I’ve often considered piano teaching to be the best job in the world—why?

Ever find yourself overwhelmed by too much to do and too little time, so you “purge” your schedule of all the extra commitments? You feel better for a while, only to find yourself in the exact same situation several months later. Sound familiar?

In the MTNA 2024 Member Survey, MTNA asked questions to teachers who identified as being retired from full-time teaching, including “As a retiree, why have you decided to continue as a MTNA member?”

As we face the later years, our relationship to our profession, indeed to our everyday life, is full of opportunity, but also limited in ways we may never have imagined. With some deliberate choices, but also as an organic evolution, my metamorphosis has been a reimagining and an accounting. Absent large amounts of wealth, what can I leave behind?

How old are you? Why would I ask, you may wonder. Because the younger you are, the more value you will get from this article. The older you are, the more essential this information will be. Self-care is a broad topic, fit for all of us. For example, you might have great studio policies and marketing strategies but have ignored saving money and are headed down the slippery slope of financial insecurity.

As teachers, we all know how hard it can be to say no. We often feel obligated to take on more than we can handle, leaving us feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Thankfully, there are ways to politely decline without sacrificing our own needs. But don’t worry, we don’t have to narrow it down to just five. I may have gotten a little carried away as I came up with 75+ ways to say no, while also remembering there is value in saying yes.

An article about time management should not take a lot of time to read. So here it is, short and simple: five strategies for time management. Or depending on how one numbers them, there are eight “ate” strategies.

Teachers are emotionally connected to their work in a deep way. After all, students are more than numbers on a spreadsheet; they are long-term investments involving untold hours of planning and care. Essential as it may be, it’s that very emotional connection that sometimes leads us down the wrong path.

While reading this book, I was often stopped in my tracks by its profound and sometimes brutal truths, yet I ultimately found a great sense of peace and purpose as I worked through its pages. If you manage people, work with people or are a person, this book will help you.

I recently read The Gap and The Gain, by authors Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy. In this book, they introduce a powerful mindset shift that can transform the way we measure success in any aspect of life. They argue that people tend to focus on the gap between where they are and their ideal. This comparison trap often leads to frustration and unhappiness. Instead, they advocate focusing on the gain, measuring how far one has come rather than how far there is to go. “Always measure backwards” is a principle that has profound implications for music educators, studio owners and performers alike. By shifting our perspective from what is lacking to what has been achieved, we can foster greater motivation, resilience and long-term success.

I first encountered The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch in a 2014 Clavier Companion interview with Randall Faber, co-author of Piano Adventures, where he recommended it as a top book for personal productivity. I took the recommendation to heart, considering the remarkable success the Fabers have had in building a piano method empire. I ordered the book right away, and over time, the 80/20 principle has become a key part of how I prioritize tasks and optimize processes. I often apply it to everything from planning a birthday party to running my music studio, helping me make the most of my limited time and allowing me to focus on what truly matters.

With an overabundance of resources on the Internet, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Here are three valuable resources chosen specifically to assist you in your professional life.

 

Original Broadcast: February 2, 2024

Telling our individual human stories is a powerful way to connect to one another. As musicians and teachers, we tell these stories when we are engaged with our students or an audience. Composers tell stories in their music, and the joy, surprise, tragedy and humour are woven into the text of harmony, rhythm and melody. These musical scores entrusted to us are the story scripts, and like actors, we must study, explore, and embody the story of the composer’s music. By embracing both our own stories and the stories of the music, we have a guiding purpose that links the artistic choices we make along the way. In this webinar, we will examine some of the remarkable stories in the music that we teach and perform, and explore different ways to highlight character, phrasing, timing, tone, touch and other elements of artistry to ensure that those stories are told with meaning and respect.

Imagine waking up every morning in paradise: your gated community, a gym and other amenities just steps away and the beach only a few yards from your door. Your piano studio is filled with students, buzzing with energy. Each year, you hold your piano recital at a beach house, where after recitals families walk out onto the sand, leis around their necks, smiles wide.

Do we each have an innate way to process information and work on projects, or can we cultivate a new, more open way of thinking? Mindset: The New Psychology of Success is an updated version of the original best-selling book Mindset. Dweck offers ample valuable insight into her research, personal experiences, setbacks and victories, while reflecting on her own mindset and how the mindsets of others impacted her. She contrasts the “fixed mindset” with the “growth mindset” through the use of personal stories, research and contributions from well-known personalities and scientists. Dweck makes the case that we all have preconceived notions of what makes us or our students “talented” or “intelligent.” In this fascinating book, you will discover new ways to frame questions and accolades for yourself, colleagues and students. You’ll get fresh perspectives on how to motivate others to want to learn more and to discover the joys of accomplishments. Dweck debunks myths of inborn talent, entitlement and superiority that tend to cloud our judgements and our achievements. Ultimately, she offers us a way to use our mindset to thrive and persevere in our studios and professions.

As music teachers and studio owners, we often wear many hats. We plan lessons, research new music, answer phone calls and emails, maintain our websites, do bookkeeping, keep up with social media, promote new programs, practice, attend conferences and workshops, plan recitals and more. Overwhelmed? Overscheduled?

David Allen’s Getting Things Done is a must-read for modern business owners in any field, but especially creatives. The day-to-day planning and tasks of running a studio business can wear us out mentally, leaving little room for the creative side of our visions.