Best Blogs for Piano Teachers

Updated 4/19

Ever wondered what the best blogs for piano teachers were? Well, there are many new blogs out there for piano teachers that are good, but a few are excellent.  I categorize blogs as excellent when any or all of these things are present:

• The writing is thought provoking
• The author frequently shares creative ideas
• I find myself challenged to be a better teacher
• The posts are informative and useful to me as a teacher

Here are the blogs in my “excellent” category.  These are the ones that I think every piano teacher should have in their blogroll, rss feed, or visit regularly (no apparent order).

Compose Create–Well, you’re already here!  You didn’t expect me to leave my own blog off the list, did you? 🙂  We specialize in creating Music Kids Love®. You’ll see that as our passion in everything we do, whether it’s creating a new Rhythm Cup Explorations series, new music that connects with kids, or free resources that help you teach more effectively. We also specialize in giving tips, techniques, and ideas for teaching composition.

Diane Hidy’s Piano Teaching Tips–Diane is a composer, performer, and a master teacher. She has a way of creating simple solutions for common problems in piano teaching. She’s extremely practical and I think you’ll find her ideas and resources very appealing.

Piano Teacher Resources–Susan Paradis, a teacher in Texas creates many useful games and worksheets for her students.  She gives these away freely to teachers by allowing them to download and print them.  I have a drawer full of games my students love from Susan Paradis!  Susan also periodically reviews books and composes music for early level students which she also posts as a free download.

Tim Topham–Tim calls his site a progressive piano teaching site and I agree. He has a weekly podcast that addresses many issues piano teachers face. He specializes in helping teachers integrate popular music into their teaching for maximum results.

Leila Viss 88pianokeys.me–Leila is the famous author of The iPad Piano Teacher and can get anyone how to get started teaching with an iPad. But she does it in a non-techy way, so even if you are intimidated with technology, she can definitely help!

Piano Pantry–Amy does a segment every Friday called “Friday Finds” where she link to a bunch of different things that piano teachers might find helpful. She has a number of non-piano related “finds” there as well, but they are always fun, diverse, and top quality!

Elissa Milne–This is a new composer and piano teacher that I met on Twitter.  She is the composer of the Little Pepper Series published by Faber Music as well as other anthologies published in Australia.  Elissa’s posts are always challenging to me as a teacher and make me think of new ideas and applications for teaching.  Elissa writes about composing for students, music analysis, piano pedagogy and a host of other issues.  I highly recommend this blog if you want to be challenged!

Joy Morin Color in My Piano–Joy has a number of resources, many of them free for the piano teacher. You’ll find lots of new ideas on her site.

Foxx Piano Resources–Jennifer Foxx has been blogging for a while now and has some great resources for teachers on her site. She also like to address technology and piano teaching.

Less Active Piano Teaching Blogs

Layton Music Games–D’net Layton has posted many games on her blog that you can download and print.

Music Matters Blog–Natalie Wickham posts regularly about how she organizes her group lessons, motivational programs for the year, advice for teachers, and any new nugget of wisdom she finds on the web. She took a break from blogging for a while, but you can still find some helpful information on her site.

If you know about a blog that you feel fits these criteria, please feel free to share about it here!