A few weeks ago, I interviewed John Bloomfield for a promotion regarding the Taubman workshops in Brisbane (by the way, you can still watch the recordings of these episodes for another month or so).
Despite the quality of the recording and sound being pretty average, I had a lot of positive comments from people about the interview and how much they enjoyed watching. I was also interviewed on Teach Piano Today last year regarding my thoughts on iPads.
And I really enjoyed doing it!
I’ve been thinking for a while now about how cool it would be to have a regular podcast to share more in-depth ideas with my readers. Hearing how much people got out of the quick 10-minute interview with John, despite the technical issues, has prompted me to finally get moving with my own regular podcast.
So say hello to Tim Topham TV!
If you’re unfamiliar with podcasts, they are audio or video recordings of a live presentation, much like a radio station, which you can watch or listen to via a webpage on any device or through an app on your iPad or smart phone. You can “subscribe” to podcasts meaning that you’ll instantly be notified of new episodes as they are aired and most of them have a place for comments and links, just like a normal blog article.
Podcasts are usual audio-only (just like listening to the radio) but sometimes involve video. My plan is to do a mix of both, with people able to watch interviews or just listen to the audio – whatever works best for your learning and access to technology.
Why a Podcast?
I’ve decided to start a podcast as I believe they are one of the best ways to learn about new things. I subscribe to around six podcasts that I regularly listen to. I find that I have learnt much more through listening to content and people discussing ideas and issues than I would ever have through reading text.
Think about the main ways in which schools and universities still deliver content: lectures followed-up with reading/notes. This is exactly what podcasts are about. You listen to someone sharing their ideas, discussing and demonstrating a technique or perhaps interviewing another person, and then you can head to the blog page (if you’re not already on it) in order to download resources and click links, etc.
Importantly, I find that audio podcasts mean that I can be 100% productive in the car or on public transport. While I don’t have to drive that much in my current role, even the 20 minutes or so each way is great to listen to half or a third of an hour-long podcast. When I’m next it the car, the player just starts from where I left off. I often find myself having to pull over and take notes as new ideas come to mind as a result of what I’m listening to.
Similarly, you might like to listen to podcasts when you’re going for a walk, giving you the best of both worlds: some exercise outside the studio and some quality content to inspire you!
What’s Tim Topham TV going to be about?
Well, piano teaching obviously, but more specifically, the main content of my podcast will be interviews with other people.
While I don’t profess to have all the ideas and answers when it comes to piano education, I do have a lot of contacts in the field. It’s my aim to help these people share their their ideas with you and take you on a mini journey during each episode to help you learn something more about education, piano, repertoire, training, etc.
I’ve got a heap of great people lined up to interview, including:
Pianists
Teachers
Other Bloggers
Presenters
Composers
Authors
Online marketing experts to help with promoting your studio
Event organisers – eg. conferences, competitions, etc.
Who would you like to hear me interview?
Even more importantly, I’d love to hear from you about the content you’d like me to explore on Tim Topham TV.
What would you like to hear about in this podcast?
Who would you like to hear interviewed?
What topics are most relevant to you? What issues are causing you the most pain right now?
Would you like to hear more about great repertoire? Teaching ideas? Resources? Training?
Maybe how to teach composition/creativity?
What about technology you’d like to use in your studio?
Teaching teens? Teaching Adults? Teaching people on the autism spectrum?
What method nooks to use and why?
What about tips for running your studio? Policies and contracts?
How to run your studio business?
Teaching online lessons?
Which exam board to use? How to prepare students for exams?
Anything at all!
You’ll find the usual comment box below – please leave any thoughts you might have.
Stay tuned for Podcast Episode 1 when I’ll be interviewing my good friend and fellow Aussie composer/teacher/presenter Daniel McFarlane, composer of the immensely popular Supersonics Piano. I’ll be asking him all about his background, how he came to be composing, his teaching tips for creativity in lessons, how you can get the most out of his music and how you can even start composing music for your own students.
Test Recording
Below you’ll find an example of how the audio version of the podcast will be displayed. This is just a test recording in order to get my feed into iTunes and to check everything is working. You can click the play button to listen, or you might prefer to wait until Episode 1 is released. As long as you’re subscribed to this blog, you’ll be updated when new episodes are released.
Looking forward to sharing more ideas with you soon!
Subscribe to The Integrated Music Teaching podcast
TTTV008: Tactics for teaching piano students with ASD & ADHD – Thembi Shears
by Tim Topham
Have you ever taught a student with special needs or learning difficulties? Do you have a student right now who is on the Autism Spectrum? In today’s podcast epidsode Thembi Shears shares her fantastic insights into teaching students with ASD or ADHD. Thembi talks about what these terms mean, the difficulties you may encounter, and how ... TTTV008: Tactics for teaching piano students with ASD & ADHD – Thembi Shears
TTTV063: How the 4-Week Challenge helped Colin grow his studio by 800%
by Tim Topham
In the Inner Circle every so often we have ‘4-Week Challenges‘. In these challenges piano teachers set themselves goals to complete within a four week timeframe. This gives them accountability to the other teachers inside the community, and the motivation and support to achieve their goals. As many piano teachers are self-employed, this can really ... TTTV063: How the 4-Week Challenge helped Colin grow his studio by 800%
TC287: Hook, Line and Sinker – Hesitant to Hero Challenge Day 4
by Tim Topham
We’re now in day 4 of our Hesitant to Hero Challenge series on the podcast and today’s topic is all about hook, line and sinker. The idea is to teach your students classical and pop hooks and riffs. We’ll be talking about how giving students modern pop hooks to play can build their identity as ... TC287: Hook, Line and Sinker – Hesitant to Hero Challenge Day 4
TTTV006: Online music studio promotion and advertising with Martyn Croston
by Tim Topham
In this episode Martyn Croston gives practical advice to get your teaching business found online. This is essential listening, whether you’re just starting out, trying to expand your studio, or just making sure your waiting list stays topped up! Marketing is often the area of the business that teachers least enjoy (aside from doing taxes!), but ... TTTV006: Online music studio promotion and advertising with Martyn Croston
TC227: Hunters and Collectors’ trumpeter Jack Howard
by Tim Topham
Keen to learn about the experiences of Hunters and Collectors band member, Jack Howard? We’ll you’re in for a treat because I’ve invited Jack to share his story with us. Jack is such an accomplished musician – from touring the world with Midnight Oil as their multi-instrumentalist to releasing his own critically acclaimed records since ... TC227: Hunters and Collectors’ trumpeter Jack Howard
CPTP125: 25 Years of Composing and Arranging with Phillip Keveren
by Tim Topham
Phillip Keveren has created some of my favourite arrangements for piano. All of his pieces are beautiful, pianistic and playable. As he points out in the interview, you don’t want a student doesn’t want to be working on a pop arrangement for 6 months, and his work makes these pieces students want to play accessible to ... CPTP125: 25 Years of Composing and Arranging with Phillip Keveren
Tim Topham is the founder and director of TopMusic. Tim hosts the popular TopCast show, blogs regularly at dev.topmusic.co and speaks at local and international conferences on topics such as pedagogy, business, marketing and entrepreneurship. Tim has been featured in American Music Teacher, The Piano Teacher Magazine, California Music Teacher and EPTA Piano Professional. Tim holds an MBA in Educational Leadership, BMus, DipEd and AMusA.
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1 Comment
Sounds exciting!
Alice