Piano Inspires Podcast: Michelle Conda
Discovery homeSign up for email updatessubmit a question To celebrate the latest episode of the Piano Inspires Podcast featuring Michelle Conda, we are sharing an excerpted transcript of her conversation with Andrea. Want to learn more about Conda? Check out the latest installment of the...
Why am I passionate about adult teaching?
Keyboard Companion Spring 2006; Vol. 17, No. 1
Michelle Conda, Editor Editor’s Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the article that was originally scheduled for the Adult Study column in this issue of Keyboard Companion is out there floating somewhere in cyberspace. In light of this opportunity, I am recreating part of a presentation...
Ten years later — what are your adult students doing now?
Keyboard Companion Winter 2005; Vol. 16, No. 4
Michelle Conda, Editor Twenty years ago Olive studied piano with me. We parted company after ten years only because she moved to Sedona, Arizona. However, we know how small our world really is; not long ago I received a letter from Sedona. It was from...
How has your adult teaching changed since you first started teaching adults?
Keyboard Companion Autumn 2005; Vol. 16, No. 3
Michelle Conda, Editor When I first started teaching adults, I thought my students were really old! Twenty (or should I say thirty) years later, I’m older than many of my adult students. I have a different perspective now — I understand how it feels to...
Is the Willingness and Ability to Teach Adults a Moral Issue?
Keyboard Companion Autumn 2001; Vol. 12, No. 3
by Brenda Dillon What an interesting question! If having the willingness and ability to teach adults is a moral issue, is not having the willingness and/or ability and not teaching them, immoral? Both of our writers for this question have unusually interesting viewpoints about teaching...
What keeps me coming back to piano study? The views of two adult students
Keyboard Companion Winter 2007; Vol. 18, No. 4
“You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment.” -from The Writing Life by Annie Dillard Mark sent me this quote, which I saved in my “Mark File.” Everyone should have a “Mark File” – a collection of thoughts and beliefs...
Where can you find training in adult teaching?
Keyboard Companion Summer 2008; Vol. 19, No. 2
from the series: It’s Never Too Late: Adult Piano Study Michelle Conda, Editor As more adults express an interest in piano, there are now more resources to help teachers learn how to work with these groups. In 1965, approximately 22% of adult Americans were seeking out...
Are adult piano students willing to self-teach?
Keyboard Companion Summer 2007; Vol. 18, No. 2
When I gave one of my first presentations talking about adult students planning their own parties and studio classes, I was shocked by the audience response. “Adults don’t have time to meet as a group!” “My adults are far too busy to take any initiative of...
How do you help an adult student who has ingrained poor technical habits?
Keyboard Companion Spring 2008; Vol. 19, No. 1
from the series: It’s Never Too Late: Adult Piano Study Michelle Conda, Editor by The Adult Learning Committee of the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy Okay, let’s face it – I’m not talking about the good habits your adult students have, but the bad habits that form...
How do you develop a sense of rhythm in your adult students?
Keyboard Companion Autumn 2008; Vol. 19, No. 3
from the series: It’s Never Too Late: Adult Piano Study I just finished teaching a particularly challenging lesson to Jeff. Week after week we struggle with keeping a steady pulse. I know he is just as frustrated as I am, yet he has trouble breaking habits...
What is the effect of concerto playing on adult students?
Keyboard Companion Autumn 2007; Vol. 18, No. 3
I’m sure by now you have noticed that this year’s focus in Adult Piano Study has been motivation. Research shows adults are intrinsically motivated – they like to form their own direction of study. My adult students continue to amaze me with the directions they have...
How Do You Choose Repertoire for Your Adult Students?
March 2013; Vol. 5, No. 2
“I’m too old to play pieces I don’t like,” said Heather at one of our first lessons. Heather is a retired Professor in Romance Languages and Literatures, as well as an expert on the composer Schubert. It’s no surprise that her repertoire is steeped in Schubert’s...
Memorization in Adulthood
July 2013; Vol. 5, No. 4
It really gets my dander up when I hear people say that adult amateur pianists aren’t “serious” about their piano study. Why underestimate the thousands of adults who are passionate about performing at the piano? You will find amateur pianists seeking out performance opportunities through...
Teaching students not to rush
May 2014; Vol. 6, No. 3
by Michelle Conda Brianna, one of my graduate students, had a student who wouldn’t slow down—even with the threat of the “Practice Police.” I had my own student who was fast and furious, but sloppy. This concerned me because he wanted to audition for music...
A Survival Manual for College Teachers
May 2009; Vol. 1, No. 3
Every year it’s the same – a group of my students prepare to leave the hallowed halls of academia and search for the elusive “job.” For these students, this is BIG – and not just a little scary. As the “professor,” part of my job is to...