When you think about books for piano teachers to read, this blog post is probably not going to be what you expect.
Sure, there are dozens of great books out there specifically for piano teaching (there’s a lot of great stuff in Frances Clark’s Questions and Answers: Practical Advice for Piano Teachers).
And at the very end, I will give you a list of books for piano teachers on actual pedagogy.
Instead of focusing on piano pedagogy books, I wanted to give book recommendations for piano teachers that are all about mindset, motivation, and growth.
I wasn’t a big “self-help” reader until the last couple of years.
Now, I can’t get enough of them! I love a well-balanced book that gives me actionable steps and practical guides. What about you?
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My challenge for you in 2023: Read more!
I know, I know… it’s way, way past January 1.
This is actually the perfect time to evaluate your reading goals for 2023. The mad rush of New Year’s resolutions is over and you can hone in on what you really want to learn.
Will you read one book a month? Two books each month? Take two months to read one book?
As James Clear in Atomic Habits states, “People who make a specific plan for when and where they will perform a new habit are more likely to follow through.”
I am a book nerd (I read over 100 books in 2022), so I know it’s easy for me to say “just read.”
For some of you, it isn’t that easy.
You’ll have to plan to read.
Here are some ideas to help you read more (pick just one of these ideas)
- Read 1 page every night
- Read 1 page every morning
- Read for 5 minutes during lunch break
- Read while you drink your morning (or afternoon) coffee or tea
- Place your book where you have to pick it up in order to do something
- Listen to an audiobook while you brush your teeth
- Listen to an audiobook while you drive your kids to school
- Listen to an audiobook while you walk
- Listen to an audiobook while you wash dishes
Whether it’s 4 books or 100, I challenge you to make a plan to read in 2023.
6 must-read books for piano teachers
Here are 6 books I read in 2022 that I fully intend to re-read, and I think you’ll love them also.
As I said earlier, these books are all focused on motivation, mindset, self-help, and growth.
They’re books that will fuel your fire as you keep pouring out into your piano students.
1) Atomic Habits by James Clear
I read Atomic Habits for the first time in 2022 and it’s going on my annual reading list!
All of those suggestions I gave you above in forming a reading habit?
Those are the types of easy principles outlined in Atomic Habits (those and so many more!)
Not only does James Clear give great guidelines and processes to help any individual build better habits, but I also found myself asking how I could use his principles to help my piano students build better habits as they learn their instrument.
I highlighted 165 quotes from this book!
Here are just a few to give you a taste:
“If you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done. Conversely, if you get 1 percent worse each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero.”
“If you want to master a habit, the key is to start with repetition, not perfection.”
“Success is not a goal to reach or a finish line to cross. It is a system to improve, an endless process to refine.”
If you’re interested in learning even more about Atomic Habits, piano teacher Amie Webster at Motif Music Studios and I did a live YouTube chat all about how Atomic Habits can apply to use as piano teachers–and how we can use these habits to influence our students.
>>> Watch Nurturing Atomic Practice Habits in Your Piano Students
2) The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst
If you like inspirational books, The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst is one to add to your list!
As piano teachers, we are often overwhelmed by running our own businesses and meeting students’ needs on top of any other health, family, and general responsibilities!
Lysa Teurkurst helps us to narrow down what is really the “yes” to say and how to decide whether or not something should go on our schedule.
3) Soundtracks by Jon Acuff
This book is going on repeat for me! In short, Soundtracks by Jon Acuff is a simple introduction to neuroplasticity (brain retraining). It is a book about shifting our mindset and is relatable, practical, and humorous.
I highly recommend it for the average person who struggles with overthinking—or even those who are like me and think you don’t overthink. We can all use a little more help controlling our thoughts.
4) Take Back Your Time by Christy Wright
Similar to The Best Yes, Take Back Your Time by Christy Wright is another book about boundaries and schedules with practical, adaptable, and balanced advice. As the back cover states, “It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing what matters.”
If overscheduling and being overwhelmed is a struggle for you, then this is a good read.
5) Start: Punch Fear in the Face by Jon Acuff
Do you have even more dreams than what you’re currently pursuing? Are you trapped from pursuing your dreams? Start by Jon Acuff is all about dreams and moving forward.
One of my biggest takeaways from this book is that when there are SO many dreams we have, just pick one and try it, because we won’t know if it’s a dream we’ll want to put feet to unless we test it out.
It will inspire you to keep going when you want to give up.
Some great quotes:
“Intentions are ambitious liars.”
“If you don’t start again… yesterday’s successes will start to define your today and tomorrow.”
6) Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh Demoss Wolgemuth
Choosing Gratitude by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth is on my annual reread list. We often don’t realize how much an ungrateful heart affects our mood, emotions, and attitude. But it does! It surprises me how much gratitude is an antidote for depression, anxiety, fear, and more.
This book helps me have a mindset shift that benefits not only me, but also those around me.
If you are interested in gratitude specifically geared toward piano teachers, I wrote a post, 5 WAYS TO PRACTICE GRATITUDE AS A PIANO TEACHER.
Rebekah’s favorite self-help & business books
Rebekah and I share a lot of books.
If I read a good one, I tell her about it. And she does the same for me.
However, she also has read a different set of books than I have (I’m still trying to work through her list), so you may find a book in hers that you either love–or that you want to add to your TBR.
Here’s Rebekah’s list of books for piano teachers (that aren’t about teaching):
- Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
- Launch by Jeff Walker
- Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters
- Hero on a Mission by Donald Miller
- Grit by Angela Duckworth
- Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
- The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
- Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
- The Ultra Mindset by Travis Macy
- Chill and Prosper by Denise Duffield-Thomas
- Business Boutique by Christy Wright
- Radical Confidence by Lisa Bilyev
- Lead with And by Tim Arnold
- We Should All be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
- Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller
- Get What you Want by Julie Solomon
- Big Little Breathroughts by Josh Linkner
- Creating Magic by Lee Cockerell
- Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz
- The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
Your turn! What books for piano teachers do you recommend?
I have a lot of questions for you (call it the bibliophile side of me ;))!
How many books do you plan to read in 2023? What books are on your list?
What was the best book you read in 2022? It doesn’t have to be non-fiction books either!
What books for piano teachers have you found helpful?
Have you read any of the books on our lists?
What is your best habit to ensure that you read more?
Bonus: Music-related books for piano teachers
If you are looking for books specifically to help you in piano teaching, I asked a piano teacher group their favorite books to read, and here’s what they said.
- The Ways Children Learn Music: An Introduction and Practical Guide to Music Learning Theory (Eric Bluestine)
- Professional Piano Teaching, Vol 1: A Comprehensive Piano Pedagogy Textbook (Jeanine Jacobson)
- Intelligent Music Teaching by Robert Duke
- The Practice Revolution by Philip Johnston
- Music Moves for Piano
- A Piano Teacher’s Legacy by Richard Chronister and Edward Darling
- The Success Factor in Piano Teaching — Making Practice Perfect, by Elvira Pearce
- Fourth Finger on B-flat – Effective Strategies for Teaching Piano, by Joanne Haroutounian
- The Whole Musician — A Multi-sensory Guide to Practice, Performance and Pedagogy, by Susan Bruckner
- A Soprano on Her Head — Right-Side-Up Reflections on Life and Other Performances, by Eloise Ristad
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