The Piano Sensei Way Clinton Pratt

I was interviewed by Amit Weiner of the Rewind Podcast. His show's main focus is: How to Grow Your Music Career. He interviews musicians, composers, professors, and sound wizards, as they share their life stories and career decisions. We talk about some of my life story, how I got into music and became a piano teacher, and how I grew my studio. 
Rewind Podcast
 

Dr. Evan Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Florida, joins us to share his ideas about how scientific studies and the Montessori learning model can be applied to the piano studio. We discuss extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, goals, rewards, deadlines, the power of a question, making things into a game, and teacher-centered versus student-centered lessons.
Evan’s website: https://evanmitchell.net/
Evan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evan.mitchell.pianist
Resources:
The Essential Montessory by Elizabeth Hainstock
“Rethinking the value of choice: A cultural perspective on intrinsic motivation” by Iyengar, S. S., & Lepper, M. R. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
“Undermining children’s intrinsic interest with extrinsic reward: A test of the ‘overjustification’ hypothesis” by Lepper, M. R., Greene, D., & Nisbett, R. E. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius by Angeline Stoll Lillard
The Marshmallow Test — Mastering Self-Control by Watler Mischel
Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook: A Short Guide to Her Ideas and Materials by Maria Montessori
“The effects of choice on intrinsic motivation and related outcomes: A meta-analysis of research findings”by Patall, E. A., Cooper, H., & Robinson, J. C, Psychological Bulletin

Amy Chaplin is a piano teaching entrepreneur — In addition to running her private studio, she is a blogger, podcaster, and presenter! Today we discuss three of her “big picture” studio evolutions: lesson formats, group class scheduling, and dabbling in other ventures. We talk about the motivation behind making changes and advice on evolving your studio. You’ll enjoy hearing her stories even if you aren’t looking to make any major changes!
Podcast: https://pianopantry.com/podcast/
Presentations: https://pianopantry.com/speaking/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PianoPantry/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/pianopantryamy

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.com/inspire/
Website: https://barbiewong.com/teachers/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/barbiewong
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbiewongmusic

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 addition to running an active teaching studio, she is the creator and publisher of BlitzBooks, the music education series that has brought laughter and creativity to music theory, sight reading, and piano repertoire. Samantha’s sense of humour and ability to connect with students through her books and online resources reflect her ongoing dedication to making all areas of music accessible, enjoyable and memorable. She is well known for her entertaining presenting style, and is regularly invited to speak at conferences around the world on a wide range of pedagogical topics. Samantha has never lost touch with what students want; she has been running her piano studio in Sydney for almost four decades and is passionate about helping students achieve the goal of a lifetime association with and love of music.
Here is the blog post and bonus video we talked about, showing Samantha playing the mnemonics game with teachers. It’s a hoot!
https://blitzbooks.com/every-good-boy-deserves-forgetting/
 
Creative Teaching Conference
The Piano Sensei Way
 

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 events keep students excited, and advice on vanquishing “energy vampires!”
Some great takeaways from the show:

Fast practice equals slow progress, slow practice equals fast progress. No practice equals no progress.
You don't practice until you get it right, practice until you don’t get it wrong.
Students do not fail. Teachers fail, parents fail, and society fails.

Amy Immerman is the Founder of Cincinnati Music Academy, a school that she helped grow to over 40 teachers and 750 students. She has given over 80 presentations at local, state and national conferences in 19 states and Canada. She served on the Board of Directors for MTNA, is a past Ohio Certified Teacher of the Year, and an MTNA Foundation Fellow. She has served on local and state boards for OhioMTA and has an MM in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Ohio University.
Energy Bus by Jon Gordon: https://www.theenergybus.com/
E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber: https://www.michaelegerbercompanies.com/product/the-e-myth-revisited/
Creative Teaching Conference: https://creativeteachingconference.com/