Oclef Podcast

On this show, we talk with experts and influencers in music education who regularly work with children. For season 2, I'm now asking a bigger question, "Is music education designed correctly?" In the next episodes we will be exploring: - the psychology of music teaching - the most innovative models of teacher, student and parent learning - the journey to the world's top music conservatories - And conversations with guests like Scott Smith, Lori Bastien, Carla Cash, Mike Springer and Keith Snell that will make you rethink music education. What we're exploring this season is the current story that music education as it is taught may not be designed to help all kids learn music. The latest research by Karen King says that the music lesson dropout rates are at 80% after taking 3 years of lessons. 80% dropout after three years! Is this the sign of an education system that's even working? Is music education only a system that is designed for the elite students? What happens to the 80% of students who dropout? What do the teachers who are outliers do to avoid those results? And what do parents think about all this, do they ever fight with their kids to practice correctly? Do they feel they're wasting their money and time?

Oclef Daily | EP91 - All Great Piano Teachers Possess This Ability 01/14/2019

Oclef Interviews | EP29 - Jon Nakamatsu - The Story of a Great American Pianist 01/09/2019

Oclef Daily | EP90 - Is there an end to piano lessons? 10/13/2018

Oclef Daily | EP89 - The musician's mindset 10/10/2018

Oclef Daily | EP88 - You're more like a therapist than you want to believe 10/09/2018

Oclef Daily | EP87 - Kaizen and the perfection of pursuit 10/03/2018

Oclef Daily: EP86 - Small Wins 10/01/2018

Oclef Daily: EP85 - Knowledge vs. Understanding 09/29/2018

Oclef Q&A: EP011 - How can I instill a sense of passion into my child? 09/26/2018

Oclef Daily: EP84 - Educate Parents on the Value of Piano 09/24/2018

Oclef Interviews | EP28 - Irina Gorin - The Iconic Trailblazer in Piano Teaching 09/23/2018

Oclef Daily: EP83 - Recapping the Parent Recital 09/18/2018

Oclef Interviews | EP27: Michelle Conda - A Leading Teacher of Piano Teachers 09/15/2018

Oclef Daily: EP82 - The Teaching Window 09/14/2018

Oclef Daily: EP81 - Redefining Teaching Roles 09/13/2018

Oclef Daily: EP80 - Parent Recital 09/12/2018

Oclef Q&A EP010 - How do I improve my sight reading? 09/11/2018

Oclef Daily: EP79 - Be weird. Be awkward. Be quirky. Be you. 08/28/2018

Oclef Q&A: EP009 - How do pianists make interpretive choices? 07/30/2018

Oclef Daily: EP78 - Tools of the Oclef Method: Priming, Narration, and Feedback 07/29/2018

Oclef Daily: EP77 - Let progress reveal itself as independence 07/28/2018

Oclef Daily: EP77 - Let progress reveal itself as independence Progress We all want it. But should it be shown to parents as a sign of things going well? I used to think so, but I've gotten to the point now where I see progress as something that reveals itself. The whole music education infrastructure points to levels and method book with numbers. And everyone means well. But progress becomes obvious when it's actually happening. We don't need levels. Anyway, most exams test performance and not comprehension. Getting parents involved to the point where they see the small wins every day has been the solution to the progress trap that most piano teachers fall into (I used to be one of them). Listen to this! The parents are telling me their child is progressing. Not the book. Not me showing them. And no standardized test is showing it. I repeat. The parent is telling me they see their child progressing. So what's the big secret? Get them SO involved by empowering them as coaches and their child that they don't need me. What? Yeah. I am getting rid of myself as the "teacher" as fast as I can. The less I teach, the better the teacher I believe I am. I see myself as the guide who's telling them what's on the path ahead. What to watch out for. How to solve that problem when they face it. Why that will happen. How it may happen. And what the clues will look like when it's happening. Independence. That's what the Oclef method is really about. Independence to go learn any piece you want with your child once they're ready. How will you know? Well because they've completed 17 pieces on triplets and 12 pieces on 3/8 meter and 4 pieces on left hand extended rotation. And now they're ready for Fur Elise for real. No teacher needed (seriously). The new generation of parents are here and they are busy, but they want to be involved. Really. They just don't know how to get involved in piano education. It seems so hard. But it's not. And any confident teacher knows that their best students have always been the ones who almost "taught themselves". Maybe they got stuck here or there. But the parents are in the lesson, taking notes to apply at home or the child is highly motivated and mature. So why don't we design a system where that happens naturally? We are! It's going to be called Oclef PRO and it'll accompany the Oclef Method. This new software will be the best tool for teachers or schools who want to create their own methodology. Yes. You can have your own method! It'll allow you to expand your reach as a teacher or school to more people than just the local ones in your area. With the ability for teachers to do peer-to-peer video streaming, build a public or private teaching video library and have all your students custom learning programs in one place. Why can't a school in Kansas use their method to teach parents and students in California? We're making it happen. Stay tuned for more. The tortoise always wins, Julian /episode/index/show/oclef/id/6859647