Piano Pedagogy
Paloma Piano was founded by Doreen Hall, a 35-year veteran piano teacher and published author, who knows the ins and outs of teaching the piano and how to run and profitable and peaceful piano-teaching business.
“As an active piano teacher with a large and diverse studio of online and in-person students, I am seeing and experiencing the changes in our profession. I am finding that now more than ever we need music that students will be motivated to play. For some students that means music that is challenging to learn, for others, that means shorter easier selections. Many students need extra help with rhythm, and note reading. Sometimes a musical game is just the thing to keep things moving ahead during a lesson.” – Doreen Hall
Paloma Piano has over 1,000 pages of resources including musical games and worksheets and piano and vocal music that includes a wide range of musical genres and levels. Check out our huge library of musical scores, music collections, instructional materials, music theory resources, games, and much, much more. And all of it is downloadable; just a click away.
Join for Free. No credit card is needed.
Doreen’s two 2 books about piano teaching methods are available on Amazon.
The Happiest Piano Teacher in Town: Empowering Teachers to Inspire Students
and
The Ultimate Preschool Piano Activities Book: Complete Guide to Hands-on Preschool Piano Teaching
Latest
Free Games You can Use in Your Studio Tomorrow!
All of the free printables can be found here on the website in the Free Music and Games Library. Imagine how excited your students will be to play a colorful…
Never Give Up!
Never Give Up. An antique Aeolian piano stood in the downstairs room of my childhood home. It was gigantic! It was old and tinny sounding. You could pop paper rolls…
10 Reasons to Teach Classical Music
Most of us have heard about the benefits of listening to classical music. There have been studies done that show that listening to the classics boosts mood, intelligence, and memory….
Paloma Piano Summer Ideas
Having fresh and interesting summer teaching ideas will motivate our students and keep our studios vibrant. It’s also fun for us as well. I hope you will enjoy our…
My Case for Formal Recitals
My Case for Formal Recitals I have heard a lot of stories about piano teachers and their horror stories about recitals.” The stress, anxiety, stage fright, and more. But here’s…
Focus on the Classics!
Focus on the Classics! I love the piano! It is so versatile. We can play almost every style and genre of music imaginable. My students enjoy lots of different types…
The Never-Ending I Want a New Piano Piece Continuum
The Never-Ending I Want a New Piano Piece Continuum It goes like this; I assign a piece and after two weeks my student doesn’t want to learn it. So, I…
The Dilemma of Kids with Great Ears.
I have seen this subject come up quite a bit in piano teacher groups. So I’ll tell you all a story. I have a student. The kid is brilliant. Not…
12 Games You Can Play With Online or In Person Students of Any Age
30 minutes can feel like a long time for students. Especially online students. About mid-lesson, I like to take a two to four-minute break and play a game. These games…
Sounds all Around
There are all kinds of opportunities to train your ear just walking down the street. I was out in Seattle a couple of weeks ago walking around when I heard…
The Pre-Recorded Holiday Recital
My last studio recital was supposed to be in-person but several people tested positive for COVID and two, it was moved to Zoom. It was OK but a few of…
Age-related Practice Guidelines
Keeping in mind that the ultimate goal is to create lifelong musicians and keeping in mind that I want my students to grow to love the piano, my objective…
Help! My Student Isn’t Practicing!!
This is a summer like no other. The airports are packed, national parks are over full, and everyone is out and about. It’s no wonder, we pretty much lost last…
Teaching Students to Read Music
I tell my students that music reading is our burden to bear. I played the violin all through school and reading the treble clef one note at a time was…
Teaching Rhythm
“Music is organized sound, Rhythm is the timing of the.music. In time is where the music exists. Time is like the canvass, rhythm the brush strokes, and notes the colors.”…
Let’s Get Going – Tips for Getting Ourselves and Our Students Out of the Doldrums
It’s only Tuesday and it’s been a real challenge this week. Even some of my best students seem to be in Lala land. Forgetting notes and rhythms, losing music, playing…
I Love My iPad
In July of 2020, my father gave me an awesome gift. An iPad Pro. This was before the pandemic shutdowns and online teaching became my main way of earning my…
Teaching Students to Play by Ear
My very first piano teacher Mr. Herbert Sweet taught me to play popular music from the very beginning. I remember he would write out the melody and the chords to…
Making Online Teaching Easier
We have all been thrown into online lessons whether we wanted to be teaching online or not. I have been teaching online since 2016 when I moved from South Florida…
16 Qualities of a Good Piano Teacher
16 Qualities of a Good Piano Teacher? “Where love is deep, much can be accomplished.” Shinichi Suzuki I saw a post on Facebook today where someone was asking what…
Why Some Students Have No Performance Anxiety.⚘
Guest Post By Marlene Moore ( This may be the most important article you read this year.) Changes have happened with piano teachers during the past 20 years. This is…
10 Tips for Teaching Transfer Piano Students
“Hello…Ms. Hall?” “Yes, this is she” “My name is Sherry I am looking for a new piano teacher for my daughter Angie do you have any openings in your studio…
No More Labels Please – Tips for Working With Special Needs Piano Students.
I wrote this post a while back and never published it. I was worried about being too…I don’t know…controversial. I totally respect the scientific community and all of those…
Favorite Piano Teaching Books and Resources
I compiled a list of favorite piano teaching books and resources with the help of many colleagues. These are the books piano teachers recommend and use daily in their studios. The list features resources for beginning through later-intermediate piano students.
Piano Students with Challenging Attitudes
My second son Johnny is musically gifted and like his mom he loves music. He has always been a super-sweet kid, although when he was younger, he was a bit…
Beginning Piano Improvisation Activities
This post will explore beginning piano improvisation activities and why improvisation is so important. Objectives, For students to feel comfortable making their own music. To inspire creativity. To build confidence…
Practice Makes Progress
Chapter 18 – From “The Happiest Piano Teacher in Town-Empowering Teachers to Inspire Students” Practice makes progress. “Our aim needs to be the nurturing of children. The moment we rigidly…
The Value of Independent Piano Work
My goal as a teacher is to make myself unnecessary. I am happiest when I see my alumni playing music they have learned without my help. However, getting students to…
Still trying to Please Everyone? Stop it! You Can’t.
I had almost forgotten. It’s been a little while since I’ve been hit with a dose of negativity. Things have been going pretty well lately. I got a job at…
Love Will Keep Us Together
I have one, most all-important wish for every person (adult or child) who comes into my studio to begin piano lessons. That is, that they fall in love with the…
How and Why to Teach Folk Music to Piano Students
Folk Music, by definition, is the music of the people. It is simple enough that the average person can perform it and it reflects the lives and concerns of its…
10 Great Piano Teaching Games Using Chopsticks
Like most teachers, I always have an eye out for things that I can use when I am teaching. I came across a great set of twenty Chopsticks in the…
Create Your Own Hands-on Piano Piano Activities
Hands-on is Helpful. I live in Cleveland Ohio in the U.S. There is a large and vibrant classical music community here due to the presence of the Cleveland Institute of…
A Heart for Teaching Piano Teachers – Part 1
I remember my very first piano teaching job at a music store in New York. I got the job because my violin teacher and her husband owned the store. I…
A Heart for Teaching Piano Teachers – Part 2
Here is the second part of last week’s blog post. A Heart for Teaching Piano Teachers – Part 1. Continued. Everything has a downside While it is true that most…
Preschool Piano Skills and Goals
What does it mean to be the best piano teacher in town? It means having preschool piano skills and goals that will attract and maintain great students. Here are some…
Why Teach Music History to Piano Students?
Music History…Music History! Are you still with me? Why teach music history to piano students? Honestly, I used to hate my college Music History class. “Music Misery” does that ring a…
Sight-Reading
Sight-reading piano music is no easy task! Actually reading piano music at all is no easy task. Being able to instantly play music that is set before you is nothing…
9 Tips for Teaching Teenage Beginning Piano Students
I started learning the piano at age 12. Which is kind of late musically speaking. The fact is the earlier in life you start piano lessons the better. However, not…
Teaching Piano Students to be “Let Go” Players
Piano Students Need to Let Go! Nicholas was playing the Beethoven Minuet in G Major when he suddenly lost his place in the trio section. “Ms. Hall where am I?”…
Overachieving Piano Students
The Overachieving Student Overachieving piano students, We love them! In fact, most of the piano teachers are overachievers so we can relate to them. Students who are willing to practice…
10 Tips For Accurate Piano Playing
Accurate Piano Playing “Ms. Doreen, which instrument is the easiest to play?” I get this question quite often. Though I’m not sure why my students want to know. A few…
The Perfectionistic Piano Student
Have you ever had an experience with a student that just doesn’t compute? You know the child is smart. She’s in the gifted program at school yet she doesn’t seem…
Overcoming Stage Fright
Stage Fright Stage fright anyone? Or should I say stage fright, everyone? We’ve all been there. Those sweaty palms and sick stomachs are things all performers experience. And I do…
Learning Piano Scales and Arpeggios the Easy Way
Learning Piano Scales and Arpeggios the Easy Way In the last blog post “Convincing Kids to Play Piano Scales & Arpeggios” I wrote about explaining to students why playing scales…
Convincing Kids to Play Piano Scales and Arpeggios
Let me start by being perfectly honest. I don’t like teaching scales or arpeggios. Come to think of it, I don’t like playing them either. I don’t know of many…
Easy Music Theory
Music Theory doesn’t have to consist of boring drills and endless busy work. Easy Music theory is in every piece so why not teach it as you go? I majored…
Convincing Students to Count Rhythm
To Count rhythm? or Not to Count rhythm? Convincing students to count rhythm. Here I go again trying to cajole a student into counting aloud. I can tell what she’s…
Piano Method Books – A Brief History
I have been doing some research on the history of piano method books. Who taught the great composers of the past to play? and what materials were used to teach…
Choosing Piano Repertoire
The Never Ending “I Can’t Find a Piece I Like” Continuum Have you ever heard something like this while choosing piano repertoire? “Sarah doesn’t practice much because she really doesn’t…
10 Activities for Preschool Piano Students
I love teaching preschool piano students, but in order to keep the little ones engaged it is important to keep things moving. Here are 10 activities I use during preschool…
Piano Lessons For Adults
Piano lessons aren’t just for kids anymore, and that’s great news! So many people who missed out on the opportunity to take lessons as children are signing up for piano…
How to Teach Music Reading
How to Teach Music Reading In the last post, we discussed the challenges of learning to read piano music. This post will address how the Paloma Piano method can…
When Students Want to Quit Playing the Piano
I happen to love playing the piano! But, the 88 keys are not for everyone. Learning the piano takes a huge commitment of both time and money. It’s a…
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