Today I’d like to share a teaching approach that is fundamental to how I lead online piano lessons. It’s an approach that I learned in teacher education and became fundamental to my method once I started teaching teacher education and I saw how powerful it truly is for both children and adults.

Perfectionism is a motivation killer, and it can be hard to encourage students who struggle with it.

Signs of perfectionism may include: - Unwillingness to practice  - Reluctance to play in front of you - Getting very upset if they make a mistake - Starting the whole piece over again if they make a mistake - Playing more slowly than they need to - Reluctance to sign up for recitals or exams

Here are my best tips on creating a teaching environment that can help a student overcome perfectionism.

If you’re anything like me, you may like to have a step-by-step plan for how you’re going to get from Point A to Point B. But the problem is that with bigger goals, those steps aren’t always clear. Those steps aren’t always possible to know in advance – especially if you’re trying something new (like learning piano!).

Not knowing your way can then lead to some stress and panic – feelings we don’t want anywhere near our piano! So what do we do?

Kids love attention when they’re learning and practicing piano! But sometimes it can be hard for a parent to know how to encourage their child, especially if they don’t know how to play piano themselves. You can only say “Good job!” so many times before you wish you could give them a little more.