165 – Teacher Talk with Jaclyn Mrozek

Welcome, friends, to episode 165 of The Piano Pantry Podcast, I’m Amy Chaplin. Today I’m featuring a casual teacher chat with one of my piano teacher friends, Jaci Mrozek, who has been like a bright ray of sunshine coming into my life in these past few years. She just makes me smile.

Jaci has also been a long-time supporter of this podcast since its early days of Patreon. So, while I know I’ve said thanks to her in the past on this podcast, I’m going to say it once again, thank you, Jaci, for being a friend of this podcast from the start.

If you would like to take a tiny bite out of what it takes to keep this podcast going, I invite you to join me at PianoPantry.com/patreon for as little as $4 a month. That’s all friends. You can’t even buy a cup of coffee for that amount these days. LOL.

I try to keep these episodes under 25 minutes, so let’s get to it!

Well, Jackie, welcome to the Piano Pantry podcast. I’m so excited to have you here today.

Hi, Amy. Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited—excited to do this.

Why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself and let us know what your teaching and professional life looks like for you right now?

Absolutely. Well, my name is Jacqueline Mrozek, but I mostly go by Jaci, and I’m a piano teacher in Northern Cincinnati. So I have a private studio. I do buddy lessons, private lessons. I’ve done the groups. I’ve done pretty much all of the things, lots of collaborative events.

I am involved in two associations. And I have my own podcast, the Scrappy Piano Teacher Podcast. So lots of music in my life. Doing the balancing act, wearing lots of hats, but I love it.

So you’re kind of like me. You mentioned that you have done all kinds of different types of classes and lessons, group classes, buddy classes, you name it. I would love to hear some different ways that your studio has evolved over the years. Do you have any like timeframes—like I did this for so long and then switched to this, or is it all mixed together?

So I’m going into my 28th year of teaching. I started when I was 14, and I was definitely not qualified at the time, but I had wonderful mentors during that time. I definitely look back at my teaching. In seasons, I think, as a lot of us do, I started out as a little bit more of a rigid, traditional teacher. You know, we’re jumping right into reading notes, and we have to read the music exactly how it is all the time. And it has definitely evolved. I am a completely different teacher than I was at the beginning.

Lots of interval reading. I’m not very shy about the fact that I love using Piano Safari. I’ve been dabbling in the MLT world for about, I don’t know, two or three years. You and Sarah Boyd have really been uh, pulling me along there. So we do lots of the audiation, creative improv. So, yeah, I would say it’s definitely evolved in that aspect as far as my teaching goes.

And then. It has also evolved into the fact that I really wanna focus on community with my students. ‘Cause I do think, you know, piano lessons can be lonely, and I remember growing up, I didn’t have any friends to talk about with piano. I loved piano, but none of my friends did it, and so I really try to get them to get to know each other.

They don’t have to be best friends or anything, but I want them to just get along and know that there are other people along for the ride, and just have fun and make music.

Have you always done group classes and buddy lessons, or did you start with just private lessons and then kind of add in the groups and the buddy lessons as time went on?

Yeah, that’s, that’s exactly what I did. So I actually was a driving teacher for a really long time ’cause I worked an office job. So I would drive to students’ homes after school or after work. And so that obviously had to be private lessons. But once I moved into a multi-teacher studio, I noticed a lot of teachers doing performance classes, and I had never heard of those before. So I started doing performance classes, and that was so much fun.

And then once I transitioned to my home studio. Oh my goodness. It was like, what can we do differently this week? It was like, I wanna try everything all at once. And so yeah, like freedom. So I did, the performance classes. I do a happy birthday week every year, and I do, I actually use your resource for that. And, we do a practice workshop. We do all kinds of collaborative events.

I’ve always done early beginner group classes since I’ve moved to my home studio, but I’ve been doing preschool classes. I did a lot of multi-level lessons and group lessons last year. I don’t know how I feel about those, if I’m gonna be totally honest with you.

So we’re, it’s a whole other ball game, isn’t it? And I know that it works for some people. I just don’t know if it’s my jam. So I moved back into buddy lessons. So right now it’s private lessons. And buddy lessons, and I’m really excited about the year ahead, ’cause I love Buddy lessons. Those are my sweet spots.

Yeah, I remember, like you, the beginning of my teaching, especially, and when I got my own studio, and I was like, full-time, this is what I’m doing. I’m dedicating my life to this. You know, I’m trying everything possible. And like, I think every few months I was like, I’m gonna do this, and now I’m gonna try this, and I’m gonna try this.

And I think I’ve settled more. I mean, I’m always, you know, evolving and changing and doing new things—that’s just who I am. But I definitely just feel more grounded in who I am as a teacher. You know, like you said, after 20 years of teaching, you really blossom as a teacher, as you’re just continually learning and growing with your teachers and within your studio.

So, I have to tell you something so funny. When you said, I used to be a “driving” teacher, I thought. “Oh, like driving school?!” like you were, you know, in a car…

Funny. I mean, I guess maybe there are different terms for that. I mean, what else would people call it? An in-home teacher? LOL

I think they might say travel teacher.

Maybe they do. I…you know, and I might have made that up. LOL Oh, no, you guys, I mean, you might not want me to be your driving teacher, but yeah, driving to homes.

You mentioned at the beginning that you have a podcast, which of course I’m already aware of, and maybe our listeners aren’t. Could you tell us a little bit about that and what made you decide to start a podcast?

I never thought that I would be doing a podcast, ever. So I’m not really sure where the seed got planted, but I think it was more that I wanted to communicate with teachers, and the most natural way for me to communicate is just by talking. And I wanted to really connect with other teachers. I just love talking to you guys, you know, and just picking your brains and that kind of thing.

So it started out as a music teacher mastermind because I did do masterminds for teachers and they would gather. So I thought, you know, it would be cool to just share what goes on in a mastermind and it ended up being more of an interviewing type podcast. And it was great. I got to talk to so many people that, um…I never thought that I would ever be able to talk to one-on-one and get to know, so that was really great.

But you know, I have a background in project management, and I noticed when I was at the multi-teacher studio that a lot of the teachers would come to me asking me, like…I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to do that. And I was really surprised at the backend, like the administrative end, how….I don’t wanna say insecure… but they just didn’t know. They just had never learned it. And so I found myself helping them.

So now in the second season of the podcast, I transitioned it to The Scrappy Piano Teacher Podcast, and it’s mainly just me, you know, kind of talking about behind the scenes, running systems, and that kind of thing. And I’ll probably have people on there, here and there.

So you transitioned from being more of an interview style to more of just a solo podcast like mine with a few conversations here and there, basically?

Exactly, exactly. I’ve still been playing around with it. I think it was one of those things where I didn’t have it well planned. I was like..t his would be fun. I’m gonna start it right now. And then I did, and then, you know, I’m kind of learning as I’m going.

I don’t know if you know this, but I actually recorded the very first episode in the back of my husband’s truck at a race. So he does autocross racing, and I was stuck going with him. I say, stuck going with him. I had a choice, but I did go with him to this race, and it was with Monica Monachino and Anna Fagan, and they were so sweet. A hot mess. I mean, it was just like, what is going on? So they were very kind and we ended up rerecording that first episode. That’s just an example of how it’s like, yeah, just jumping in.

Yeah, I’ve heard that episode. I can’t remember that it was there, but I’ve seen you post things on, social media about doing things at your husband’s races, like work stuff at your races. So it doesn’t surprise me at all.

Yeah, you gotta stay scrappy, you know? You gotta do what you gotta do.

Yes. I love the title. It’s so cute. And your marketing image and everything is so adorable. And your description, like at the very end, it says, “Expect real talk, relatable stories and biweekly episodes full of tips you can actually use plus a lot of sarcasm.” I love that. That’s so you.

Do you have any favorite episodes or do you have any particular episodes that are the most popular that resonate with listeners?

Actually, you know what? I’ve been really surprised that the most popular episode has been one that I did in the spring. It’s on your teaching philosophy, and it’s just kind of talking about how to do a teaching philosophy, and it’s like a little format.

That one has been like people still are listening to that, and I’m always so surprised ’cause I kind of thought nobody was gonna listen to that one. So that was kind of fun. And then of course, the one on policy, because, you know, our studio policies, we can talk about those all day, every day, right?

But I think as far as the most fun ones go, well, I loved doing it with you and Christina. You and Christina were on last year.

Oh, right. That’s right.

Yeah. And that was fun. I loved talking to Sarah Boyd. We rehashed the MTNA very similar to your last episode with Joy about the NCKP.

Yep, I remember that.

Yep. So that one was a lot of fun. I, you know, all of them have been so much fun. I will say, I think doing the interviews and talking to people by far is the most fun. It is just…

More work because you have to edit. I get it! LOL

So you mentioned recording a podcast with Sarah Boyd, which makes me think about the wrap-up from NCKP. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you told me that this was your second NCKP experience, and I would love to hear, especially as a teacher who has only attended a couple of times, a little bit of your own insights about your attendance. Any highlights, any tips for teachers, just yeah, let us know what your thoughts are.

Well, first of all, I love the NCKP. I mean, that is like…highlight of my life. I know that might sound, well, I don’t know how that might sound to people, but I absolutely love it. The first time, I didn’t really know a lot of people, but I knew some people through Instagram, and so I went with a friend, but then I got to meet you and I got to meet Christina Whitlock and Rachel Ehring and…

Ooh my goodness…I remember when I met Nicola Canton, and I was like, super fan group. I’m like, I love you. Oh my gosh. And I had to kind of, you know, check myself and calm myself down a little bit. So my first experience was super exciting, just like meeting all the people and going to all the sessions, because that was my first conference, a big conference other than local conferences. So that was super exciting.

So the second time around, knowing what to expect, having a lot more friends that I’ve connected with, especially doing the podcast. Oh my goodness. It was, it was just a blast.

You know, the sessions themselves are fantastic. It’s hard to choose from them. But I really was like, okay. I, every conference that I go to, I plan out what I’m gonna do and what sessions I’m gonna go to. But then I end up in a conversation in the hallway with so and so, and I find myself walking with them to the session, and I end up going to all these sessions that I didn’t plan on going to.

So my biggest goal was to make my schedule and stick with it. And I did that. So that was really exciting.

Good for you.

Yeah, I know. I really didn’t think I was gonna stick with that. It’s so easy to be swayed when, like you said, when you meet someone, like, oh, where are you going to, oh, I’ll just go with you. Or like, if you didn’t really read up on that session that they’re going to and they start talking about it, you’re like, oh, that is a really good idea. And then it’s like this dilemma, and you have about three minutes. To get to the room and make your decision. But it was great and I learned lots of new things.

The inspiration came just in time because I definitely was kind of going through my own little burnout at the time where I was like, oh my goodness, another year. Ugh. So it was great. But it was also great just connecting with everybody and hanging out. And, I was thinking about when we went to dinner, you came and joined us at that Mexican restaurant. And we were trying to do that social media trend. Oh yeah. What is that called? Where you like, I don’t know. You like skipping in place, you like skipping in place, and go Ha ha ha ha ha.

You know, the hilarious thing is, everybody knew about this. I’m like, I’ve never seen this before, and I’m actually on social media a bit. And then like, a week later I actually saw the first video of someone else doing it for the first time. I was like, what the heck?

You know, I have never seen anybody do it, and I’m on social media. Amy:

It wasn’t just me. Okay, good.

Anyway, so, yeah, so we were like, told that we had to like, skip in place and just like, look at each other and laugh, but anyway, it was super fun.

But like doing stuff like that, you know, mm-hmm. And just laughing and letting loose and, just hanging out with everybody. It’s, it’s such a good time.

You learn a lot, but those are the memories. Like… I can’t tell you what I learned from NCKP two years ago, but I remember the people I met and the meetups. So it becomes more about the people.

Oh yeah. It was just, it was a total blast. So, I don’t even know if I’m answering your question, but I just love the NCKP. It was a great experience. I think all the conferences are just great experiences. Honestly, if anybody has a chance to go local, national, whatever, you gotta make it happen. You gotta go.

Well, perfect. You just transitioned us into the next question when you said local, because I wanted to ask about your local association. You were lucky to be part of a really vibrant local association in Cincinnati, and I had the pleasure of presenting a three-session workshop for your group. I think it was last fall. Maybe it was the fall before.

Yeah, it was last year.

Okay. I think a lot of associations, unfortunately, are struggling these days. I know a lot of them in my own state are. What is it that keeps your group alive and well?

Oh, that’s such a good question—because that’s a tough question, you know? And it is hard to keep your local associations going. People get burned out, and you have the same people working on it over and over again. And, and, and I feel like our association has gone through that. Like, truthfully. I remember attending, you know, I don’t, I wanna say about 10 years ago, and they were great.

Everybody was really, really nice. But I, I think it’s definitely about community. And so, for example, you know, I didn’t have a music degree. I was coming straight out of working a corporate job in project management, and I was going to teach full-time, and everybody was nice and they were welcoming.

There really wasn’t anything wrong with it, but I think in my mind, I didn’t put myself as an equal with everybody else. And so I kind of felt like I didn’t belong there. That’s not the case at all, right? Like it’s for any kind of music teacher, you can have five students, and you can still come to these things.

We want to support everyone. So I think really just embracing that community and putting on low-key events, small group events, just things for your students, things to nurture. That might be the best thing that I can.

I think you nailed it.

And, you know what you came to, that was a kickoff, and so Elizabeth Swift, quick shout out to her. She’s like, so good at this stuff. So she does the teacher activities and she’s really focused on. Community and food. She’s like, you know what, if we do something fun, we have a few giveaways and we have food, they will come and they do, and it’s, it’s just a total blast. So community and food, that would be my answer.

I love it. So this podcast is about living the life of an independent teacher. What is something that is saving your life right now?

Oh my goodness. Okay. Notion with an N, and I’m gonna say this specifically, so, and yes, it’s because of you and Joy Morin and your workshop. Do you call it a workshop?

Yeah, it’s a workshop. “Organize your life with Notion.”

Okay. And I did that, uh, I don’t know, February of this past year. And it was one of those things where I kept thinking, Oh, do I need to do this? Because I could just go on there and figure it out for myself. And the answer is no. I never would’ve been able to go on there and figure out everything that you guys showed me.

Especially ’cause I’m a pencil and paper kind of gal. I like the journals and stuff, but everything gets scattered. I got post-its everywhere. So I’ve really forced myself to get into this notion world, and it’s become my home base.

Even my registration this year, I did. My registration form is similar to a Google form, but you complete it through Notion, and then it creates a whole database. So I didn’t have to organize anything. Yes, it was all in like an Excel spreadsheet type thing, and it was beautiful. It made my life so much easier. So Notion has been amazing.

But then I also have been using Motion with an M like Mary. And, I know it’s confusing. That’s crazy, right? But what it means odds, it’s, but I like to make things complicated, so, you know, but, uh, it’s like an AI kind of a thing.

But what it does is like you can list your tasks and projects and your due dates and all the things, ’cause I do wear a lot of hats, like I think most of us do, and it auto-schedules. What I need to do in my calendar. So Monday morning I wake up and I look at my calendar and it’s got a whole list of everything that needs done, and I just follow it to a T and it’s really helped save my life as far as not dropping the ball with the OMTA or dinner, you know, like that kind of stuff.

Cool. I’ve not heard much about that. I’ll have to check that out. So does it actually put it into your calendar, or does it just give you like a task list with what you need to do in order? Does it literally put it into your Google Calendar?

Yes, it does put it in my calendar.

So that’s something that’s saving your life. What about something that you need to let go of or something that’s basically no longer working for you in this season of life?

Oh goodness. Okay. I refuse to take any new students this year. Which was really hard. I think that’s so difficult for us. The reason is that I just wanted to slow down.

I feel like, you know, you get these new students and you gotta get to know them and ease ’em in and all that stuff. And I’m in a really good place with my studio and my students, and I know what they’re looking for. I know the goals, and it just gives me a little bit more of a mental break. So…letting go of taking on new students.

I broke all my group classes into buddy lessons. I did lose students because I think the group mindset is a lot different than students who come in for private lessons. So, and then I did raise my rates a lot, and so my income is kind of the same. And so letting go in that sense was scary, but it’s all working out, and I am so excited and looking forward to this year.

So, Jackie, is there any questions that you wanna throw at me?

I do, actually! I was curious, so you sent me a few of the questions beforehand. I’m letting everybody know we kind of cheated a little bit. But I want to know how you started your podcast or why, because you were a blog originally.

Well, first of all, it’s not cheating to send the questions. LOL. I do it all the time, and people do it for me, so it’s totally not cheating. It’s good preparation. LOL, because as you know, it’s hard to think in the moment.

So hard.

So yeah. My story is that I opened the blog in 2016, and I’ve always been a podcast person. I’ve always wanted to have a podcast, actually, before anybody else started a podcast that was a piano teacher. I think Tim Topham is the only one who started a podcast for piano teachers before I wanted to. If I had done it when I wanted to, I would’ve been the second person to do it.

But it was not the right time of life. We were building a house, and I mean like we were building it. My husband was building it while working 40 hours a week, and it took us several years to do this step by step. And at the same time. I was President of my state association, and I was also filling in organizing worship at my church and doing another church job on top of that. So it was just a terrible time of life to be doing it, and I wanted it so badly, but I just had to say no, I just couldn’t.

Of course, then several people started up, and I kept going, “Oh no!” like. everybody has a podcast now. And when it was finally the moment for me to do it, it was just…I just had to do it. It’s just something I needed to get out of me. And it was a natural next step with Piano Pantry and what I wanted to do to support teachers. So, yep. I finally started it. I wasn’t the second one like I could have been, but I’m still here in year number four, so still kicking it.

I think it’s great. And you know what’s really funny, and I’ve told you this before, is I have resources that you had, and after I met you, I didn’t put two and two together, and we were in a performance class with your listing sheet. So you have these free listening guides on your website, just throwing that out there for everyone who should be using them. And I looked down, and at the bottom it says Piano Pantry—Amy Chaplin.

In the middle of class a girl is playing the piano. And I am like, “this is Amy’s!”— like, totally interrupted her playing—and they of course did not care, and the girl had to start over.

But yeah. So thank you for all that you’ve been providing for us, because I feel like… You know, podcasters like you and bloggers like you…and of course, we have a whole nice list that I think we can all think of. You guys have really connected us in the online space.

And so then it’s like when I go to NCKP and I meet other people, it’s like, oh, I know you because of Amy. I know you because of Christina, you know. It’s like you guys have kind of created this segue for us.

I love that. Thank you! That’s awesome.

Well, Jackie, it’s been so much fun chatting with you. I appreciate having you on and getting to know you better, and I’m sure our listeners are going to love hearing our chat. So thanks for being here today.

Thanks for having me, Amy. I appreciate it.

If you enjoyed this conversation, you can catch previous episodes at pianopantry.com/podcast.

The most recent teacher chats include episode #160 with 4 teacher friends who attended the digital organization retreat in my home this past summer, and episode #155 with Laura Harding, a teacher from Minnesota who recently went through a big studio move.

Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button so you don’t miss any new episodes. See you next time!

165 – Teacher Talk with Jaclyn Mrozek

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