Happy New Year everyone. Trevor and I hope you had a wonderful 2018 and are looking forward to an even better 2019!
Our exceptionally busy 2018 got even crazier this past week when a major storm resulted in a loss of power and internet for the three days leading up to Christmas. When you have a house full of excited kids, a freezer full of Christmas food, an internet business to run, and a major upcoming book release on the horizon (WunderKeys Level 1A this Thursday!), power is rather helpful…
But, somehow we managed to get everything done while still having some fun. And while the excitement of the holidays is behind us, Trevor and I couldn’t be more pumped about what’s in store for WunderKeys and Teach Piano Today in the new year… beginning with the release of WunderKeys Elementary Piano Level 1A on January 3rd (wahoo!).
We’ll dig deeper into our 2019 plans in a future post but today is all about looking back on 2018 and sharing some of the most popular resources and teaching ideas that hit the blog last year. Keep reading to see if you missed any of the “Best of the Best.”
The Top 7 Piano Teaching Posts Of 2018
The posts below have a special place in our piano-teaching hearts. Some were extremely popular with readers while others went viral on social media. Some launched an exciting new series of posts while others shared an inventive new teaching manipulative. BUt all of them will make your studio more exciting in 2019!
1. While not exactly a post, one of the coolest changes to hit our website this year was the redesign of the Teach Piano Today homepage. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’ll want to check out our uncluttered new look that makes our most valuable resources easy to find; simply scroll down the page to check out free printables, lesson activities, piano repertoire and advice for running a studio.
2. This post is probably familiar to most of you as it was first shared this past month. But, because so many teachers ask us for help with their struggling readers we just had to give it another shout out! You will be amazed at the progress your littlest students will make when you devote less than a minute of each lesson to singing the musical alphabet backwards.
3. This teen piano post got so much attention that it launched a series of posts that brought teachers a plethora of printables for teen students. If you’re looking for motivating ways to inspire your teen students to practice their technical work, then you’ll definitely want this resource (and the others that came after it!).
These printables were inspired by our teen piano series, The Sessions Books. If you are looking for motivating repertoire for teens then head on over to Amazon and check out The Beethoven Sessions, The Chopin Sessions and The Amadeus Anthems.
4. If you’re a regular reader of the Teach Piano Today blog then you know that we love to get piano students up and off the bench. Short, hands on, brain breaks not only reinforce important theory concepts but also serve to refresh students’ minds when they return to the piano bench. Check out this post and have a blast reinforcing chord inversions with pool noodles.
If you’re a huge fan of teaching with manipulative you’ll also want to try reinforcing rests while stacking cups, making note reading necklaces and having fun with Iwako erasers.
5. Behind every successful piano student is an effective piano parent. On our blog we regularly share resources that teachers can share with their piano parents. In this popular post we help parents set their kids up for successful piano lessons by sharing 5 things that parents should do before driving their kids to the music studio.
6. There are many ways you can enjoy all of the piano teaching fun Trevor and I share with our readers. Some teachers are daily readers of our blog, some teachers are devoted followers of our Pinterest page, and others are active members of our piano teaching Facebook groups. In August of 2018 we launched a Facebook group for teachers who work with teen students. If you are not already a member, be sure to check it out here and enjoy the free sheet music we’ve shared with members!
And while we’re taking about Facebook pages, we must also mention our Facebook group for Wunderkeys teachers! This is one of the happiest, most positive piano teaching places on the web with over 5,100 teachers who are always sharing helpful teaching tips.
7. I know we have already talked about teen students, but we just couldn’t ignore a separate but equally-important group of teens: beginners! Over the last few months of 2018 we began sharing cool printables that can be used with beginning teen piano students. These printables, along with our recently-published book, WunderKeys Rock Repertoire For Teen Beginners, will keep those new teens glued to the bench.
Happy New Year From Teach Piano Today!
We’d like to take a moment to wish you a very Happy New Year and to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being a part of this online community. Every morning we wake up to messages from the kindest, most thoughtful people letting us know how our blog, books and resources have changed their studios – and this means more to us than you could ever know! Thank you to all of you for taking the time to message us and for being such valuable contributors to our Facebook groups and our blog. We can’t wait to continue to collaborate with you in 2019!
Josiane Grimard says
Thank you so much for all your hard work. We have a lot of fun with your material in my studio, you are truly inspiring.
Happy new year!
Andrea says
Hi Josiane – so very glad to hear it! Happy New Year to you as well 🙂
Cara Shimizu says
Thank you, Andrea and Trevor! I love your blog and its many resources. I’m definitely a better piano teacher because of you. Happy 2019!