Welcome to this special episode, recorded live during my 2020 Piano Pivot Live event—a piano teachers’ conference unlike any other! Nicola and I dive deep into my journey from being a university student studying audio engineering to becoming a full-time music educator and entrepreneur. We explore the pivotal moments in my career, including why I returned to music after a decade, how I built my blog and courses, and what led me to coaching and organizing events. We also discuss the challenges of managing time between family, teaching, and growing a business. For anyone curious about my evolution from a regular teacher to launching successful online ventures, this episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at the highs, lows, and lessons learned along the way.
Tim and Nicola began an open fireside chat where audience members could ask questions.
Impact of Tim's first piano teacher, Ms. Mac, who was crucial to his music journey.
The importance of non-traditional teaching methods.
How to handle students who express interest in learning pop music but don’t provide specific requests.
Using improvisation in piano teaching.
Handling parental concerns on improvisation.
Musical mashups for beginners and teens.
Tim shared some business and marketing insights, particularly online marketing strategies and how they apply to music studios.
Why Tim returned to music after exploring other entrepreneurial ventures.
How he balance family, piano teaching, blogging, and other ventures.
His journey from teacher to entrepreneur.
The launch of his initial online course, which made $30,000 in revenue.
Tim's most valuable advice for a teacher starting their journey.
TopMusicPro Members' Link
Fireside Chat with Tim and Nicola at Piano Pivot Live
Today’s Sponsor
Alfred Music, the leader in music education for over 100 years, produces educational, reference, pop, and performance materials for teachers, students, professionals, and hobbyists spanning every musical instrument, style, and difficulty level. Alfred Music is located in Colorado, with offices around the world, including Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
Since 1922, Alfred Music has been dedicated to helping people learn, teach, and play music. Alfred Music currently has over 150,000 active titles and represents a wide range of well-known publications —from methods like Alfred’s Basic Guitar, Alfred’s Basic Piano Library, Premier Piano Course, Sound Innovations, and Suzuki, to artists like Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, and The Rolling Stones, to brands like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, and Billboard.
In addition to its own titles, Alfred Music distributes products from over 150 companies, including Advance Music, Belwin, Edition Peters, The FJH Music Company Inc., Faber Music, Jamey Aebersold Jazz, and LudwigMasters Publications. Alfred Music is now also paired with MakeMusic, which is part of Peaksware Holdings, LLC portfolio of companies, to transform how music is composed, published, taught, learned, and performed by bringing together the leaders in educational music publishing and music technology.
Visit their website at www.alfred.com.
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