Are you still relevant?

Playing the piano is cool again!

Just some quick thoughts today. I’ve been feeling lately like it’s a really great time to be a piano teacher these days. In the past 5 years there seems to be a real surge in the popularity of the piano and that in many ways taking piano is losing its stigma of being a “dorky” thing to do (it was certainly considered this way when I was a kid).

Now more than ever I have students who continue their piano lessons all the way through high school and genuinely enjoy the pursuit. Have you looked around YouTube lately? The number of teens (and younger kids) posting videos of themselves playing the piano is astounding! Many of these videos are often teens and pre-teens doing “covers” of their favorite radio tunes—often tunes that have only been out for a very short period of time. Even better, many of these videos are in a tutorial style meant to teach other pianists how to play these new hits. I love this!

I think it is so encouraging seeing young people taking pride in what they’re doing and seeking feedback from their peers. To put it in perspective I was actually embarrassed to tell my peers that I played the piano when I was a kid (late Gen X-er here!). Which leads to a question for my readers. Are you staying up to date with what your students are listening to? Are you still relevant in their eyes? Do you care? I’m one of those teachers that wants to stay up to date. In my business model my flexibility with repertoire is what keeps my clients coming back for years to come. And as a personal benefit it keeps me young as well.

So are you staying relevant? Do you enjoy mixing things up with your students in terms of repertoire? I’d love to hear about it!