This week I’m putting the finishing touches on new curriculum for “Piano for Songwriters,” a course I teach for School of Song. We had our first month-long class in April and I’m excited to see returning students and new faces.
Another educator pointed out to me that my class uses a “flipped classroom” model, which I love, partly just because it sounds cool. It’s also an effective way to use people’s time, and I’m always in favor of treating my adult students’ time as precious.
A flipped classroom can mean various things. In this case it means students absorb the information on their own time, with video lectures and independent practice. This frees class time for inspiration: students perform for each other, ask questions, think creatively.
Students in my Piano for Songwriters class work through a video curriculum I’ve created that teaches essential skills for using the piano as a writing tool. Then we meet once weekly on Zoom and every student has a chance to perform a song they chose to work on that week. In the last class these are all original songs.
Hearing everyone’s songs at the end of the first class made me quite emotional. We had folks who had only just started playing the instrument, along with experienced multi-instrumentalists, all bringing their creativity to the table and sharing their music with each other.
If you have questions about the class, feel free to shoot me a message! We still have spots left.
Until next time,
Ted