Episode044 - Christina Whitlock

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60-minutes that will Change the Way You Approach Your Studio:

beyondmeasurepodcast

🎙️ Beyond Measure Podcast
🙋🏼‍♀️ Friend+Philosopher to the Piano Teaching Profession
🎶 Nurturing others to a lifelong love of music teaching

Food for thought as you prepare for a new school y

Food for thought as you prepare for a new school year…

On discernment when considering studio business co

On discernment when considering studio business coaching…

Whether you realize it or not, there is a whole industry of “online business gurus” who have made great money convincing solopreneurs of every type and trade that ANYONE can be a coach.

I’m sure you *are* aware of the wealth of voices to turn to in MusicStudioLand for advice on growing/enriching/marketing your business.

Hear me - there are some 👏🏻 INCREDIBLE 👏🏻 voices in this space to help bring clarity to this work we do. I’m not out here crying “scam” at every coaching post you see…

…and yet, it IS increasingly common for teachers to tell me they’ve spent thousands of dollars on coaching programs that have resulted in little-to-no profit.

This week’s bonus episode (available to all Patreon members) features an important discussion with Melissa Slocum @musicgrollc , focusing on red flags and things to consider before investing big money in these kids of programs.

It’s not my usual kind of conversation, yet I love my people too much to stay quiet on this one.

I hope you’ll check out the Patreon community at Patreon.com/beyondmeasurepodcast and let me know what you think! 🥂

I have this fascination with what I call “crazy

I have this fascination with what I call “crazy talk”….

As in, having *intentional* conversations about what you would do if there were no financial limitations. No one to convince. No limited resources. No “market guarantees”.

Crazy Talk is not goal-setting. It’s tapping into what you would do if you didn’t have to consider the limits of your life that you find yourself working around.

And it’s REALLY important for teachers.

…because, every one in awhile, Crazy Talk plants a seed. It gives you a glimpse into dreams you may not otherwise know you have.

Episode 178 features a conversation with my pal, Melissa Slocum @soundsofencouragement . Melissa is my poster-child for Crazy Talk because, as a result of this kind of thinking, she and her family found a unique way to Summer each year.

I wanted to chat about this now - not to convince others to follow in her footsteps and “run away for the summer” as she says -

But, rather, to start thinking about what you WOULD do for the summer if you didn’t have to worry about X, Y, or Z.

We may never be able to follow the path our Crazy Talk leads us down… but we MIGHT discover elements along the way at that can, actually, result in small changes and big joys.

Check out ChristinaWhitlock.com/episode178 for all the details on my conversation with Melissa.

Cheers to making time for more Crazy Talk in our lives, friends! 🥂

🥂 Cheers to conference-going teacher friends 🥂

@pianopantryamy and @valmerrell are two of my favorite travel buddies. We don’t get to see each other often, but it sure is good when we do. 🥰

It’s a gift to share space together for events.

Over the past several years, we’ve road-tripped a lot of miles, eaten SO MUCH amazing food, talked 9,000 words/minute about *every* aspect of teaching, and shared the depths of our hearts with one another.

(We also laugh A LOT… and sometimes walk a few extra blocks out of our way by accident 🤣)

Thanks to Nicola Cantan @colourfulkeys for the invite to speak at Teacher Turboboost this year. I loved spending time with Teacher Friends new and old, and getting to debut a new session (The Secret Lives of Quiet Students: Strategies for Teaching the Timid).

Students may the best part of our work, but our colleagues are a close second! 🏆

…always so proud to serve as your (self-appointed) Anytime Piano Teacher Friend. 😘

🥂 Cheers to seeing through empty promises of “quick fixes”…

May we remember ours is a craft honed over time. There is no substitute for hard-earned wisdom.

Discern wisely, my friends. 🥂

WARNING: podcast episodes may appear more polished

WARNING: podcast episodes may appear more polished in their final form than in reality…😂

Case in point: catch @jannaonpiano giving the perfect toast to close out Episode 177… that is, until she realized she never wrote the end of it! 🤭

For context, we’d already talked for an hour and still had the Patreon Bonus Chat to record.

Slap-happiness may have been setting in.

Be sure to catch the EDITED versions of my conversations with Janna on the podcast and in the Patreon Community. 👯‍♀️

Cheers to friends you can *really* laugh with! 🥂

Okay; you are LOVING this conversation with @janna

Okay; you are LOVING this conversation with @jannaonpiano !

This summer series has been so special to me. I love featuring teacher voices that have significant influence on my work (and my life).

Episode 177 encapsulates SO MANY important elements of TeacherLife. I’m thrilled to see so many of you listening.

If you haven’t listened yet, check out my conversation with Janna Williamson at ChristinaWhitlock.com/episode177 🥂

What is it about Favorites lists that are so fun t

What is it about Favorites lists that are so fun to read?! 🤔

My theory is this: it’s one more way of connecting and learning about others (which is a big part of TeacherMagic, right?).

There’s something about seeing the objects that help someone move about their day and accomplish their work that is just SO intriguing to me.

Maybe it’s just me… but if *you* enjoy reading about other people’s favorite things, you can check out some of mine at ChristinaWhitlock.com/favorites.

Cheers to learning about each other, friends! 🥂

For anyone doing their Amazon shopping… Check o

For anyone doing their Amazon shopping…

Check out my favorite music teacher reads (including some NEW selections! 😍), along with many more of my favorite earthly things at ChristinaWhitlock.com/favorites.

🥂 cheers to filling our brains (and our carts) with all the right things 🥂

It’s JANNA! 🤩 Don’t miss my conversation w

It’s JANNA! 🤩

Don’t miss my conversation with YouTube Sensation @jannaonpiano . We’re talking all things performance (and straight-up having a good time).

Find related links, transcript, and more at ChristinaWhitlock.com/episode177

Who’s tomorrow’s mystery guest? 🥸 Beyond M

Don’t miss @pianopantryamy and I talking about t

Don’t miss @pianopantryamy and I talking about the constant mess of ideas💡 in our heads!😵‍💫

I loved this conversation with one of my longest, real life, OG teacher friends.

In many ways, it was my friendship with Amy Chaplin (coupled with serving on Indiana MTA’s Board of Directors) that helped me see HOW 👏🏻 MUCH 👏🏻 BETTER 👏🏻 TeacherLife can be when we stay connected to our colleagues.

We’re different in many ways, but also - she gets me. 🥰

I’m so grateful for our friendship, this chat, and all the things we’ve accomplished in our work over the years.

GET YOURSELF SOME TEACHER FRIENDS, people!

(You’ve already got one 🙋🏼‍♀️)

Cheers to doing life together. 🥂

This week in the Patreon Bonus Sessions…. @pian

This week in the Patreon Bonus Sessions….

@pianopantryamy is dishing out her BEST creative marketing techniques to build your studio.

I love what Amy says here: of COURSE word-of-mouth is king when it comes to studio marketing, but that buzz has to originate somewhere!

14 years ago, Amy diligently tracked her (many!) marketing efforts, noting precisely what worked - and what didn’t. She presented those findings in a conference session, and we’re reflecting on those ideas in this week’s Bonus Conversation in the Patreon Community.

Check out my BONUS conversation with Amy - as well as all our other guests from the Summertime Conversation Series - in the Patreon Community.

Christinawhitlock.com/patreon

I am a teacher obsessed with legacy. …not in t

I am a teacher obsessed with legacy.

…not in the “I need to produce top-achieving students to make my mark on the profession” kind of way, but in an, “isn’t it incredible I play a part in the passing of musical ideas from one generation to the next?” kind of way. 🙃

I think of how I constantly sing variations of, “and go to there… now go to there… and then to there“ along with my students to help them find the direction of their phrases.

The way Tommy Otten did for me.

The way Nelita True did for him.

I just LOVE being part of that chain. Don’t you?

In my very first episode, I made the claim private music teachers have been quietly undergirding the success of society for centuries.

Do I have an inflated sense of my own importance? Possibly… 😂

But, there are a WHOLE lot of successful people out there who have a more-than-coincidental history of music instruction in their backgrounds.

Just sayin’.

Cheers to us. 😉

Where are my IDEAS people at? 💡 I’ve been dr

Where are my IDEAS people at? 💡

I’ve been dreaming up ideas for Piano Teacher World with Amy Chaplin @pianopantryamy for about a decade now.

In fact, she’s the first person I ever confided in when I started dreaming up a podcast (*many* years before actually launching it).

In today’s Summertime Conversation Series, you’ll hear Amy and I talk through what it’s like to live in our idea-rich heads.

(There’s a good chance you can identify 😊)

We’re “officially” revisiting Episode 138: Cheers to Things We Do Not Do…

…because we can’t deal with ALL THE THINGS in our idea-rich brains without naming establishing parameters of what we DON’T do.

Check out Episode 176 on your podcast app of choice, or head to ChristinaWhitlock.com/episode176 for a transcript, links, and more.

Cheers to a new week, my friends! 🥂

Short and sweet today, friends: When it comes to

Short and sweet today, friends:

When it comes to your colleagues in this work, you do not need to justify being here.

As with so many things, when we stop looking for praise and - instead - just put our heads down and crank out good work, the rest will take care of itself.

You belong here and I’m honored to work alongside you. 🥂

In the Patreon Community this week…. @kateboydp

In the Patreon Community this week….

@kateboydpianist and I are talking about that timeless, nagging question: what is the REAL value of University Education for music teachers?

I first covered this question in episode 103 (go check it out!) but it’s WAY more fun to tackle the controversial stuff with a thought partner like Kate!

I started off strong, with THE question people are always asking: do you need a university degree to teach piano well?

…I was REALLY interested in The Piano Prof’s take on this one, and I happen to think it’s a conversation we all benefit from.

Join the Patreon for $3 or $6 and get access to the bonus conversation!

ChristinaWhitlock.com/patreon

True Confession 🫣: When I was first introduce

True Confession 🫣:

When I was first introduced to @kateboydpianist - almost 20 years ago? - I sort of assumed she belonged to a different “class” of musician/teacher and couldn’t care less about someone like me.

(Spoiler alert: that was ridiculous on my part)

She quickly proved me wrong, as every time we ran into each other, she would ask me genuine questions about Independent Teacher Life… and even seemed to enjoy me a little bit! 🤣

WHY, friends, do we do this to ourselves?!

Maybe it’s our own fears of inadequacy…

Maybe it’s (as Kate says in Episode 175) the difference between being in your 20’s vs your 40’s….

Either way, my friendship with Kate Boyd has been one of the best surprises of my Musician Life.

Episode 175 is a conversation with the intent of shaking loose the ridiculousness in YOUR head.

There is no Class System amongst musicians. It’s not collegiate faculty vs independent teachers. There are no actual rankings based on who’s played where, or whose students have done more.

We are all musicians who fell in love with the process of nurturing our students.

And, sure, that all plays out in different environments and various levels of intensity…

But *my* challenge for you today is to ask yourself WHO in YOUR life do you consider to be “above” you? If a name comes to mind, spend a little time digging through that… because, at the end of the day, none of us “outranks” the other. That’s just not how this works. ☺️

Check out ChristinaWhitlock.com/episode175 for all the details!

Cheers to Colleagues Over Competition, friends! 🥂

Overwhelmed choosing piano pieces for your student

Overwhelmed choosing piano pieces for your students? 🎹

Let me help! 🙋🏼‍♀️

The idea for “What Should I Teach Next?” has lived inside my mind for ages… and it’s oh-so-gratifying to see it out in the world, inspiring others.

The first installment went out to Patreon members in June.

July’s video is in the works, but you can join TODAY and watch me play repertoire matchmaker for THREE different students/teachers in the original installment.

Access to WSITN will only cost you $6. 🤯

(Not to mention all the OTHER videos/resources you’ll receive with your Patreon membership).

Head to ChristinaWhitlock.com/patreon, signup to be one of my “Learning Together” friends, and watch TODAY! 🥂

I ❤️ Back to School Supplies! A few years ag

I ❤️ Back to School Supplies!

A few years ago, I fell HARD in love with letter erasers @target was selling for $1.

I happened to walk by a display of them yesterday and thought, SCORE!

I have been trying to stockpile these for my high school pedagogy students because they know I’m obsessed with Alphabet Fluency Drills and these are perfect manipulatives.

This year’s pack is different (the letters are smaller, and different colors than previous years), but I got three full octaves out of each pack.

….AND…. unlike most things in the Target Dollar Spot these days, they are still $1. 🤩

Piano Teacher Friends: if you see them, grab them! 😍

(My store had two packs which means I came SO CLOSE to having a set for every octave of the piano).

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