Oclef Podcast

This is a great episode to share with a piano teacher friend. Push Back. It's simple, yet powerful. Don't avoid confrontation with a parent - especially if what you are pushing back on something that is in the best interest of their child. Parents want the best for their kids, but sometimes they don't realize how to think or behave - they are usually new to learning piano, just like their child. Be you, Be what that child needs. The tortoise always wins, Julian Follow us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/oclef/

Loved doing this interview with Jon! He's just a great guy and I enjoyed getting the chance, like with most guests on the podcast, to ask deep questions. Please share this with parents of piano students and other teachers or aspiring pianist. He has great insight in many areas and I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. Julian

Pain relievers like aspirin can be taken if you have a headache and usually within 15 minutes the headache is gone. But what if there were a product that made that headache go away and then come back in 7 days? Whenever I have new classes start I often get the question from parents…how long does it take to learn piano? And I used to think that was a really silly question. Simply because, well, I’m still learning piano. And I’ll probably be learning piano for the rest of my life. But lately the more I think about that question, I realize that there should be an answer to that question. If you change the question slightly, the answer becomes something that FEELS achievable. I’d ask: “How long does the average child take to acquire all the necessary skills, knowledge, practice strategies and coordination to become an independent learner of piano music?” I think there is an answer to that question. The tortoise always wins, Julian Follow us on www.instagram.com/oclef

Yesterday I was working with a mother and her daughter and one simple piece of teaching advice left her speechless the second she tried it. This episode dives into the "Theory Theory" by Alison Gopnik and how it explains why the "Frozen Pencil" teaching technique works so well when teaching children to read piano. The tortoise always wins, Julian

Today's podcast goes into the challenging world of how we as teachers help our students navigate more than just their troubles and anxieties from learning. If you want your story or question on an upcoming episode - visit www.oclef.com/podcast and leave your story or question. The tortoise always wins, Julian

In the education world, teachers sometimes can be overly focused on the results and outcomes in competitions and tests. And the question I have is - “What mindset does that produce for students in the long run?” I leave you with an idea and three questions. The Japanese word Kaizen means "change for better". How do you create experiences for your students that help them change and acquire the values you believe in?How does extrinsic motivators and rewards like tests and competitions actually shape your students perspective - especially if they are their main focus?Do you instill Kaizen or continuous improvement experiences into your student’s learning paths?

Talking about how small wins not only motivate students but can motivate their parent coaches as they make their way on the long journey of learning music. How do you motivate parents? The tortoise always wins, Julian

Trying a different format. Share it if you love it. The Tortoise always wins, Julian

Sample. Observe. Record. The child needs to sample a variety of activities and as their parent you need to be open and observant. Try to be as non-biased towards activities and you can. Watch them and record your observations about how they respond to these activities. Once you find the right one or two activities it comes down to you being passionate as the parent. Be as involved and helpful as you can. Ask the instructor what else you can do to help. Be there for the events and stay to help out the community. Show your passion and self-drive as a parent and your child will be more likely to mimic that behavior. Nothing can be certain, but this will increase the likelihood of the outcome you imply from your question. The tortoise always wins, Julian

Todays episode is a follow up on the concept talked about in yesterday’s interview with Irina Gorin. She talked about “educating parents”. What she really means is show parents the value of piano and why they need to be involved and committed in the right way. Today’s episode talks about a personal story on how one of my students has allowed lessons from piano (curiosity, patience, persistence, creativity) to get him accepted into Stanford University. Learning piano is so much more than just music. Julian

She's amazing. What else is there to say about Irina? :) Check out Tales of A Musical Journey and the rest of her work here - http://www.irinagorin.com/ Enjoy! Julian

They did it! Many parents loved the experience of preparing, learning and performing with their child. My main goal is really to help them get into the learning process with their child. To become part of the piano learning environment. Regardless of the result, they will gain confidence and more trust from their kids who are learning piano. As well as a better understanding for how it feels to learn piano. You should definitely try this event if you have a studio! Julian

This interview is a wonderful conversation with Michelle Conda of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (CCM). She's spent the last 25 years developing CCM as one of the top schools in the world to go learn how to teach piano. She has a talent for developing adults as teachers and in today's podcast she goes into Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. Julian

Today I dive into the idea of how learning happens. For me, learning happens through an input that I call a "window". The window opens from the student's connection with the teacher. But parents have such a stronger bond and larger window with their children than any teacher can even imagine. So as teachers working with students, we spend time asking students "How was your week?" and do whatever we can to bond with them. But the reality is that their parent will always have a larger window to educate their child through. So why not build up the parent? Why not redesign your studio around the education of parents? What if that child received 7 lessons a week from their mother or father instead of 1 from you? Yes, the parents don't know as much about music. But all great music teachers know that teaching music is more about the process than the knowledge. Teach parents to teach. You'll be surprised.

Have you ever considered getting your parents, of your students, to teach in the lesson? What skills do they actually need to know in order for the child to improve? With the Oclef Method we see the parent and child as a teacher and student team guided by the actual teacher. By redesigning the role of parents as a teacher, how will that impact students and their development? Try it. You may be surprised. The tortoise always wins, Julian

Yep. I'm having parents play in a recital with their kids. The backstory really explains it all. But the main idea here is role shifting. As educators, find ways to get your parents into their role as a teacher of the child as we shift into the coach of the parent and child team. The tortoise always wins, Julian

Great question! The standard answer would be for you to practice lower level pieces (i.e. level 3 if you’re level 5). And do that every day for about 15 minutes. It will improve as long as you’re consistent and patient. Try Rhythm books really help if you have a deficiency in rhythmic reading and patterns. I’m the video I’ve showed you an example of one and how to use it. Let me know if you have any additional questions. Good luck! The tortoise always wins, Julian

I've always thought this. Weird, awkward and quirky things about people are the best things. The best. But for whatever reason, I've only recently applied it throughout my teaching and consulting. I used to work with students and use archetypes to be more efficient in my teaching. Big mistake. Nowadays, it's all about finding the weirdest thing I can find about students and using that as their strength. Playing their unique traits and views as their strengths allows them to have a better outcome almost every time. It's the better bet. But, it means that you won't have a studio full of competition pianists. It means you'll have a studio or school full of all different types of pianists. If you teach students this way. Questioning them. Learning their views. And then help them be themselves. They will forever love you. Simply because you're helping them be themselves. You're giving them permission to be the person they are and not asking them to conform to someone or something they're not. And that! That's the art of teaching to me. Learning the student, their parents, and understanding their "wacky world". So that you can help them build it with them at every lesson, practice, and experience together.

This is an episode from our Oclef Method. It’s a series for parents wanting to help their children during practice. Find all the episodes for our methodology that teaches parents here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUqEmaLrf_Fs-Cvyk1HvOkA Guidance As a parent, you can help your child with this so much. Navigating a piece of piano music can be daunting. Two staves, multiple pages, hands going in opposite directions and that’s just the notes. As a parent who is sitting with your child, you have an opportunity to: • Keep focused on practice • Build proper habits • Understand mistakes • Improve faster I could go on...(for a while). But in this episode of the Oclef Method, you will get an introduction to three skills that you can develop to help your child practice piano. Priming. Narration. Feedback. Priming: Mentally preparing your child for what is coming in the piece of music in front of them. Narration: Guiding their attention through the play through to focus on the challenges as they happen (counting, hand position changes, intervals). Feedback: Observing the patterns in their mistakes and telling them what to watch out for next time. It’s really about helping them just enough to get them on the right path. With the right habits. And observing the right details. It sounds like a lot to learn, but this is just the first step toward your child receiving seven lessons a week with you at their side. Independence is the goal.