THE GROUP PIANO BLOG

When teachers join our Facebook group, Teaching Group Piano, they are asked whether they teach groups, and if not what are their stumbling blocks to getting started.

There are two responses that come up the most often:

1. I don’t understand how you manage individual progress within a group.
2. I...

Teachers so often wonder how to market their group piano classes, concerned that they are having to persuade parents who are already convinced by the 1-1 tradition.

First and foremost, if you are offering groups where students are learning and making music together, your case for the benefit for...

Thoughts on Behaviour Management in a Group Piano Class

Managing behaviour in our group piano classes is a concern for some of you. And if you have only ever taught 1-1, this concern is totally understandable. In fact even if you are experienced at teaching groups, you may also welcome some...

Here at KeyNotes HQ we have turned our attention to adult groups, and we know we're not the only ones! SO many of you are telling us that you are also thinking about launching your adult group classes this fall! So let's get straight to the 6 things we think you should know, before launching your...

Headphones get a bad rap when it comes to group piano.

It is assumed that your groups are either simply mini private lessons, therefore everyone wears headphones, or your groups are collaborative, everyone learning the same song, in which case there are no headphones and everyone plays out loud.

There is a real buzz going around when it comes to group piano and I have spoken to so many teachers who currently only offer private piano lessons, but are thinking about starting their beginners in groups.

Why are they thinking about groups? I see two main reasons: time and opportunities.

Many...

On Friday 30^th April (2021), it will be 5 whole years since I taught my first ever group piano class. I remember so clearly, both the excitement and the concerns, and after five years, only the excitement remains! I would love to share with you what those concerns were all those years ago, just...

IN my last blog post, I talked about the importance of nurturing independent learning skills in our groups and what that might look like.

In this post I am going to talk about how crucial it is that we set up the learning to ensure that our learners can be independent. The very success of our...

When I first started teaching group piano, I did lots of research about what the recognised benefits are. This was mainly because I, like so many people, had only ever experienced individual instruction when it comes to piano learning, and I needed to convince myself, as well as all the...

I am all-in on groups. I only teach groups, and my groups serve a very specific type of piano student: one that thrives in peer engagement, that learns best through creative means, and one who engages in music-making for the joy it can bring. 

And you know what? I think 2021 is going to be a...

The holiday season is a great time for those one-off mini projects that help everyone get into the spirit of Christmas! Most people, whether they are music students or not, would agree that music is such a key part of the season! So how about offering your group classes a mini one-off...