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The holidays can be magical—and completely overwhelming. Between school concerts, studio plans, nonstop decorations, and family expectations, our students’ senses get flooded and their routines get disrupted. We talk frankly about what actually helps neurodivergent learners during this season and how we, as teachers, can be the steady, calm center when everything else speeds up.

If you’re craving a simple, humane approach to the holidays, this conversation gives you the scripts, structures, and small tips that make a big difference. Subscribe, share with a teacher friend who needs a calmer December, and leave a review to tell us which strategy you’ll try first!

Subscribe to the new blog!

Looking for some new holiday fidgets, no-prep activities or Elizabeth's students' favorite Scratch Ornaments? Check them out here!

Check out our favorite Christmas/holiday repertoire (including the music mentioned in today's episode)

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Find the full transcript here of this episode and all past episodes!

📚 Join the waitlist for the next Piano Teachers Book Club Session!

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You can find all of Elizabeth's favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
elizabeth@creativepianopedagogy.com
As an Amazon Affiliate, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through our links. Thank you for helping support the podcast!

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Big shifts are brewing at Creative Piano Pedagogy, and we’re inviting you behind the scenes! After five years of building resources solo, we’re leveling up into a true partnership that pairs big-picture creativity with sharp systems and operations. That means better courses, clearer communications, and a brand-new website designed to make it easier to find the tools you need to teach with confidence. Expect offerings that blend evidence-based strategies with simple, practical steps you can use in lessons right away.

To keep things human, we also loosen up with rapid-fire questions: what we listen to when we’re not teaching, the coffee orders that fuel us, and the composers we love to play but hesitate to teach.

If you’re a piano teacher looking for inspired ideas grounded in solid research, you’ll feel at home here. Tap play, meet the team, and help shape what comes next by sharing your studio challenges and wish list. Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a colleague who’s ready for fresh energy in their teaching.

Links:

Check out the new Etsy shop!

Jingle Bells- Elizabeth's favorite 4-hand arrangement by Robert Vandall (or get the single sheet music here)

Browse our favorite Christmas ensemble collections

Check out our favorite Christmas solo music (beginner-advanced)

Listen to Tara's first episode on the podcast

We are partners with Amazon's Affiliate Program to earn a small commission from purchases made through our links at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the podcast and mission of CPP!

Support the show

Find the full transcript here of this episode and all past episodes!

📚 Join the waitlist for the next Piano Teachers Book Club Session!

Subscribe to Elizabeth's email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
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Follow on YouTube

You can find all of Elizabeth's favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
creativepianopedagogy@gmail.com

Send us a text

This episode challenges the myth that teachers need a diagnosis to teach well and offers practical ways to create a welcoming intake, read the learner in real time, and build trust with parents who value privacy. We share scripts, strategies, and a mindset shift: see the student, not the label.

• privacy and dignity as non‑negotiables
• welcoming intake that centers the learner
• improvisation and co‑composition as assessment
• lowering parent defenses with empathy
• labels as hypotheses, not prescriptions
• repertoire choice as motivation and access
• language that invites, not interrogates
• challenge to adapt teaching before seeking labels

Please tap the review button on Apple and leave a quick note about what you enjoyed or which episode was your favorite so Apple, Buzzsprout and Spotify will recommend the podcast to others!

Support the show

Find the full transcript here of this episode and all past episodes!

📚 Join the waitlist for the next Piano Teachers Book Club Session!

Subscribe to Elizabeth's email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
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You can find all of Elizabeth's favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
creativepianopedagogy@gmail.com

Send us a text

What if the “wiggles” are actually your student’s brain doing its best work? Elizabeth opens up about being diagnosed with ADHD at age three and the unexpected way piano became her first tool for focus, self-regulation, and joy. From caffeinated laps at a recital hall to discovering that busy hands can calm a busy mind, this story threads personal insight into practical strategies any teacher can use.

The episode leans into creative problem solving. Through it all runs one idea: teach the student in front of you, not the stereotype. When we design for a busy mind and busy body, we uncover a musician who thrives on challenge and learns fast.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a teacher friend, and leave a quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts—it helps others find these conversations and supports more inclusive, effective music teaching!

Support the show

Find the full transcript here of this episode and all past episodes!

📚 Join the waitlist for the next Piano Teachers Book Club Session!

Subscribe to Elizabeth's email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube

You can find all of Elizabeth's favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
creativepianopedagogy@gmail.com

Send us a text

What does autism really look like in the piano studio? Autism Spectrum Disorder exists on a continuum as varied as the individuals who experience it. We explore why nonverbal doesn't mean unable to understand, why avoiding eye contact doesn't signal disinterest in social connection, and why differences in neurological processing aren't deficits but simply different pathways to learning.

This episode dismantles common misconceptions that limit our expectations and teaching approaches. Through real-life examples and touching student stories, you'll gain practical insights into creating more inclusive and effective piano lessons.

Links

Interested in learning more about the best approaches for teaching neurodivergent learners? Take advantage of the 50% sale on Adaptive Piano Pedagogy 101! Use code FLASH50 at checkout.

Check out Dr. Scott Price's book, Autism and Piano Study

Blog posts on Autism Spectrum Disorder + piano teaching

Need some fidget toys for your neurodivergent students? Here are Elizabeth's favorites! {affiliate link}

Support the show

Find the full transcript here of this episode and all past episodes!

📚 Join the waitlist for the next Piano Teachers Book Club Session!

Subscribe to Elizabeth's email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube

You can find all of Elizabeth's favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
creativepianopedagogy@gmail.com

Send us a text

In this eye-opening conversation, host Elizabeth Davis-Everhart welcomes piano teacher Tara Mock, who brings 30 years of teaching experience alongside her perspective as a parent of neurodivergent children. Together, they challenge the common misconceptions of neurodiversity that limit both teachers and students in the music studio.

From the myth that autistic students can't be social to assumptions about coordination challenges and behavioral issues, this conversation peels away layers of misunderstanding to reveal the unique gifts neurodivergent students bring to music education.

Ready to see your students—all your students—in a new light? This episode is your invitation to teaching with greater understanding, flexibility, and joy.

Links:

--> Use code FLASH50 at checkout to get Elizabeth's Adaptive Piano Pedagogy 101 course for 50% this week. Click here to apply the discount at checkout!

Resources from Tara on Neurodiversity:
Learn more about Tara
Dr. Scott Price's book on Autism and Piano Study

Support the show

Find the full transcript here of this episode and all past episodes!

📚 Join the waitlist for the next Piano Teachers Book Club Session!

Subscribe to Elizabeth's email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
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Follow on YouTube

You can find all of Elizabeth's favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
creativepianopedagogy@gmail.com

Send us a text

Welcome to the first episode in our groundbreaking new series about gifted and neurodivergent learners at the piano: Deconstructing Misconceptions of Gifted and Neurodivergent Learners! Have you ever caught yourself making a snap judgment about a student, only to later discover how wrong you were?

This episode challenges the assumption that difference equals deficit, and encourages teachers to "Jump into the Chute" with their students. (More on jumping into the chute on this week's new blog post!) Throughout this series, we'll hear from experts who will help us reframe our understanding of neurodivergent students as the capable, intelligent, and deeply musical individuals they are. There's also a new "Tiny Teaching Tip" at the end of the episode, so don't miss out on that.

-->Have you encountered misconceptions about teaching neurodivergent students? Send them my way in a message to Creative Piano Pedagogy on social media or via email to creativepianopedagogy@gmail.com so I can include them in an upcoming episode!

Support the show

Find the full transcript here of this episode and all past episodes!

📚 Join the waitlist for the next Piano Teachers Book Club Session!

Subscribe to Elizabeth's email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube

You can find all of Elizabeth's favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
creativepianopedagogy@gmail.com

Send us a text

The hardest truth about teaching neurodivergent students is the unpredictability. You never know which "version" of your student will arrive each week—focused and ready for challenges, anxious but willing, or struggling with concepts they mastered weeks ago. This variability isn't a failure of teaching or learning; it's simply the reality of neurodivergent brains.

Contrary to misconception, adaptive teaching isn't the easy way out. It demands deeper pedagogical knowledge, thorough preparation, and keen observation skills. But its heart remains beautifully simple: know your student, know your pedagogy, and teach to the individual in front of you.

Ready to connect with other teachers on this journey? Join our free, private Facebook community for creative piano teachers by clicking this link! We're a supportive space for questions, brainstorming, and sharing experiences about teaching neurodivergent learners.

Want to be in on future Teacher Chats? Join the list here to get notified!

Links from today's episode:
My favorite musical coloring pages
Check out the Bubble Timer Blogpost
My favorite Comfort Fidget Tools/Toys

Note: The music puzzle mentioned in the episode is no longer available, but here is a similar set of velcro music puzzles Elizabeth often uses in lessons from Etsy

*As an Amazon Affiliate, I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you!) if you purchase through the Amazon links, which helps support the podcast and ongoing projects and research.

Support the show

Find the full transcript here of this episode and all past episodes!

📚 Join the waitlist for the next Piano Teachers Book Club Session!

Subscribe to Elizabeth's email list here so you won’t miss future courses, freebies, teacher events and more.

Let's stay in touch!
On the website/blog
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube

You can find all of Elizabeth's favorite repertoire and teaching tools on the Amazon Storefront (affiliate link)
Questions or suggestions? Send Elizabeth an email:
creativepianopedagogy@gmail.com