6 ways to make time for creativity

An answer to my most frequently received reader question

I love getting questions from readers.

Partly because it reassures me that I’m not just screaming into the void! Partly because it’s good to know that I’m covering relevant topics.

But mostly it’s because you ask really interesting questions.

If you’d like to send a request you can email me at hello@pianocreativity.com or complete the new reader survey by clicking the button below:

The survey is just 3 short questions.

A very common problem

Almost 50% of the responses mention struggling to find time for creativity. Here are a few examples:

• “Time budgeting”

• “Usually running out of time!”

• “Lack of time, especially when an exam is looming.”

• “There's a perception with parents that teaching creativity is wasting precious time which the pupil should be dedicating to practising specific pieces or tech exercises etc. Sometimes difficult to persuade them it's all part of the learning process.”

I really sympathise. Back in the days when I didn’t include as much creativity in my lessons, I often felt guilty about struggling to fit it in.

The irony is that now that creativity is more integrated into my work, I find myself feel guilty about neglecting other things…

…and that brings me to my first and arguably most important point:

You cannot do everything, all of the time.

Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t include creativity in every lesson.

Do try to include it more frequently.

Without further ado, here are my top tips, which I’ll flesh out over the course of the next weeks:

1. Be more reactive to your students’ creativity — when they “mess around”, join in

2. Keep your eyes open for the many small opportunities to include improvisation in lessons — especially when teaching scales and repertoire

3. Plan seasonal creativity activities for the whole studio — you don’t have to teach creativity all year round

4. Organise creativity workshops and/or summer camps — this is a great way to dip your toe into creative teaching

5. Select exam boards that encourage creativity — there are more options out there than you might think

6. Make the most of student repertoire requests — pop requests are particularly useful for creative teaching

I’ll go into more detail on the first point later this week!