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

05/28/24 • 37 min

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

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

Previous Episode

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

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/

Next Episode

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

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