Episode113 - Christina Whitlock

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

Are you the slightest bit curious how OTHER teache

Are you the slightest bit curious how OTHER teachers plan for their lessons?

Tomorrow (Friday) 02.28.25 is your chance to find out!

Teachers Teaching Teachers is back, and in lieu of our regular repertoire study, we’re talking all about lesson plans.

What works? What doesn’t? Does lesson planning HAVE to take so much time?! 🤯

(Spoiler alert: the answer is no.)

Sign up for the Learning Together Tier of the Patreon Community for just $6 and get access to tomorrow’s session.

We meet LIVE at 11am (eastern time) and the replay goes out later that afternoon. 🥂

🤍I love this trend so much 🤍 I met my young

🤍I love this trend so much 🤍

I met my younger (teacher) self
for coffee:
She ordered a vanilla cappuccino
and I asked for dark roast
as black as the night sky.

She told me she knew everything
about teaching piano
and how she was destined
for a performance career.

I smiled politely but laughed a little, too.
She doesn’t realize she has a
Teacher’s Heart that will never let go.

I told her all kinds of things
that blew her mind:
Bigger studios aren’t always better…
Counting out loud is not “The Fix” for rhythmic problems…
and how other teachers are NOT her competition, but rather, her ultimate support system.

She didn’t believe me when I told her
she would one day lead a community
of studio music teachers
from all around the world

…but she’ll figure it out once she shakes off the pressure she’s put on herself to know everything about everything.

As we hugged goodbye,
I reminded her to embrace uncertainty,
drink more water,
and ditch the Music Snob Persona
she’d been wearing like a badge of honor.

She’s about ready to have a lot more fun. 🥂 #beyondmeasurepodcast #pianoteacher #pianoteaching #iteachmusic #pianoteacherlife #musicteaching #musicteacher #pianoteachersofinstagram #musicteachersofinstagram #thingsimlearning #youngerself

SOMETHING 👏🏻 FOR 👏🏻 EVERYONE on Friday

SOMETHING 👏🏻 FOR 👏🏻 EVERYONE on Friday!

Here’s the deal:

“Lesson Planning” looks different for each of us. Some of us tend to be over-planners; some are under-planners.

(I’ve been both, and neither is great!) 🙈

Join me and my BRILLIANT SuperFriends of the Beyond Measure Community for a special session of Teachers Teaching Teachers…all about efficient Lesson Planning that WORKS.

Admission is a mere $6, which includes access to 30+ hours of bonus content and more…

We hope you’ll join us LIVE at 11am eastern time on Friday. If not, you’ll receive a link to the replay later that day.

Comment PLANNING for a direct link to sign up! 🥂

You need to LEAVE YOUR HOUSE. 😅 In Episode 205

👏🏻 SO. 👏🏻 MUCH. 👏🏻 BETTER. 👏🏻

…but *getting* other people to talk about your work can be tricky in our ever-changing social landscape.

I’m sharing my thoughts in Episode 205 this week.

It’s a 19-minute listen that every teacher should consider (especially those looking to increase studio enrollment).

Check it out at ChristinaWhitlock.com/episode205

🥂

There’s no better feeling than sending a student

There’s no better feeling than sending a student out the door feeling better than when they entered. 🤍

Cheers to the Musical Magic we make, friends! 🥂 #beyondmeasurepodcast #pianoteacher #pianoteaching #iteachmusic #pianoteacherlife #musicteaching #musicteacher #pianoteachersofinstagram #musicteachersofinstagram

The truth about Word of Mouth Marketing… Gettin

The truth about Word of Mouth Marketing…

Getting *other people* to talk about your work is EXPONENTIALLY more effective than anything *you* can say about your work.

…but getting people to talk about your studio is a different ballgame today than it was 10 years ago…

We are ALL more skeptical. We are ALL more distracted.

…so what’s a piano teacher to do?

Listen to Episode 205, for starters. 🤓

This inbox is on 🔥…. (Bonus points if you sa

This inbox is on 🔥….

(Bonus points if you sang that line like Alicia Keys …even with the extra syllable) 🤣

I seem to have struck a chord 🎶 with readers these last few weeks and I AM LOVING IT.

If you are not getting Piano Teacher Confessions in your inbox, head to the blog and see what all the fuss is about.

🥂 to thinking about the hard stuff (and owning our shortcomings without shame).

Sending all the love to you, my friends! 🤍

We all know it’s easier to count one than the ot

We all know it’s easier to count one than the other…. #pianoteacher #beyondmeasurepodcast #pianoteaching #iteachmusic #pianoteacherlife #musicteaching #musicteacher #pianoteachersofinstagram #musicteachersofinstagram #thingsimlearning

Here we go, friends! 🤩 We are wrapping up the

Here we go, friends! 🤩

We are wrapping up the Fast Track Series this week with a fun conversation between myself 🙋🏼‍♀️ and Nicola Cantan 🦩.

Join us for a casual conversation about woefully fast-tracking things we actually ENJOY, thoughts on AI, and more.

…don’t miss Nicola’s grandiose call to action in the last few minutes (it’s a good one!).

If our chat leaves you wanting more, the conversation is continued as a BONUS offering inside the Patreon Community. There, Nicola and I talk about what it *really* means to be a lifelong learner, how certainty is the enemy of progress, and more.

See the complete shownotes for all the details! 🥂

I’ve got your back, friends! Join me every week

I’ve got your back, friends! Join me every week on the Beyond Measure Podcast. 🥂 #pianoteacher #beyondmeasurepodcast #pianoteaching #iteachmusic #pianoteacherlife #musicteaching #musicteacher #pianoteachersofinstagram #musicteachersofinstagram

This goes for you AND your students… These are

This goes for you AND your students…

These are the most important words I can offer you today, my friend: You are not behind.

I shared back in episode 154 how my approach to the piano is shrouded in this belief that I am behind.

…I *should be better*.

…I have a weak technical background that is going to plague me forever.

(The list goes on and on; these are just the narratives that are safe enough to share with the outside world 🤪)

Trying to accomplish a goal “from behind” is infinitely more difficult than tackling it from the starting line, regardless of whether your handicap is self-imposed or not.

(Woah; that was a lot of sports metaphors in one statement!🤓)

The truth of the matter is, WE ARE NOT BEHIND. We are right where life has brought us.

You are where you are. The REAL question is, where are you going next?

Cheers to breaking the imposter-like thoughts that plague our TeacherBrains. As always, I’m honored to be on the journey with you. 🥂

…more thoughts, including a written transcript and related links, at ChristinaWhitlock.com/episode154

Slowly but surely, it happened. We stopped looking

Slowly but surely, it happened. We stopped looking to connect on IG, and instead, focused on building a social media strategy.

It’s like someone who walks into the party shouting “LOOK AT ME” without paying any attention to the other people in the room.

I’m over it. This is me, bringing my “LOOK AT YOU!” energy back to IG. 🕺💃🪩

More thoughts on this week’s blog. 🥂. #pianoteacher #beyondmeasurepodcast #pianoteaching #iteachmusic #musicteaching #musicteacher #pianoteachersofinstagram #musicteachersofinstagram #socialmedia

WE’RE TAKING IG BACK, teachers!! 💪🏻 In to

WE’RE TAKING IG BACK, teachers!! 💪🏻

In today’s e-letter, I’m sharing a bit about why IG is not fun for teachers anymore, and my personal oath about how to make it what I want it to be.

If you’re not subscribed to the e-letter, (1) you’re missing out… but (2) you can head to the blog and read all about it.

Cheers to keeping social media SOCIAL, my friends! 🥂

What other career paths start at age 6? 🤷🏼‍♀️ #beyondmeasurepodcast #pianoteacher #pianoteaching #iteachmusic #pianoteacherlife #musicteaching #pianoteachersofinstagram #musicteacher

There’s a weird kind of pressure creeping into o

There’s a weird kind of pressure creeping into our work…

It’s almost as though - if we choose NOT to use AI - we are foolishly wasting our time.

Some of us like writing content. 🙋🏼‍♀️
Some of us like crafting policies 🙋🏼‍♀️

There is SUCH A VIBE right now telling me I’m “wasting my life” by choosing to give these things my attention when I don’t really have to.

I’m not anti-AI. I know it’s here to stay. I’ve used it and been glad…

…but not for any of my writing. It’s a slow process, but I do it because I love it. Why would I want to rush that? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Anyone out there with me? Is there something you intentionally do “the old-fashioned way”?

(More in Episode 203) 🥂

If we fast-track everything, what do we have left?

If we fast-track everything, what do we have left?

That’s what we’re considering lately on The Beyond Measure Podcast. #pianoteacher #beyondmeasurepodcast #pianoteaching #iteachmusic #pianoteacherlife #musicteaching #musicteacher #pianoteachersofinstagram #musicteachersofinstagram #busy

Cheers to the stuff - the mundane, everyday rhythms - make our lives, friends! 🥂

Apparently 2025 is the year I step on ALL the toes

Apparently 2025 is the year I step on ALL the toes…

Yep; we’re talking about ANOTHER topic I’d previously vowed not to touch on Beyond Measure: the complex world of AI.

Here’s the deal: Regardless of our thoughts on the matter, AI is not going away. It’s up to us to stay WISE, stay AWARE, and stay ADAPTIVE.

(I’m also laughably-aware at how poorly this episode will age. 10 years from now this will sound so ridiculous, like those old news clips announcing “an information superhighway called The Internet”) 🤣

Cheers to thinking about hard stuff, my friends! 🥂

Major props to Jaci Morzek @jaclynmrozek_piano and

Major props to Jaci Morzek @jaclynmrozek_piano and the Keyboard Teachers Association of Greater Cincinnati for putting together THE BEST event last Saturday! 🤩

The program was a terrific balance of traditional Haydn, Mozart, Chopin, and Schubert, plus Carolyn Miller, Barbara Arens, and Sonny Chua.

…it was a *dream* lineup of imaginative pieces and well-prepared, personable students.

Cheers to the power of shared experiences, my friends! 🥂 #pianoteacher #beyondmeasurepodcast #pianoteaching #iteachmusic #pianoteacherlife #musicteaching #musicteacher #pianoteachersofinstagram #musicteachersofinstagram #

Episode 202 was not all-that-easy to write… …

Episode 202 was not all-that-easy to write…

…and after I listened back to the finished product, I realized I left something out.

Something important. ‼️

The missing piece is this: sometimes, we want to learn more about something “just because”.

…and that’s TOTALLY okay! 🤍

Today’s Piano Teacher Confessions e-letter seeks to clear the air on the importance of learning BEYOND our own pain-points. If you’re not already subscribed, you can read more about this on the blog today.

(And THEN, be sure to subscribe so you never miss a Piano Teacher Confession)

🥂

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