The Happiest Piano Teacher in Town: Empowering Teachers to Inspire Students

by DOREEN M. Hall

Imagine happy students who can't wait to get to their lesson each week; Students who actually practice and love the piano. Imagine happy parents who are so thrilled to see their kids learning that they are happy to pay you and ready to recommend you to their friends and family. Imagine yourself really loving your work. Nobody knows the highs and lows of piano teaching better than 35-year teaching veteran Doreen M. Hall. She knows how unbelievably rewarding the job can be and she also knows the struggles piano teachers face. Keeping a studio running smoothly and having successful students is no easy task.“The Happiest Piano Teacher in Town” takes a fresh look at the profession of piano teaching. (Yes, it is a profession). It is chock-full of concrete actionable steps and suggestions. Doreen will show you how to create a studio policy that really works for you and how to create a step-by-step “Blueprint” so that you will feel confident in your teaching. The book tackles the difficult questions of how to get students to practice regularly, how to communicate with parents and how to balance work and family. It also covers how to avoid common problems and what to do when they arise. Doreen Hall uses humor and stories to show you how she came to really love teaching and how you can too. Whether you are a new teacher or a seasoned veteran, “The Happiest Piano Teacher in Town” is an inspiration for every person who does the amazing job of teaching the piano.

158 pages, Paperback

Published March 25, 2019

Reviews

[Kara Whitford · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's years of experience in building and maintaining a studio make this book a good read for a teacher who perhaps majored in performance and needs help formulating their studio, or for a teacher who has things running and needs to step back and take an assessment of how things are going.

Content probably would have gotten 4 stars, but the book would be much better with some editorial work - the grainy cover, pixelated interior font, clunky formatting, and incorrect grammar and punctuation greatly detracted from the content of the book.

[Shari Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed your book. Loved your positive approach, that all backgrounds have something to offer. Going back to re-read and glean more specifics for policy and other topics. The practice chapter grabbed me as I haven't been emphasizing it as I should. Clearly, that is a disservice to my students. Will work at establishing some guidelines so practice becomes what it needs to be for growth and inspiration. Thank you, Doreen. 🎵🎹🎵🌷💖🌷

[Rebecca Clark Lightcap · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are lots of helpful hints in this book. I no longer consider myself a beginning (101 level) teacher; I’m probably a 202 or maybe even a 301 teacher. Although this book would be a very useful resource for any teacher who’s just starting out - and several ideas here were not new to me - there’s good food for thought for experienced teachers too. I’m very glad that Doreen Hall wrote this book, and I’m equally glad that I read it!