As many teachers are considering what it may look like to run their studio (temporarily) online, one topic that may be necessary and quite urgent is making the move to online payments.
If you’re still taking checks from parents and worried about making the switch, rest assured, while it may take a little leg work setting everyone up, your future self won’t regret it.
Taking online payments will save you time manually depositing checks, but the payment portal I want to share with you today will save you money compared to 90% of the other online payment services.
(P.S. That number was arbitrary. Basically, the fees are cheaper than anything else I’ve found out there.)
Coinhop has been my payment portal of choice for several years now. I hope the reasons why I love it will help you as you’re considering online payment options for your studio.
How can this video series help make your life easier over the coming weeks?
The videos have been leveled into four sets based on the rough/general order in which concepts are introduced in most piano methods.
You can quickly and easily access videos that help reinforce new concepts your students may be learning. Here are a few examples of videos in each set:
Set 1
Key names and the music alphabet
How to draw the treble and bass clef
Landmark notes
Set 2
Skips alphabet on the staff
Sharps, flats, and naturals
How to build major and minor triads
Set 3
AB and ABA Form
Chord inversions
Circle of fifths
Set 4
Scale degree names
Augmented intervals
Double sharps and flats
Before, during, or after your online lesson, grab the link and text or email it to students/parents. (If you use a program such as Tonara, simply attach a link to the video in a theory lesson assignment. Easy!)
Should these videos replace a lesson? No!
Are they an easy and fun way to provide additional e-learning to your students? Yes!
Here’s a screenshot showing a few videos that are included in the series:
Tracking Sheet
If you’re interested in having a way to keep track of what videos you’ve assigned to each student, find the 3-page guide that accompanies this series in the Shop or add it to your shopping cart now.
P.S. All music labs are studio licenses, so you can print it as much as you need for your students.
Related Resources
If you’re interested in more resources like this, there are four more video series available you can access through the Menu > Resources.
Several of these – including the music theory videos mentioned in today’s post – can be used as part of an off-bench lab time at your studio or given as assignments online utilizing a digital assignment tool.
To incentivize or not to incentivize. That is the question.
(Or maybe you’re simply wondering at the moment whether or not “incentivize” is actually a word? It is, by the way. 🙂 )
Do you struggle with implementing an incentive program?
Is it because you’re torn between the philosophy of extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation, or is it because it’s a struggle to be consistent in implementing something? (Or maybe a little of both?)
While plenty of research supports both sides of this age-old question of extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation, today I’ll be sharing my journey with (and support of) implementing incentives. Specifically:
Why I struggled for years with implementing incentive programs.
Four things I found an incentive program (and I) needed for long-term success.
How others in the field helped inspire and develop my own philosophy regarding extrinsic rewards along the way.
How short-term rewards can turn into long-term joy, including a specific example from my studio.
In a later post, I’ll describe the incentive program I’ve been using successfully for several years and provide a list of popular prize box items.
Being known as an organized person means I frequently get asked what some of my favorite tools and resources I use on a day-to-day basis. If you’ve been around Piano Pantry long enough, you already know my #1 is by far Evernote.
When we talk about “tools,” though, we use daily a wide gamut whether it’s for organizing music, social media, our schedule, resources, etc. Today, I want to highlight four digital tools that help me stay organized that in 2020, I would now find it very hard to live without.
Evernote. The easiest way to describe Evernote is that it’s a digital filing cabinet where you can save multiple types of content formats in one location: documents, URL links, clips from YouTube, selections from internet pages, PDF files, and more. Highly useful for both our teaching and personal lives!
Feedly. Using an RSS Reader is, in my opinion, the only way to properly manage content in today’s world. An RSS Reader is like a personalized digital newspaper. You tell it the website you want to follow and it will stream all the newsfeeds into one location so you can keep up on new content in one place.
Grammarly. My English teacher and writing sidekick. With Grammarly Premium, you not only get the basic critical grammar and spell-check errors, but you also get instant feedback on over 400 advanced grammar rules. Microsoft Word spell-check can’t even touch the capability of this program.
LastPass. I couldn’t manage all my accounts and passwords properly without Last Pass in this day and age. Your life will be made easier (and more secure).
There are a lot of assignment sheets on Assignment Sheet Central—21, to be exact. I thought it might be nice to highlight one in particular that was designed around the Piano Safari method.
As you can see in the image, it uses clip art for each of the safari technique exercises, so you can simply circle which exercise the student is doing that week.
Since sightreading cards are also a big part of the Piano Safari method, there is a dedicated section for that as well.
One of the things I learned from the mini-essays from Piano Safari is the importance of having students continue to play and review pieces they’ve already mastered.
Not all pieces are “reviewed for fun,” just the ones the student loves and wants to keep playing. That’s their choice! (Check out Piano Safari’s Mini Essay 4: Assigning Pieces for more on this.)
Are you looking for ideas on fun “off-bench” activities to use in this Christmas season? Look no further! Today, I’m going to share some of my favorite games and resources that I return to year after year, along with tips for each one.
First, let me briefly share how I store my holiday games. We have to stay organized, right?
(P.S. The A4 size is nice because if you laminate a letter size sheet, the lamination makes it larger.)
It’s not a cheap way to store games as they’re almost $1 apiece, so I’m currently only storing my holiday-themed games in these. The rest of my games are stored in hanging files in a file drawer. (I’ll write a post on that another day!)
The digital files are stored in my cloud file manager.
From there, I name files for what they are. This allows me to see how many games, for example, I have, how many worksheets, etc.
This is a great way to have fun with rhythm in a unique and collaborative way. The set includes three songs in three levels: Deck the Halls, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Joy to the World.
In light of the upcoming global cause called #GivingTuesday, I thought I would share with you a list of 10 organizations that we as music teachers could consider supporting as we approach the end of the year.
First of all, I was curious and did a little research on this initiative and wanted to share some fun facts:
It is held the Tuesday following the U.S. Thanksgiving.
Giving Tuesday was started in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation.
The movement was a response to the rise in commercialization and consumerism during the post-Thanksgiving season (a.k.a. Black Friday and Cyber Monday).
The hash-tag (#) makes it empowering via social media.
There’s a whole website dedicated to #GivingTuesday!
It’s not just about donating money but about encouraging people to find a way to give back – whether that’s monetarily or simply of your time.
Presented in alphabetical order, here are ten organizations working for the betterment of our musical world. (In order to give you the most accurate description of each of these organizations, the descriptions have been taken directly from their website.)
Disclaimer: This list is simply based on research. I am not being paid by any of these organizations nor do not have experience donating to all of these organizations. Always do further research so you know where your investment is going!
#1 Give A Note Foundation
Give A Note Foundation was created to bring awareness to the importance of music education and to nurture, grow, and strengthen music education opportunities—for every student, every school, and every community. Because music not only offers students the chance to develop creativity and self-expression, but also builds skills such as communication, collaboration, and critical thinking that are necessary for success.
At Hungry for Music, our mission is putting quality musical instruments into hungry hands. We serve children who demonstrate a desire to learn music, as well as teachers who have students willing to learn.
In 25 years, we’ve delivered more than 13,000 instruments to children in 49 states and 30 countries.
The Music Teachers National Association uses the Foundation Fund to expand its mission through a variety of grants and awards to deserving music teachers and their students.
More than $150,000 in grants and awards each year for:
Competition Prizes for the winners of the MTNA Student Competitions
Collegiate Grants for the professional development of Collegiate members
Program Development Grants for music organizations to use as seed money in their quest for larger-scale funding
Community Engagement Grants for programs and projects designed to be used by affiliates to engage the local community in musical events
Teacher Enrichment Grants for MTNA members to pursue needed professional development opportunities
Affiliate Enrichment Grants for local and state MTNA affiliates to develop educational and professional development projects and programs
Composer Commissioning Program for MTNA state affiliates to commission new music to be featured at the state conferences
Our Mission: Any child who has musical potential deserves the opportunity to nurture this talent to its full extent. Many children lack the chance to receive music lessons due to financial need. The MusicLink Foundation reaches out to low-income families by linking these students with professional music teachers willing to reduce their fees to make the lessons more affordable for the child.
Note: The MusicLink Foundation does not reimburse teachers for this scholarship donation, but supports them in a variety of ways.
Music Unites is the leading non-profit charity organization supporting music education around the world. Music Unites partners with music stars, celebrity ambassadors and music sponsors to promote music projects and events at local schools – educating kids through music. Music Unites is a music foundation that empowers children through donations from individuals, foundation partners, organization events and music education projects. Along with our music partners, musicunites.org features news, events, video and press of the organization. Special charity partners have supported the Music Unites Foundation while guiding youth towards planning achievable goals for the future. Music Unites feature workshops with ambassadors such as Swizz Beats, John Forte, Sting, Gary Clark Jr., and more.
The NAMM Foundation advances active participation in music-making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving, and public service programs.
A supporting organization of NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants, the NAMM Foundation is funded through trade association activities and donations.
National Association for Music Education (NAfME), among the world’s largest arts education organizations, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. NAfME advocates at the local, state, and national levels; provides resources for teachers, parents, and administrators; hosts professional development events; and offers a variety of opportunities for students and teachers. The Association orchestrates success for millions of students nationwide and has supported music educators at all teaching levels for more than a century
Pianos for Education supports piano education by loaning quality pianos to institutions…
…In pursuit of that goal, we have over time expanded our programs to seek out deserving institutions and organizations that lack the financial resources to acquire and maintain adequate inventories of quality pianos for their music-education curriculums. We also accept applications from private piano teachers and studios in need of piano loans for their students’ studies. All of our loan programs include regular service and maintenance throughout the term of the loan.
This program gives talented but disadvantaged young people the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge to actively contribute to the development of their communities…
…We encourage and support students to become “Ambassadors for Peace” to build bridges and heal communities through creative, educational and cultural exchange programs. Target groups include children, students, refugees, and deserving academic institutions.
At Pianos For Peace, we are achieving peace starting with the individual, to the community and the world.
Pianos for People inspires successful futures by providing free access to the transformational power of the piano. For families and individuals with limited resources, we break down financial barriers and leverage the piano as a gateway to empowerment, community, and self-esteem. In an environment of support, inclusiveness, and equality, we do this four ways:
Inspiration: Free Pianos
Education: Free Lessons and Workshops
Community: Free Special Events
Enrichment: Free Summer Music Camps
I’m sure there are many, many more organizations out there that would benefit from our generosity on #GivingTuesday. If you know of any other organizations that work to support music education, please feel free to share in the comments!
Are you looking for a better way to organize and store photos and videos?
Would you love an easy way to share those special clips directly with students and their families – especially those that aren’t a part of social media (yes, they exist).
Google Photos might be YOUR perfect solution!
My husband and I are PC users. He’s in the business world so that’s just how it goes in our house. For years I tried but never loved iCloud Photos. The interface just didn’t feel good to me and I was frustrated and unhappy.
For years I was hoping for a way to store photos and videos that would easily allow me to tag photos of multiple students on one photo.
Don’t laugh, but in the old old days, I even tried renaming every photo on my desktop file manager to include the name of each student that was in the photo.
This was a TERRIBLE idea but I was desperate.
I felt like I had the rest of my digital life organized and in order but photos were getting the best of me.
Then I met fellow Louisville-based piano teacher Daniel Light at a session I was giving to the teachers of Louisville MTA and he changed my world forever by introducing me to Google Photos!
Today, I want to share with you five reasons why Google Photos may answer your needs (as they did mine) for a better media storage solution.
Halloween may be one of my least favorite holidays, but since it’s tied up smack-dab in the middle of my favorite season, it doesn’t go completely missed in my studio.
Here is a quick round-up of some of the best Halloween-themed activities and resources I’ve come across over the years.
As part of the upcoming release of the Music Lab series here on Piano Pantry, I wanted to take a moment to reflect a little on the history of music labs in the independent music studio.
Along with that, I’ll share some of the experiences I went through trying to find products that I liked that were useful for this type of off-bench time.
Early Memories
Do you remember when you first started hearing about the idea of including music labs as part of private music instruction in the independent studio? Is the idea something you’ve always been aware of or do you recall a certain point in time when you noticed the idea emerging?
Depending on how long you’ve been teaching, I’m sure each of us will have a different answer to this question.
Inspired by 
