The Piano Sensei Way

Jun 11 2024
The Piano Sensei Way Podcast artwork

The Piano Sensei Way is a podcast where I help piano teachers minimize stress and maximize success! I share my way of doing things, which in my opinion is the best way! It’s similar to Mr. Miyagi in the movie The Karate Kid where he tells Daniel to wax the car, sand the floor, and paint the fence. Daniel thought he was crazy just doing Mr. Miyagi’s chores for him. But Mr. Miyagi knew what he was doing! He was training Daniel’s muscle memory so he could defend himself! Similarly, I am so confident in my ways, if you trust me and try it, you’ll see the results!

RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


23 The Way to Engage Parents (w/ Barbie Wong)

Jun 11 2024 46 mins  
How do you help parents motivate their children to practice? Is there such a thing as a parent who is too involved? Should parents sit in on lessons? Barbie Wong joins us to discuss how to educate and engage parents so their children will thrive in piano lessons! Lots of great tips and stories in this episode! 10 Ways to Inspire Kids to Make Music — Mini Guide https://barbiewong.

22 The Way Mnemonics Don't Work (w/ Samantha Coates)

May 28 2024 37 mins  
Every Good Boy Deserves . . . ? We’re all familiar with these sayings, but maybe every good teacher should think about the usefulness of mnemonic devices for reading music. Samantha Coates is here to explain and demonstrate how these traditional teaching tools are confusing and a waste of time! Samantha Coates is an internationally regarded piano pedagogue and presenter. In addit

21 The Way to Spark Motivation (w/ Amy Immerman)

May 14 2024 45 mins  
Amy Immerman, Founder of Cincinnati Music Academy (a school that she helped grow to 750 students), joins the show to discuss motivation! Is it our job to motivate students? How can we help spark motivation? How can parental involvement help? We both talk about our own practicing and motivation growing up. Amy describes some engaging practice games, a 100-Day Practice Challenge, how

20 The Way to Count ... or Not!

Apr 30 2024 56 mins  
Prompted by a lively discussion in the Facebook Group Piano Teacher Central, I decided to host a live debate on YouTube! This is the recording of our “debate” on counting. The teachers who joined me were Mike Langer, Brian Lotter, Jeff Millis, Val Muller, Harrison Richter, and Jordan Thomas. It was a very thought-provoking discussion where we discussed the meaning of “countin

19 The Way to Master a Multi-Teacher Studio pt 2 (w/ Jordan Thomas)

Apr 16 2024 30 mins  
This is the second of a two-part interview. In the last episode, Jordan interviewed me about teacher pay, asking me about fair rates, negotiating, benefits, living wage, tuition rates, and teacher raises. In this second episode, Jordan asks me about other aspects of running a studio such as: What do you look for when hiring a teacher? Do you train teachers? If so, how? How much lee

18 The Way to Master a Multi-Teacher Studio pt 1 (w/ Jordan Thomas)

Apr 02 2024 25 mins  
To shake things up, our guest, Jordan Thomas, interviews Clinton! It all started with Jordan’s FaceBook post in Piano Teacher Central about the feasibility of a multi-teacher studio business model as opposed to a solo studio. Jordan is a solo teacher and has been considering expanding, but has questions about how to make it work. I answered some of his questions in his FaceBook p

17 The Way Forward: Setting Expectations in Piano Lessons (w/ Jake McHugh)

Mar 18 2024 45 mins  
Jake posted in the group “Piano Teacher Central” on Facebook about setting expectations for piano students in his studio. It was quite the lively discussion as there were strong and varying views on what kind of standards we should set, and what we should do if students don’t meet those expectations. Despite Jake being fairly new to piano teaching, I tended to agree with his

16 The Way to Flow is to Play Slow (w/ Pablo Martinez)

Mar 04 2024 43 mins  
After I posted in the Piano Teacher Central Facebook group saying “slow, slow, slow to keep the flow, flow, flow,” Pablo Martinez shared it in his Instagram to his followers because he was just thinking the same thing! We linked up in this episode to share stories and ideas on effective practicing. We learn about Pablo’s journey and how he had to rethink how to practice due t

15 The Way to Sustain Summer Income

Feb 19 2024 34 mins  
Do your students want to take the summer off or want fewer lessons, resulting in reduced income for you? It can be frustrating, stressful, and depressing to have to struggle for income in the summer when your students drop off or take breaks. Don’t worry, The Piano Sensei Way has solved this problem! Not only can you maintain your income in the summer months, but I show you how t

14 The Way to Make Studio Music Videos (w/ Mikey Ashmore)

Feb 05 2024 39 mins  
I was so impressed when I watched Mikey Ashmore’s students in a studio music video he posted on Facebook this past Halloween. I contacted him and he agreed to come on the show to talk about how he came up with this idea and how he pulled it off! You’ve got to see this video and listen to my interview with him, it’s so fun! He walks us through the steps of writing custom parts