Creative Piano Pedagogy
This podcast is an enriching resource designed specifically for piano teachers and music educators working with out-of-the-box students: students with disabilities, physical or learning differences, gifted and 2-E learners and neurodivergent students. Each episode delves into innovative teaching strategies, offering insights and practical solutions that promote creativity, inclusivity, and approaches teaching from a positive and student-first environment.
Pedagogue, researcher and music educator Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart will demystify topics such as technique, communication, piano methods, understanding behaviors, autism, ADHD, dyslexia and much more- all with a focus on encouraging teachers to meet the diverse needs of their students and inspiring them to embrace new ideas and cultivate the musical potential of every learner.
Creative Piano Pedagogy
05- Balancing Fun and Routine: Summer in the Adaptive Music Studio
Summer brings a welcome change of pace for most piano teachers, but those of us teaching neurodivergent students face unique considerations that deserve thoughtful attention. While neurotypical students typically thrive with relaxed summer schedules, our students with disabilities often find comfort in routine and structure - making the summer transition more complex than simply switching to "fun mode."
The podcast explores this delicate balance, acknowledging that the mental preparation for teaching students with special needs remains significant even during summer months. This episode shares creative approaches to summer teaching, including composer studies focusing on movie scores (John Williams is a particular favorite!), activities that build on students' strengths, and techniques for giving students agency through carefully structured choices. We also explore alternative recital formats that accommodate diverse learners, like this year's successful "My Favorite Things" themed event that combined in-person and virtual performances with relaxed outdoor activities.
Click here to check out the fun and interactive games from Carnegie Hall Elizabeth shared about in this episode! (Animal or Instrument is a huge favorite!)
Have a question about a particular teaching scenario for the new podcast series? Send it to creativepianopedagogy@gmail.com - your query might be featured in an upcoming episode!
Find the full transcript, show notes or links mentioned in the episode here!
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Hey friends, and welcome to episode 5 of the Creative Piano Pedagogy podcast. Goodness, I have missed sharing with you all the last few weeks. What an unexpected and lengthy hiatus it's been. I don't know about you, but this time of year- this season of the year, as we're leading up to the summer here in the United States, it just feels like everything is accelerating at such a rapid pace of busyness that my energy and time is very disproportionate to the amount of things I need to accomplish. So, my apologies for this long break we've had throughout April and the beginning of May, but we are back!
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:We have some exciting things to talk about today and an exciting announcement. So, as we're approaching summer, we are going to have a new series on the podcast, starting May 26th- two weeks from today when this is airing and this series is called, "So So I have this Student. This is inspired by so many wonderfully thoughtful questions from teachers. They have sent in things like technique and hypermobility and finger strength and students with vision or hearing impairments, kiddos who have trouble sitting still at the piano bench and a huge myriad of other questions as well, all relating to teaching students with special needs, students who learn differently. A lot of these questions are going to be from a wonderful group of students and teachers from an MTNA group in Greenville, south Carolina in the United States, and a lot of the other questions I've come to me from Instagram friends, facebook friends and emails I've gotten with just teaching queries. So if you have a question about maybe a student you currently have, especially referencing disabilities, kids who learn differently, anything like that, would you please send it to me Because I would love to feature your question or your scenario. I will keep everything completely anonymous unless you give me permission to share your name, and you can send your questions to my email at creativepianopedagogy, at gmailcom, and you're also welcome to send me a message on Instagram at creativepianopedagogy. I will be checking those often and I am so excited to see what all you send. We all have such different students and such different students, and I I think we have so much to learn from each other. There's also a lot of overlap, things that maybe your students are struggling and another Another teacher will say, yes-, that's my student, student too". So there will be a lot of overlap for all of us and we're just going to learn from each other and get some creative ideas that will hopefully inspire our weary selves over the summer, because I think we all need a little bit of inspiration and a little bit of levity in this very busy time of the year. So,
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:coming into this episode today, I was thinking about the time of year that we are in right now and that is summer. Here in the United States, schools are winding down. Some private schools are already out for the summer, others will continue into June, but it means a change in our lessons and our studio dynamic lessons in our studio dynamic . I have found it so fascinating over the past week or so when I have been on Facebook- Facebook and I haven't been on Facebook very much, but if I see a question or something come up from one of my piano teacher Facebook groups, it's really interesting to hear people's different plans for the summer. I would actually love to know your plans. What do you do during the summer in your studios? I will have some polls on my Instagram next week where you can share that with me and I would love to hear what you do, because it's so fun to know what everyone else is doing. But it really does affect our schedules and our preparation time as piano teachers.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:Many people do very different things. Some teachers will take a total break all summer. Some people view it as a time to really push our students, since they do not have the constraints of academics, usually. So lots of different philosophies and thoughts. I have done a little bit of everything. I have done summer camps- large and small, like university level; and very small, like four or five, six students. I've done camps with my own students, I've done themed lessons, lots of different things. But if you have students who are on the spectrum, students with disabilities or students who learn differently, like I do- and like most of the people who listen to this podcast, your studio may not look like everyone else's over the summer, and that's actually what I want to focus on today in this episode" the kind of different take on summer lessons, what it looks like for teachers who do not have studios with neurotypical learners, and how we kind of view that a little differently, and some pros and cons and a few ideas for you to take into your summer as you prepare to do that.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:One of the things that we typically see and hear about this time of year is everyone's studio recitals, and these vary so greatly that I really enjoy seeing the different ideas. Some people get so incredibly, incredibly creative. My friend, Sheila in North Carolina, has these amazing patio recitals and she'll bring in a jazz band to play with her students. It's incredible the amount of detail and time and planning she puts in these beautiful ensemble recitals. I love when Sheila shares about her recitals- they are just incredible. I had a very interesting recital this year which I'll share about in a little bit.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:But you may be seeing and hearing from friends who are doing things and if you're like me and you have students who learn differently, that can feel a little weird to hear about all of these wonderfully creative things everyone is doing when those situations and those circumstances may not work for yours or my students. A huge part of that is because every studio is different, right, but this is different for us because our students have different comfort levels in social situations, especially our students with disabilities. They may not feel comfortable socializing in large groups with people they don't know. It might really make them nervous and very anxious to play in front of others, to share their music. Even just to attend can cause a lot of anxiety. So if your studio is not able or you do not feel like it's a good fit to do one of those big, fancy recitals, I see you, because it's not a good fit for everyone. And this is also a reminder that what you're doing this year for your recital, for your end of year anything- is not what you have to do every year. You can do something different every year in your studio at the end of the year and that is perfectly fine. I vary things quite often and I love it, and my studio families love it. So just because you're doing something big and fancy this year with, you know, formal attire or whatever it might be, next year you could be very laid back and have an outdoor ice cream party and your students would absolutely love it. So just remember, our studios change from year to year. And if this year you didn't get to do the recital that you prefer, that is okay. And it's okay to feel a little bit sad or kind of disappointed if you see pictures and videos of other teachers celebrating their very large scale events.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:Something else that's different about summer lessons for neurotypical students- and these are our kids without disabilities- they are overjoyed and relieved for a summer schedule to come. It's a lot of fun. A time to put away the school books, no more tests and just kind of chill, be very relaxed and enjoy a very lackadaisical approach to summer learning. For our neurodivergent students, this is going to vary quite a bit more. Some of the students are going to really look forward to that break- a break from their routine. Some of them will enjoy that, but some of them may not find comfort in having such a drastic change in their schedule.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:As we've talked about before on previous episodes, students with disabilities thrive with structured environments and with routines; and of course those routines can take a lot of different avenues and look very differently, but routines are really comforting for students with disabilities. So having an entire summer where maybe they're going to a different camp every single week, filled with new people they don't know, or maybe their parents are having them double down on a lot of therapies over the summer to really work on things that they need to kind of brush up on-- all of this is a lot of new, isn't it? Even though they're having different schedules and it's more relaxed in some ways, it may not be very therapeutic for them as it would be for others. Something else that can impact our students over the summer is difference in medications. Some students may be on medications during the school year to help them focus on their academics or just to stay focused during the school day, or whatever it might be- even medications for anxiety or things like that; and over the summer they may not have those same medical routines as well, which can impact their learning and how they experience things.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:Something else that can be a bit different for us is- when I am teaching students who are neurotypical, this is your typical student who doesn't have a disability- their lessons are more relaxed. We're in summer learning mode and we do lots of fun supplemental music, so many activities. It's really quite a jubilant, joyful, fun-filled time. And that's not to say that my lessons with my neurodivergent students are not jubilant, joy-filled and very fun. But if you have students with disabilities in your studio, you know that the mental load and the preparation and planning for teaching neurodivergent students is very different than teaching neurotypical kiddos. We just have to be so much more prepared mentally, emotionally even just our teaching space has to be so very precisely ready for them that it can still feel like a heavier mental load as a teacher, even over the summer, when our other duties might be a bit lighter, so that's something that can be a bit different for us, as opposed to having a studio full of neurotypical students.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:I thought I might share what my studio looks like this summer and spring, because this has been a very different year than past years of teaching, and sometimes that just happens. Life happens and things just sort of evolve into something that you didn't think was going to happen and it does.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:I had my recital this year the last Sunday in April, and we had both an indoor and outdoor event. I turned my living room in our home, which is where my studio is, into a little recital hall. I rented a bunch of chairs and we had close to 40 people in my living room, and we had the piano tuned and students were there in person and on Zoom on a big screen my virtual students- and it was so much fun. We had a lot of variety of performances and our theme for this recital was 'my favorite things.' Students were invited to wear clothes that were their favorite color or their favorite outfit- anything that represented their 'favorite.' One of my students wore a shirt with his favorite food on it, which is eggs, and I love that he wore a shirt with eggs at his recital. It was intentionally very informal in that way just to bring about a little different vibe this year, and it was so much fun. We also had snacks afterwards outside in the front yard of their favorite fruits. I bought a lot of different kinds of frozen popsicles and we had my students' favorite fruits. And that was so fun because it was a very warm day here in South Georgia in the US, and so everyone drank cold lemonade and kids played with yard games like cornhole and sidewalk chalk all over my driveway. They all put on brightly colored sunglasses that I gave out- it was really fun. Parents and grandparents stayed. It was very relaxing.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:One thing I did that was really, really fun and kind of quirky- at the end of the recital, I wanted to do something a bit different this year. I typically will play something for my students, but this year I wanted to do something a bit more collaborative that would have some audience participation. I will share a link to what I did with you in the show notes so that if you would like to use it in your recital or just with your students, it is so much fun. I hope you try it, but the Carnegie Hall in New York City has a wonderful website with lots of really cool games and musical quizzes that teachers can use with their students, and these work great both in groups and one-on-one. So if you're in a music classroom, like you're teaching elementary music, these are wonderful to do with your group of students. If you're teaching group piano or if you're just one-on-one and you want to do it with your student, they're perfect for all of those and obviously it worked for the end of recital as well..
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:But we played a game together on the big screen in my studio and it's called Animal or Instrument, and these are pre-recorded sounds of either animals or instruments and we all guessed together- we did about eight of them. The students on Zoom heard them and the students in person were able to vote. It was so very funny because we heard instrument sounds that really were hilarious, and we learned that animals make really funny sounds, too that can sound like instruments. So it ended up in laughter and lots of joy all around with parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and students all laughing and having fun together. One downside of this event for a few of my neurodivergent students was that having so many people in my living room was a bit overwhelming, so I would definitely I probably do it a little differently next year if it's in the same space, but overall it was very successful and kids of all ages and levels felt comfortable sharing their music.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:Something else that's a little different about my studio in the summer is that I do not teach during the month of July. I count it as a huge privilege to be able to take time off in the summer because I remember many, many, many years of teaching all the way through the summer. So if you are in one of those positions where teaching is your primary income and you have to teach all summer, I totally get that and I remember how it feels to teach through all the holidays- Memorial Day, Labor Day, all the US big holidays and small ones, and to be what only felt like the only person in the city teaching. And I know I wasn't at all, but I remember how that felt, and so I count it a huge privilege to be able to take time off in the summer to do things.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:But there are ways you can make lessons really fun in the summer for your neurodivergent students. One thing you want to keep in mind is for our special kiddos, since we know they appreciate structure and routine, we We don't want to suddenly change everything about their lessons simply because it is summer. That might make sense to us to change everything, but that might not make sense to them and it might kind of unsettle them. So you want to avoid drastic changes and give them more choices for things. Here's That's one really fun way to kind of mix up your lessons- Instead of choosing all the things you're going to do in the lesson, have your student choose each aspect, have two choices for each. Like each improvisation, each new ear training game, you want to do this one or this one, and give them choices throughout the summer. That's a great way to help your student practice agency and making their own decisions, but also let them feel like they have, you know, a little control. It's very, very fun.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:Something else that's really really fun to do in the summer is to do composer studies. I don't know about you, but my students absolutely love the music of Harry Potter, and John Williams is a big, big, big favorite of ours over here. Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Jaws, all the beautiful movie scores, and we love to do things about John Williams. Even just listening to a bit of the music and making our own drawing or coloring a picture, and then having a fun quiz at the end of the summer on which movie the music is from, that kind of thing. Something else you can do is think about is, "mm, what is my student really good at? And then do more of that in the summer. This is a great time to let them build on what they love. That's a great way to do that with your student, who might not enjoy a completely different lesson schedule. For my students, those things are composing chords, chord charts, improvisation, off-bench activities and lots of choices.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:Choices are some of my students' favorite ways to have fun in lessons. They love to choose things. So this summer, give your students the option: Should we do this game or this game, and give them lots of choices? Maybe just two choices for each thing you're going to do that day, but allow them to choose a little more than typical and tell them that, since it's summer, would you like to help me choose what we do today in our lesson" and kind of present it like a fun invitation for them to join you in choosing things for their lesson. They'll think it's really fun.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:I want to leave you with this parting thought. We need to kind of keep our expectations in check about summer lessons. I think some of us might take the approach of "oh this is a great time to make sure my student learns the entire book, one of Bach's Weltenberg Clavier and if that is your goal, my hat is off to you. I took a summer in high school and learned all the inventions and symphonias and that was a great, great project, but it might not be a good fit for everyone.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:Our goal in the summer is to keep our students engaged, keep them playing, keep them excited about music, and really use the time to do things we don't usually have time to do in lessons. That's my favorite thing to do in the summer- just include things that I don't have time to include the rest of the year.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everhart:So whatever your summer teaching schedule looks like, I do hope you plan a little time for yourself to read a new teaching book or a non-music book, whatever you find interesting . Go take a long walk, drink a cold coffee- coffee something that's very relaxing, because teaching is really hard. And especially especially for those of us with neurodivergent students, that mental load doesn't always lessen over the summer, so don't forget to take time for yourself to relax and sort of decompress during this time. That's all for today. Thanks for in in and it's great to be back on the podcast today, and we'll look forward to starting this new. "So So I have this student in just a few weeks, so don't forget to send in any questions you have and I'll look forward to talking about them and sharing them with you.
