1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,640 I think I was born with desire to be a teacher. 2 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:12,480 By the end of college, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. 3 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:13,620 It's my life. 4 00:00:13,620 --> 00:00:20,480 I can't even say it's my job because I don't think there is a time in my day when I don't 5 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:29,560 think about music or my students or teaching young children, preschool ages. 6 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:36,720 They don't get things from explanations or demonstrations. 7 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:43,320 Only through analogies, through images, through stories, through artwork. 8 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:49,080 They need to see, they need to hear, they need to imagine, and they need to feel or 9 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:50,520 experience. 10 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:58,720 In my books, these stories, the songs, they all work for developing students' imagination 11 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:05,920 and making them active participants in the lessons rather than passive observers. 12 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:15,760 So they participate, they want to experiment, they want to try. 13 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:17,440 Hello piano enthusiasts! 14 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:20,360 Welcome back to the PianoPod with me, Yukimi Song. 15 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,840 Today we are diving deeper into the second installment of this season's 16th episode 16 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:29,920 with Irina Gorin, the visionary behind the Tales of a Musical Journey Method Book series 17 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,560 and founder of the Gorin Institute. 18 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:37,740 In case you missed part one of this inspiring episode exploring her acclaimed method books 19 00:01:37,740 --> 00:01:43,080 for young beginners, enriched with storytelling and vibrant imagery, don't worry, you can 20 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:48,560 catch up on all the excitement on your favorite podcasting platform right now. 21 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,480 A warm welcome to all our new listeners. 22 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:57,140 This podcast is your all-access pass to the captivating world of piano. 23 00:01:57,140 --> 00:02:01,620 In each episode of the PianoPod, I interview a guest speaker who has been breaking exciting 24 00:02:01,620 --> 00:02:03,600 new ground in the industry. 25 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:07,440 Please rate the show and review it on your favorite podcasting platform because every 26 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,400 rating review will help people find my show. 27 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,780 And as for our faithful listeners, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude for your 28 00:02:14,780 --> 00:02:15,780 loyal listenership. 29 00:02:15,780 --> 00:02:20,880 Since 2020, we've been exploring how to make classical music resonate in fresh ways 30 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:22,580 with today's audience. 31 00:02:22,580 --> 00:02:27,000 To keep bringing you these episodes, my show relies on your support. 32 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:32,520 Every contribution aids in covering essential podcasting expenses, so click the PayPal link 33 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,000 in the show notes or visit thepianopod.com to donate. 34 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:41,120 I will personally mail you the PianoPod's logo sticker as a token of gratitude. 35 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:48,280 So my friends, here is part two of the PianoPod Season 4, Episode 16 featuring Irina Gorin. 36 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:51,080 Please enjoy the show. 37 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:58,040 So, I mean, I have a lot more questions with the piano technique, but that's another time. 38 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:03,600 I think you have to come back and we just need to focus on one topic at a time, I think, 39 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,240 because you're so resourceful. 40 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:09,880 But I'd like to know who Ms. Irina Gorin is. 41 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:15,520 So basically, you know, explain that you're originally from Ukraine. 42 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:16,840 That's where the training happened. 43 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:22,960 But by whom were you influenced to become a teacher today? 44 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:29,560 You know, I think I was born with desire to be a teacher. 45 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:37,560 Even when I was five, six year old, I remember myself playing school with my friends, having 46 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,420 a journal, putting grades to imaginable students. 47 00:03:41,420 --> 00:03:43,920 My mom was a teacher. 48 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:49,480 She was teaching Russian language and literature in school. 49 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:54,280 She was an amazing storyteller. 50 00:03:54,280 --> 00:04:03,720 She introduced me to all the writers and painters and explained how painting and literature 51 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:04,720 work together. 52 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:09,080 While my father was a ballet dancer. 53 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:14,880 And I practically was born in the theater, almost. 54 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:20,800 So I used to watch all the performances, ballet and opera. 55 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:29,400 We had a theater in Kiev and my father was one of the leading dancers. 56 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:34,360 So I was raised in very cultural family. 57 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:38,800 My older sister took piano lessons. 58 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:40,960 So she's 10 years older. 59 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:45,320 So when I was born, she was already quite advanced in piano playing. 60 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:49,920 So I remember myself falling asleep and we lived in such small apartments. 61 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:50,920 Piano was in my bedroom. 62 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:58,160 I remember falling asleep with the sounds of Greek sonata, which was very hard to fall 63 00:04:58,160 --> 00:04:59,160 asleep. 64 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:00,160 Wow. 65 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:05,320 I hope you had a good dream. 66 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:10,440 So I had all this music sounding all the time in my head. 67 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:14,080 But I also loved young kids, little kids. 68 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:16,240 I loved to babysit. 69 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:23,720 And when I went to college, of course, I was very ambitious to become a pianist. 70 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:29,760 But with time, I realized that being on stage is not my passion. 71 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:31,520 Especially by myself. 72 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,240 I loved accompaniment. 73 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:40,800 I accompanied singers and other instrumentalists and choirs. 74 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,160 I loved it. 75 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:45,280 Not solo performance. 76 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:50,080 But by the end of college, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. 77 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,480 Again, I dreamed of being a teacher in my head. 78 00:05:53,480 --> 00:06:00,000 I was such a great teacher that kids would love to practice. 79 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,960 It will all destroyed in one day. 80 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:06,800 But yeah, it's my life. 81 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:09,720 I can't even say it's my job. 82 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:11,520 It's practically my life. 83 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:20,000 Because I don't think there is a time in my day when I don't think about music or my students 84 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:21,760 or teaching. 85 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:23,440 Of course, I have family. 86 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:30,240 And of course, I want to spend time with my own children and talk to them. 87 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:36,480 But between that, I live by music and teaching. 88 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:37,840 Oh, wow. 89 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:41,360 Yeah, I'm sorry for what's happening in Ukraine right now. 90 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,360 It must be so heartbreaking. 91 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:49,960 But in many ways, you grew up in cultural balanced life. 92 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:50,960 Yes. 93 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:52,880 Yeah, that's beautiful. 94 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:58,600 And you know, as this country, United States, as rich as it is, to go to the concert hall 95 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:03,920 is actually like you kind of have to make an effort to get go. 96 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,640 You know, it's not quite surrounded by it. 97 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:09,800 Although I live in New York City, but it's an effort, right? 98 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:13,000 And even like when I tried to encourage my students. 99 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:14,000 And a lot of money. 100 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:15,000 Oh, definitely. 101 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:22,320 When I was in Ukraine, I can't even remember the weekends that my parents wouldn't take 102 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:26,920 me either to museum or theater or concert hall. 103 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:28,840 It was kind of like a routine. 104 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:30,360 Very inexpensive. 105 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:33,720 And it was we have it's just our life. 106 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:34,720 Yeah. 107 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:35,720 Wow. 108 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:36,720 So many theaters. 109 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:45,000 I even found we probably had several drama theaters, opera and ballet theater, opera and 110 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:50,600 ballet for children's theater where my father worked late years of his life. 111 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,720 And we probably had 10 or 15 orchestras. 112 00:07:54,720 --> 00:08:01,200 And we have musical comedy theater where my husband worked in. 113 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:18,000 So yeah, it was the way of life. 114 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:23,080 I know you're influencing a lot of millions of people out there. 115 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:28,040 You yourself even can't imagine how many people are impacted through your methods, through 116 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:29,480 your videos. 117 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:31,840 So the Gorin Institute. 118 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:36,960 So can you provide an overview of the mission and goals of the Institute? 119 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:38,520 Who is this for? 120 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:44,480 What educational programs or courses this Institute offer to support professionals? 121 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:46,160 Absolutely. 122 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:50,200 It's another interesting story, which I never thought would happen. 123 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:52,800 I didn't have any idea. 124 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:59,840 If you ask me if I thought it would happen five years ago, I would say never. 125 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,040 But the circumstances, the life just happened. 126 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:04,200 It just happened. 127 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:11,720 So since more people started watching my videos with Tales of a Musical Journey, they started 128 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:13,480 asking questions. 129 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:19,680 And of course, it's really hard to answer all the questions through like a comment or 130 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:21,880 even email. 131 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:25,520 And I started visiting. 132 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:32,600 I was invited to give short presentations and workshops in different universities. 133 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:39,400 Then I started organizing workshops in my own town, Carmel. 134 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:41,600 I had lots of teachers coming. 135 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:48,360 I was invited to work for a week in Boston in music school at piano camp and gave workshops. 136 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:55,520 So I had maybe five, six big workshops per year. 137 00:09:55,520 --> 00:10:05,440 But in 2017, I was contacted by a musician originally from Austria, Patrick Lechner, 138 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:10,320 who invited me to come to International Week to China. 139 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:18,080 Their university was organizing this International Week, where they would invite people with 140 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,960 workshops, with master classes. 141 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:28,400 And even though it was very scary for me, first of all, to travel alone, not knowing 142 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:33,720 anything about the country, never been there before. 143 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:41,080 But as my husband says, I was very brave and went. 144 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:43,280 And it changed my life. 145 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:47,960 I'm so happy it did because it's completely changed my life. 146 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:54,280 While being there, I was invited to 10 different cities with workshops. 147 00:10:54,280 --> 00:11:00,840 And the amount of attending, the number of people attending was mind blowing. 148 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:05,680 And at the same time, I was invited to work in the university. 149 00:11:05,680 --> 00:11:09,240 And next year, my whole family moved to China. 150 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:13,280 Not the whole family, my youngest daughter, my husband and I moved to China for me being 151 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:18,680 able to work at the university and continue doing those workshops. 152 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:20,160 Really? 153 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:22,560 So you're moving away from the United States? 154 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:23,560 Yes. 155 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:26,640 I lived for three years in China. 156 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:28,000 Oh my goodness. 157 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:29,000 Yes. 158 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,840 I met amazing people, amazing teachers. 159 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:34,760 I'm still friends with so many of them. 160 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,280 I loved it. 161 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,240 Just loved it. 162 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:41,900 And then COVID happened. 163 00:11:41,900 --> 00:11:49,200 It happened while winter break when my family came back for four weeks and we never were 164 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:51,160 able to go back to China. 165 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:57,800 I still taught for two more years at university until my contract ended. 166 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:03,940 And then I didn't renew it because I don't feel teaching online was fulfilling for me 167 00:12:03,940 --> 00:12:07,080 or very helpful for students. 168 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:10,520 And I finished my contract. 169 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:19,280 But when I came here, teachers, when COVID happened, everyone was a little bit at despair. 170 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:20,760 What to do? 171 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:21,760 We couldn't teach. 172 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:26,240 Teaching online was terrible, especially the early days. 173 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:33,560 And people just started asking me, why don't you organize some kind of workshops but online? 174 00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:39,720 And that's how I started learning about Zoom and about all these online things. 175 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:45,400 And I organized the first mock-up of courses. 176 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:51,040 And in the very first time I announced it, 250 people signed up. 177 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:59,720 And as I did it for the first three months, I realized that that type of workshop has 178 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,080 a lot of advantages. 179 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:04,680 First of all, people don't have to travel. 180 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:08,560 They can watch the recording at their own time. 181 00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:15,640 They don't have to sacrifice their schedule, their time with children or families, their 182 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:18,840 students to be at the session. 183 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,680 And also, they always get a front row seat. 184 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:28,640 Because when you have 200 people in the room and you try to show something at the piano, 185 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:31,640 only a few people can actually see it. 186 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:38,760 But when I do it and I have my side camera next to me and I can show everything and they 187 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:46,080 can do it on their side and I can give them a feedback, it made all the sense. 188 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:51,100 And after I did it once, they said, we don't want to stop. 189 00:13:51,100 --> 00:13:53,060 You have to continue. 190 00:13:53,060 --> 00:14:02,160 And for the first three years, I worked on creating a really deep, comprehensive curriculum 191 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:03,880 for piano teachers. 192 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:11,320 Starting from the first year of lessons, going step by step through every technique, through 193 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:17,160 every activity, having them practice it, send me videos. 194 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:23,080 We actually have, for each level, we have a private Facebook group where teachers post 195 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:25,120 their videos of doing that. 196 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:29,600 And I comment and other more experienced teachers comment. 197 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:35,280 Now I have teachers who are in their fifth year of these courses. 198 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:39,200 And in my helpers, and they have with new participants. 199 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:47,040 And I have teachers from 19 year old up to 70 something years old. 200 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:52,520 I have one teacher who's 85 from New Zealand. 201 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:59,760 Especially for those who are far away, I have a lot of teachers from Singapore, from Taiwan, 202 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:06,360 from Japan, from Europe, many teachers, Australia. 203 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,440 I just... 204 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:10,440 That's incredible. 205 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:15,760 Well, Irina, that speaks a volume about you. 206 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:17,640 Continues growing. 207 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:21,840 I try to update the materials a little bit. 208 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:28,320 And every month we have with each level, we have a live Q&A, just like we have with you. 209 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:34,040 When they ask me questions, they can show their students videos. 210 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:42,240 I can pinpoint what they need to work more or what's the actual cause of the challenges 211 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:43,920 and how they need to change. 212 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:50,920 So we do a book club where we read together some very important books. 213 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:56,600 And we created such a great community of teachers from around the world. 214 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:58,720 We are best friends. 215 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:03,960 I had teachers from courses coming to Carmel just to see me. 216 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,640 We spent several days together. 217 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:10,080 So it's amazing. 218 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:15,560 And I don't have really employees. 219 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,320 The Gorin Institute is basically me. 220 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:23,880 But again, through the courses, I have several teachers who are helping me. 221 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:27,560 They also participate in the courses. 222 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:32,800 And for example, I already mentioned Juliana from Colombia, who was the first translator 223 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:34,720 to Spanish. 224 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:37,520 She has two music schools. 225 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,720 She is director of two music schools in Colombia. 226 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:46,120 Now she trains all her teachers with tales. 227 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:54,560 So that way, I would say the word Institute works when teachers grow, understand, and 228 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:59,800 start training other teachers. 229 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:05,160 So far, we have explored the rich insights of Irina's teaching philosophy and some 230 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:06,960 practical tips. 231 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,400 Let's now see her impact in action. 232 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:14,040 Joining us in the next segment is Willette Neymeyer, a veteran piano teacher and music 233 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:19,600 studio owner from Saskatoon, Canada, and a proud graduate of the Gorin Institute. 234 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:24,100 She will share her personal experiences and the profound influence Irina's methods have 235 00:17:24,100 --> 00:17:25,760 had on her teaching career. 236 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:27,080 All right. 237 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:28,920 So thank you for joining us, Willette. 238 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:34,640 The reason for including you to this episode is your affiliation as one of the many graduates 239 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:40,240 of the Gorin Institute and your advocacy for Irina's methodology, along with your usage 240 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:42,560 of her musical journey series. 241 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:47,560 And I'm so excited to get to hear about how Irina's method books and methodologies and 242 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,820 courses at the Gorin Institute have truly transformed and revolutionized your approach 243 00:17:51,820 --> 00:17:54,480 to piano teaching and impacted your students. 244 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:57,360 So tell us about your current status as a piano teacher. 245 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:00,680 Well, I've always been a part-time piano teacher. 246 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:06,080 I worked in the school system as a home economics teacher, but I never wanted to drop teaching 247 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:07,080 music students. 248 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:08,520 I've always loved it. 249 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:10,040 And I started when I was 19. 250 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:15,360 I had my ARCT level from, that's in Canada, for teaching. 251 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:18,360 And I've always maintained a small studio. 252 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:21,760 So I have a lot of experience, but always with a small group. 253 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:23,880 I never had to deal with burnout of big groups. 254 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:29,600 The largest studio I ever had was 28 students, but when I was working full-time outside the 255 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:34,400 home, I had three to six students on average in a week because I would just work a couple 256 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:35,840 of evenings a week. 257 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:38,160 So that prevented a lot of burnout. 258 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:43,480 It was just a wonderful, uplifting thing to do in the middle of the rest of my life. 259 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:45,760 My training is from the Victoria Conservatory of Music. 260 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,040 I had some really wonderful teachers there. 261 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:54,400 I had some pedagogical training there for two years, and it always served me well. 262 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,280 But I always felt I was missing something. 263 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:00,400 There was something more that I just couldn't grasp. 264 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:02,440 It wasn't part of my training. 265 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:04,240 And that's when I discovered ARENA. 266 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:05,240 Okay. 267 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:10,440 But before we get into the challenging part, how many courses did you take? 268 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,080 Did you do them all? 269 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:14,260 ARENA started during COVID. 270 00:19:14,260 --> 00:19:16,960 And she has four levels at the moment. 271 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:22,120 And the fourth level, I'm in it for the second year running because we created together. 272 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:25,080 We decide what we wish to explore and learn. 273 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:26,400 We set the subject matter. 274 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:30,160 We can post videos of things we are learning ourselves or our students, and we're teaching 275 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:32,600 our students advice. 276 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:34,600 And it isn't just ARENA that helps us. 277 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:35,600 It's the whole group. 278 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:39,840 We have this amalgamation of these incredible teachers from around the world who gather. 279 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:43,160 And we're like hive mind. 280 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:45,400 We contribute all these ideas. 281 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:49,720 It's a wonderful growth opportunity because as most piano teachers know, it can be a very 282 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:51,680 isolating experience. 283 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:56,040 So during COVID, when we were so isolated, her course saved us. 284 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:57,040 Her course saved us. 285 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:01,600 We made friends from all over the world and we were there once a week online working hard 286 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:03,760 and learning so much. 287 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:04,960 Wow. 288 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:11,040 So let's get into how ARENA's methodology at the Groin Institute impacted your piano 289 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:15,120 teaching journey and changed the course of your teaching career. 290 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:22,120 So where were you as a piano teacher before meeting ARENA or before discovering her methods? 291 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:23,640 I've always enjoyed teaching. 292 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:29,160 I didn't feel stuck, but I felt I was missing something, that it was limiting. 293 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:33,440 I was doing a good job, but I knew there was more. 294 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:38,160 And then as I discovered her name came up through YouTube and everything, I was watching 295 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:42,880 how she was working with these very young children, four years old, and I knew I would 296 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,600 never dare to work with a four-year-old. 297 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:47,200 And I just didn't know how. 298 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:49,320 I didn't have the tools for it. 299 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:54,680 And the freedom and the emotional maturity with which they played was astonishing to 300 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:55,680 me. 301 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:57,320 And I wanted that for my students. 302 00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:00,920 I just wanted to be a teacher that could do that for my students. 303 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:07,240 So when COVID came and she was offering this course, this online course, I wrestled with 304 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:08,240 it a bit. 305 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:09,480 I wondered, well, am I going to do this? 306 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,200 Am I going to pay for this and do this? 307 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:18,280 And my rationale for it was, if I even get two really good ideas that will help my students 308 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:20,960 in the future, this will be worth it. 309 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:27,320 And I had to laugh at myself because after the first session, I had written down 17 tools 310 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:32,520 I could immediately apply to my teaching that I use to this day. 311 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:38,000 Each one of the times we get together are packed full of ideas and different approaches 312 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,000 and wisdom and encouragement, incredible encouragement. 313 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,800 You no longer feel alone as a music teacher. 314 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:48,360 And so how has it changed my teaching? 315 00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:52,360 I would definitely feel comfortable teaching young ones now. 316 00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:56,280 I will never teach a five finger approach again. 317 00:21:56,280 --> 00:22:02,200 I love her non-legato approach to playing and starting with the third finger. 318 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:08,000 It has allowed my students to develop a natural handshape, free their wrists, their arm weight, 319 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:13,000 and they're learning to really listen to their sound, not just the middle of the sound. 320 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,520 They're learning to listen to the edge, the first edge of the sound and the last edge 321 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:20,920 of the sound, like to train their ears to really listen. 322 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:25,480 And what I love about her methodology is the quality of the music. 323 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:29,120 They are short pieces for quite a while. 324 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:31,100 So students get a lot of repertoire. 325 00:22:31,100 --> 00:22:36,900 They're learning a lot of music because it's short and they learn it quickly. 326 00:22:36,900 --> 00:22:39,880 Only two lessons, sometimes three lessons. 327 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:44,640 And it's so pedagogically rich, all of the items she's picked. 328 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:50,920 And they're so carefully scaffolded that, you know, the whole first book is non-legato. 329 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:52,720 And it's quality music. 330 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:56,920 They have duets with it or you can have recorded accompaniments with it. 331 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:59,880 Students love it, such variety. 332 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:04,200 And it really trains my students for classical music. 333 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:11,360 It is so rich emotionally and it uses the whole imagination landscape of a child. 334 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:17,720 So they are expressing a picture with their sound rather than just playing notes and feeling 335 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:19,000 a rhythm. 336 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:26,360 And so for me, it's just such a rich musical start for these young children. 337 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:33,280 And I haven't found any other North American music methods that use this approach. 338 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:38,440 Before I started with the arenas course, I was using Music Tree, which I loved for the 339 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:40,560 way it taught students to read music. 340 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:46,040 It stayed out of positions and they, but it got into legato far too soon. 341 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:52,840 So yeah, this is just a much, much better beginning for my students. 342 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:54,680 And they're just more involved. 343 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:57,520 I see more enthusiasm. 344 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:02,200 It's just a more enriching way to teach. 345 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:06,960 Hard to describe, but when you see the sparkle in your students eyes or they start chuckling 346 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:11,400 with you because they're sad kitten did not sound very sad. 347 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:16,000 It sounded mad, you know, and then they changed their whole body posture and their whole approach 348 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:17,000 to the sound. 349 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:21,640 And suddenly they've got this very sad kitten in this piece and it's just remarkable to 350 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:22,640 see it. 351 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:23,640 Wow. 352 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:30,200 Now you just told us like specific things that changed the way you approach teaching 353 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:38,520 young children, but overall what stands out by, you know, taking her classes courses and 354 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:41,760 that are different from others. 355 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:49,800 She's a master pedagogue and I never got taught polyphony the way she teaches it. 356 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:54,000 So the things in the Baroque era I'm looking at in a completely different way, teaching 357 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,440 them in a completely different way. 358 00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:01,920 It's all about quality of sound, efficiency of movement, tension and release. 359 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:03,480 It's just become so refined. 360 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:07,480 It becomes very detailed as we progress further in the course. 361 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:12,720 So it has changed my own playing and I can help like I get transfer students. 362 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:16,360 It's rare for me to get a student because I have such a small studio to get a student 363 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:17,360 right from the beginning. 364 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:20,560 I've only had one student since I've taken the course that I could start right from the 365 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:22,360 beginning. 366 00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:29,080 But I transfer those skills and I use some of her slightly later level books with my 367 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,440 transfer students so they get to review. 368 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:36,360 And it's usually about hand alignment and gathering the hand into a more natural position. 369 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:40,080 Those are some of the things that I often have to remediate as well as they're usually 370 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:43,660 terrible at reading or they're not following the fingering or they use the fingering to 371 00:25:43,660 --> 00:25:47,400 read the notes and that doesn't work in her method because when you move from a one to 372 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:49,660 a two, you're not moving a second. 373 00:25:49,660 --> 00:25:52,040 You might be moving to a third. 374 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:56,760 And so they have to start to have to read the notes and they become very detailed. 375 00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:02,280 They start paying attention to slurs, ends of slurs and how do you finish a phrase? 376 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:03,280 What is the sound you want? 377 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:05,080 They start noticing when you're bumping a phrase. 378 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:08,720 So it's all this refinement. 379 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:19,760 So sounds like it's an ideal way of approaching young children teaching classical piano playing, 380 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,600 but not in a strict way. 381 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:23,760 Oh no. 382 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:28,760 Irina is so gentle and loving with her students. 383 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:33,600 She never accepts students based on talent. 384 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:39,620 She will accept any student if they have the proper family support. 385 00:26:39,620 --> 00:26:45,040 If they have a proper piano, they're willing to help the young child practice this sort 386 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:46,040 of thing. 387 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:51,160 They take on transfer students as well as long as they're really keen to be there, she 388 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:52,840 will teach them. 389 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:59,040 And she is so kind and she encourages all of us to be kind and respectful because we 390 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:05,580 have to understand when a child is struggling or possibly even misbehaving, what is really 391 00:27:05,580 --> 00:27:06,960 going on with that child? 392 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,280 And it always, always comes from a place of respect. 393 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:11,840 There's also authority there. 394 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:12,840 Wow. 395 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:17,760 That's like a really ideal character as a teacher, right? 396 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:20,240 So tell us about Irina Gordon herself. 397 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:24,000 What qualities, you mentioned a little bit about characters, does she possess that make 398 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:28,040 her an exceptional person and mentor to you? 399 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:30,040 She is very, very humble. 400 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:32,740 She is open to discussion on anything. 401 00:27:32,740 --> 00:27:38,160 She is incredibly generous with her time and her knowledge. 402 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:43,880 I often find music teachers are very territorial and they want to hold their information close 403 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:49,280 to their chest and they want their studio to excel and they've got students competing. 404 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:52,860 And she is about helping everybody bloom. 405 00:27:52,860 --> 00:27:56,080 And she wants to help teachers who can help them, those students. 406 00:27:56,080 --> 00:28:00,480 Her goal with teaching music is to create more empathic human beings who love music 407 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:01,960 and who are self-expressive. 408 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:03,440 That's her goal. 409 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:11,760 And it really hurts her to see children struggling with tight hands and claws and sitting improperly 410 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:15,960 and banging the piano and very percussive sound. 411 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:19,320 She knows what children are capable of. 412 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:23,940 So her generosity stands out, her kindness, her respectfulness. 413 00:28:23,940 --> 00:28:33,400 And she has this amazing ability to zero in on the one thing that will make the most impact 414 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:35,600 in someone's playing. 415 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:37,380 And I was lucky enough to visit her. 416 00:28:37,380 --> 00:28:38,880 She just welcomes us with open arms. 417 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:42,160 We went to visit and she gives me some lessons. 418 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:47,880 And in the hour and a half, I was playing Bach and Debussy and Mendelssohn and every 419 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:53,260 piece that I played for her, she would find two or three things that were so impactful 420 00:28:53,260 --> 00:28:55,080 that would raise it to the next level. 421 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:57,220 It was remarkable. 422 00:28:57,220 --> 00:29:00,200 You also get to take piano lessons from her. 423 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:01,200 Well, I did. 424 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:02,200 I did. 425 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:05,320 I went to see her around one summer for a few days and learned from her and watched 426 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:06,760 her teach. 427 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:11,600 And you are able to have Zoom lessons with her online if you wish. 428 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:12,920 I've only done one of those. 429 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:13,920 It was very, very helpful. 430 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:17,400 But yeah, no, she's so generous with her time. 431 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:18,400 And again, humble. 432 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:20,960 I can't recommend the course enough. 433 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:25,960 If there are piano teachers out there who are feeling stale or stagnant or struggling, 434 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:31,120 saying how do I deal with certain issues, if they even just take the first level, it 435 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:36,600 will solve so many issues for all the future years of their beginner students. 436 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:41,640 It is such dense, rich material that is easily applied. 437 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:44,480 It's a huge learning curve, but it is so worth it. 438 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:48,600 It will make their lessons so much more joyous and involving. 439 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:53,040 They will get far better results with their students, greater involvement with their students. 440 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:55,720 I can't recommend it enough. 441 00:29:55,720 --> 00:30:02,240 I think people hesitate sometimes because they don't want to pay and the courses are 442 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:03,360 priced very reasonably. 443 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,000 We can't believe what we get for the money. 444 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:07,840 Or they just feel like they can't keep up. 445 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:09,080 Their lives are so busy. 446 00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:11,160 They can't keep up with the course. 447 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:15,600 But everybody that's joined, some of them say, yes, I can't keep up, but this is so 448 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:16,680 good. 449 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:21,480 And everybody says they've just never encountered such a worthwhile course before in their lives. 450 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:27,680 Bulet, thank you again for joining this testimonial segment of Irina's episode. 451 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:35,840 Now, what are the common struggles and challenges or sometimes this misunderstanding you see 452 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:37,320 from teachers? 453 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:39,600 Very individual. 454 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:47,720 Some teachers are just tired to be not happy with the results they see in their students. 455 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:51,720 Some teachers are just curious. 456 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:58,080 Some teachers struggle with certain techniques and they see how easy, for example, my students 457 00:30:58,080 --> 00:30:59,080 do that. 458 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:00,620 They want to learn. 459 00:31:00,620 --> 00:31:04,200 It's really hard to pinpoint. 460 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,760 Everybody has their own reasons. 461 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:17,400 Some teachers started using tales, books, and they don't understand the real background, 462 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:23,520 so they want to learn it, even though they see results, but they wanted to go in depth. 463 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,120 A lot of teachers, actually. 464 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:32,000 Those who started, who found tales first, then they found my courses and they joined 465 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:33,000 them. 466 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:36,520 So where can we sign up your course? 467 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:43,120 So there is a website called thegoreninstitute.com and there are all the levels teachers can 468 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:50,520 sign up any time to any level they want because some teachers might feel comfortable with 469 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:59,960 beginners, but for example, in level two, our main focus are techniques such as scales, 470 00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:07,640 etudes, some technical skills as alberti bass, choosing the repertoire, the process of working 471 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:17,880 on musical composition, supplemental repertoire, pedagogical analysis, starting to learn polyphony. 472 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:23,480 Every course has 20 sessions and 10 Q&As. 473 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:26,920 And level three is more advanced. 474 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:31,320 We work on cenatinas and other larger forms. 475 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:37,400 We work on little preludes by Bach, inventions and symphonies. 476 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,840 And we work on romanticism in music. 477 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:46,480 We work on Schumann's album for the young, Mike Apar, some other composers. 478 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:55,040 So every level is a little bit like, they are, I would say the most useful would be 479 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:58,120 to go through all of them. 480 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:05,160 But if teachers don't want to spend the whole year, even though I offer intensive options 481 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:11,440 or if they pay for the whole course, they can watch in one sitting everything and go 482 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:13,000 to next level. 483 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,080 I think it's helpful, but it's not mandatory. 484 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:17,080 I see. 485 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:18,080 Okay. 486 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:22,320 They can go in level two or level three, then go to level one. 487 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:30,760 The only thing I have level four, which we call alumni level. 488 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:35,520 And that's where teachers who went through all my courses can join. 489 00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:41,960 And that's where they have lots of benefits, like having free access to all the videos, 490 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:47,800 to all the Q&As, being able to attend all the Q&As of our levels. 491 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:50,240 But it's like a cherry on the top. 492 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:53,720 You have to go through levels to be able to join. 493 00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:54,720 Wow. 494 00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:58,400 I have like 50 teachers in the alumni level. 495 00:33:58,400 --> 00:33:59,400 Amazing. 496 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:00,400 Wow. 497 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:01,480 That's so fantastic. 498 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,680 So that's the goreinstitute.com, right? 499 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:05,680 Yes. 500 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:06,680 Okay, great. 501 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:11,000 Now, I know I have so many more questions, but it's almost, you know, toward the end 502 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:12,360 of our conversation. 503 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:20,440 So I have one thing that from our audience that who asked me to ask you, how should we 504 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:26,320 as piano teachers enlist parents in facilitating regular practice for young beginners? 505 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:32,280 Meaning, you know, parents, how should we encourage parents to participate in their 506 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:33,280 practice? 507 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:36,120 It's a really good question. 508 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:44,360 And unfortunately, there are a lot of arguments about importance of parental involvement, 509 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:48,080 and some teachers don't even allow parents in their lessons. 510 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:56,440 I think, and I learned it from my pedagogy teacher, Victor Makarov, who also wrote a 511 00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,160 book about piano pedagogy. 512 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:08,320 He had a little sketch of a bird flying, and the child sitting on the bird with one wing 513 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:11,540 being a teacher and the other wing being a parent. 514 00:35:11,540 --> 00:35:17,640 And the question is, if one wing is missing, will the bird fly? 515 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:20,240 Will the child continue flying? 516 00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:21,240 Of course not. 517 00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:23,760 It will be a big fall. 518 00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:31,360 And on my initial interview, I again, as I mentioned before, I don't choose a student 519 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:33,840 or choose students by their abilities. 520 00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:40,520 I choose if I can work with parents and if they follow my instructions, my directions, 521 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:47,200 and my main request, my main demand for parents to be involved. 522 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:48,200 How involved? 523 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:56,200 I explained them right away, but I also continue educating them through all the years of piano 524 00:35:56,200 --> 00:36:01,600 lessons and the ways are through newsletters, through articles. 525 00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:06,720 There are tons of articles about importance, through little suggestions. 526 00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:15,800 I at least twice a year, I do teacher-parent conference where I discuss with parents the 527 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:23,160 progress, we look together at the schedule, we try to tweak things around to give a good 528 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:27,200 time to piano practice, to make it a routine. 529 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:31,600 Of course, it's very hard, even when parents are present at the lessons, it's very hard 530 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:38,660 to answer all their questions or tell them everything, especially in front of the child. 531 00:36:38,660 --> 00:36:42,640 So I do it without children, one on one. 532 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:48,440 But they are also active participants in the lesson. 533 00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:57,320 If they become too much and that happens, it also takes some training and education. 534 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:03,000 I just tell them the child gets distracted, so you need to sit a little bit farther and 535 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:07,040 ask questions only after the lesson. 536 00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:13,040 I don't allow them to correct the child because I am the one to do that. 537 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:18,400 If they pick on the child from two different sides, it's not going to be good. 538 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:27,720 So in the lesson, I'm the one who teaches, they observe and learn and record. 539 00:37:27,720 --> 00:37:34,920 I actually video record every lesson, not only for the purpose to post it on YouTube, 540 00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:39,480 but it's for parents to watch the lesson, not for students. 541 00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:44,280 They will not be interested to look again at the lessons they were. 542 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:50,560 But parents can always go back and see what was emphasized, what's important. 543 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:59,420 Sometimes when parents are involved, the big challenge is arguments at home. 544 00:37:59,420 --> 00:38:01,120 You don't know. 545 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:03,160 I used to tell my mom, how do you know? 546 00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:04,160 I'm taking lessons. 547 00:38:04,160 --> 00:38:06,880 You can't tell me what to do. 548 00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:12,240 And my teacher is not here, so I know better. 549 00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:17,160 But having the video, they can show them, look, your teacher told you to do that. 550 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:18,760 And that really helps. 551 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:27,200 I require parents to send me pictures, videos from their home practice so I can catch mistakes 552 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:28,800 early. 553 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:32,480 So they need to be aware of the process. 554 00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:39,440 And the thing when children know that parents are involved, it really helps them to feel 555 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:46,160 support and they do something that is valuable. 556 00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:54,240 Because if child is dropped off at the lesson, then picked up and then at home go practice, 557 00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:56,960 they feel grounded. 558 00:38:56,960 --> 00:39:00,480 They feel unprivileged. 559 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:03,120 It's punishment. 560 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:07,240 And especially young children, they can't be alone. 561 00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:14,320 They don't feel the piano as a friend to communicate with grown-up people might feel. 562 00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:17,040 We need to grow that relationship. 563 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:19,320 We need to teach them. 564 00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:26,800 And if parents are there, if they support, if they encourage, not argue, not scream, 565 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:33,600 but support and encourage and make sure the schedule works so the child is not too tired 566 00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:35,160 when they practice the piano. 567 00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:42,200 When they go to the concert together and can discuss, those are the best ways to work. 568 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:43,920 Well, thank you. 569 00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:46,800 Thank you for this, your wisdom. 570 00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:52,060 And I'm sure my audience's members are really happy to hear that. 571 00:39:52,060 --> 00:39:57,680 So for those who are listening and watching this episode, please check out IrinaGoren.com 572 00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:03,440 for her method books, Tales of a Musical Journey series. 573 00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:10,180 And also please join her Facebook forum, Passionate Piano Teacher Community. 574 00:40:10,180 --> 00:40:18,320 And also you can check out her pedagogy courses, the Goren Institute at thegoreninstitute.com. 575 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:20,000 So Irina, thank you. 576 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,860 This has been a really fun and inspiring conversation. 577 00:40:22,860 --> 00:40:26,600 But before I let you go, we have one more thing to do. 578 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:28,580 It's called the piano part rapid fire question. 579 00:40:28,580 --> 00:40:33,520 So this is part of the show where I get to ask fun questions to each guest. 580 00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:34,520 Here's a little twist. 581 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:39,200 As silly as these questions may sound, they may reveal who truly you are. 582 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:41,200 So get ready. 583 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:45,680 Yeah, let's start with the fun, easy questions. 584 00:40:45,680 --> 00:40:46,680 Okay. 585 00:40:46,680 --> 00:40:48,280 So level one, question number one. 586 00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:50,200 What is your comfort food? 587 00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:51,200 Ice cream. 588 00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:52,200 Great. 589 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:53,200 Me too. 590 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:54,200 All right. 591 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:58,560 Number two, how do you like your coffee in the morning? 592 00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:00,360 Black coffee with sugar. 593 00:41:00,360 --> 00:41:01,360 Cattle dogs. 594 00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:06,200 I had a dog, so probably dogs. 595 00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:08,200 Sunrise or sunset? 596 00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:09,200 Sunset. 597 00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:11,680 So this is going to be level two. 598 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:15,920 What skill have you always wanted to learn but haven't had the chance to? 599 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:17,540 Dancing. 600 00:41:17,540 --> 00:41:21,160 What is your word or words to live by? 601 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:22,720 Never give up. 602 00:41:22,720 --> 00:41:23,800 Yes. 603 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:28,120 What is the most important quality you look for in other people? 604 00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:29,400 Honesty. 605 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:33,840 Name three people who inspire you living or dead. 606 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:36,240 My parents and my teachers. 607 00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:39,280 Level three, two more questions to go. 608 00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:42,920 Name one piece in your current playlist. 609 00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:49,840 Oh my goodness. 610 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:58,640 You know, it's always been probably Rachmaninoff concerto number two. 611 00:41:58,640 --> 00:41:59,640 Of course. 612 00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:00,640 The best. 613 00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:01,640 Yes. 614 00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:03,200 Now, final question. 615 00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:05,160 Fill in the blank. 616 00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:07,240 Music is blank. 617 00:42:07,240 --> 00:42:08,240 Music is a life. 618 00:42:08,240 --> 00:42:09,240 Great. 619 00:42:09,240 --> 00:42:10,240 Beautiful. 620 00:42:10,240 --> 00:42:11,700 Thank you. 621 00:42:11,700 --> 00:42:14,040 So that concludes this episode of the Piano Pod. 622 00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:19,320 Thank you, Irina, for joining my show today and sharing your stories and expertise. 623 00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:24,560 So for the Piano Pod's listeners and viewers, please visit the goreininstitute.com to learn 624 00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:28,560 more about Irina's organization and connect her on social media. 625 00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:30,800 All the links are listed in the show notes. 626 00:42:30,800 --> 00:42:33,720 Thank you to my wonderful audience and fans for tuning in today. 627 00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:37,960 If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review it on whatever podcasting platform 628 00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:38,960 you use. 629 00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:42,840 And if you haven't already, please subscribe to my YouTube channel. 630 00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:47,480 Follow the Piano Pod on social media to get the latest piano news via Facebook, Instagram, 631 00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:49,320 TikTok and LinkedIn. 632 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:52,440 I will see you for the next episode of the Piano Pod. 633 00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:53,440 Bye everyone. 634 00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:54,440 Thank you so much, Irina. 635 00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:55,440 Thank you. 636 00:42:55,440 --> 00:43:00,440 Thank you for inviting me and thank you for our audience for listening. 637 00:43:00,440 --> 00:43:19,720 Thank you.