thank you! I've been teaching for 18 months now, and when I began, every single one of my pupils was a beginner, mostly under the age of 8. I have a few who are dedicated and practise regularly, who are making great progress, but the majority don't practise, and I'm feeling pretty flat about how to inspire and motivate them😬. I'd love to try out your ideas, but feel a lot of the children don't have enough of a repertoire to get really stuck in. For example several of them still can't read any music, and lots are still very shaky about finding and naming notes on the keyboard. Do you have any tips for this scenario? I've tried games, flash cards, repetition, practise sheets... Help!!!! Thank you 👍

[@timtopham2384]

Hi Raincat - We all have students who don't practice so don't worry about it too much. It comes with the territory and is something that every teacher faces, including me. If your kids don't have as much repertoire, that's exactly when I'd be using non-reading creative activities on the side. You can find out more about my beginner approach here: timtopham.com/beginners and grab some improv activities that you can use straight away. If you mix up the creative/improv/composing/games with the reading of pieces, you should have a good mix. Hope that helps. PS note reading is HARD :) For some kids it takes a long time. Just keep at it. Lots of games/apps/etc as you're doing plus the reading of lots of short easy pieces and their skills will build.

[@nitinkate3013]

Cannot find this chart anywhere, pls guide. Thanks!

[@surfballroom2461]

Hi! I am a new piano teacher and I actually have a couple of my first students next week. The funny thing is that the age difference between my students is about 50 years! I have a 6 year old and a 60 year old. I know it sounds kind of odd, but I am wondering how differently structured the beginner lessons should be for such different age groups. It may be odd teaching an older student concepts like the groups of 2 and 3 black keys, or ear training, as it may be very obvious to them. Also wondering if it is likely to introduce sight reading and music theory concepts to older beginners a bit quicker than younger? I love this concept of the 3 Keys to a successful lesson, it really helps structure the lesson with room for flexibility but also a overall structure that is beneficial to the student. A similar question would be does this teaching style work for young students (age 6 and under). I was working on developing lesson plans with 3-5 minute activities for that age group to hold their attention. Thanks for the videos!! They are really helpful.

[@Pianooguitaar]

Thanks for your videos! I didn’t understand very good the “lead sheet playing” is it just giving 4 chords and kind of improvise? Or it is like putting an existing song and play along the chords? Great guide! Thanks again

[@topmusicco]

Lead sheet is playing a known piece/song using the guitar chords above the music. We’ve got a full course on it in our membership if it’s of interest.

[@ChristopherJoelThomspon]

Great Story! Greetings from California, USA. Love your videos. I'm a new teacher, and your videos have been HUGE! Question: How do you assess if a student is motivated like your student was? You said, you thought you were doing all the right things...are there keys or "flags" that you look for in a student that lets you know that a student is being overwhelmed, or they really want to focus on a song?

[@mindyscherr8417]

Is this structure for a 30-, 45- or 60-minute lesson Tim?

[@topmusicco]

You can do it for any lesson length but mainly works for 30 and 45

[@Seedknee829]

hi Tim, I just wanna ask for the one week piece, do you mean giving an easy piece for the student to take back home and then they learn it themselves and play for the teacher next week (i.e. next lesson)? thanks!!

[@topmusicco]

Exactly. It’s great to have a mix of levels of challenge for students

[@steveharwood2214]

MMMM Interesting !

[@manoranjanbiswas4993]

9

[@JJtech-id1ip]

Hello 👋

[@topmusicco]

Hello 👋

[@colleeneakins3294]

Yeah i had him and i lost him because i didn't catch it in time.

[@djmaxcinepro169]

Hi

[@djmaxcinepro169]

I am starting a new carrier today which leads to what you do can you send me more tips to be successful

[@topmusicco]

Lots more on my website topmusic.co 👍

[@cutthacheckmusic6558]

A lot of talking does not intrigue the students

[@topmusicco]

Agreed - sorry this didn't hit the mark for you.