Unfazed:
The Online Course
You can stop wasting time on trial and error
and feel CONFIDENT teaching students with disabilities...
...even if you don't have previous experience or a Master's degree in piano pedagogy.
Does this sound like you?
If you've scoured the internet for effective teaching strategies,
or if you're wondering whether what you're already doing is even working...
you are in the right place.
I used to think that my students couldn’t understand me.
I’d show them middle C on the page, then show them middle C on the piano. They might remember for a minute or even for a whole lesson, but they'd seem to forget by the following week.
I spent countless lessons going over finger numbers again and again.
I used flashcards for note identification, but accuracy was at best 50/50.
Some students couldn’t even seem to remember how to identify C on the piano from week to week. I’d ask them to play black keys, but they would play white keys or just bang around randomly.
I was so frustrated with both myself and my students. Are they not even listening to me?
Do I need to break down each concept even MORE than I already am and drill it endlessly in every lesson?
The problem wasn't that my students couldn't learn.
I was going about it all wrong...
It turns out that many of my students had some degree of dyspraxia.
“Dyspraxia” covers a range of disorders that affect one’s ability to plan, process, and perform motor tasks. In other words, people with dyspraxia have trouble getting the body to do what they want, when they want.
Being a disorder of movement, it can affect things like whole body coordination (like walking, jumping, or catching a ball), fine motor movements (like using scissors or playing the piano), and spatial awareness.
Perhaps less obviously, it can also affect speech. After all, speech is ultimately a complex motor function.
BUT... dyspraxia doesn’t affect intelligence. It can cause problems with perception and concentration, and it can cause speech to be jumbled or even impossible for some, but it does not affect intellectual ability.
I realized that I needed to trust that my students could UNDERSTAND what I was telling them (given that it was appropriate for their age and level), even if they couldn’t execute it or demonstrate their understanding quite yet.
I needed to presume competence.
Once I learned to relentlessly presume competence in my students, I could focus on addressing dyspraxia and whatever other physical, emotional, or executive functioning challenges that prevented them from learning piano in “traditional” ways.
I could stop boring them to death with endless repetitions and insulting their intelligence by color-coding everything or talking in a loud baby voice.
I could respect them as intelligent individuals, and they could respect me as someone who “gets” them.
Most importantly, I could figure out concrete and practical ways to get their hands playing the piano.
IMAGINE HOW IT WOULD FEEL TO...
...I'm here to tell you, ALL of that is possible.
Hi, I’m Selena
I’m a lifelong pianist, piano teacher since 2008, teacher trainer, studio owner, author of the Milestone Method, and the founder of Notable. I teach piano full-time in the SF Bay Area, California, in my studio of 50+ students, and almost all of them have disabilities or special needs.
Perhaps like you, I stumbled upon this niche by happy accident. Being a lifelong learner, I was captivated by the challenge of figuring out how to teach this growing population of students who were either puzzled by or largely ignored by modern pedagogy. I was also, at times, completely stumped.
After years of trial and error with countless workshops, courses, forums, methods, and Pinterest experiments, I developed a system for effectively teaching students with special needs. Since I’m only one person, I felt compelled to share what I know with as many teachers as possible so we can reach the millions of potential students who still haven’t been given the opportunity to learn music.
Why should you start from scratch, when I can pass on proven methods that will make your life easier and fill your studio with smiling students?
It's my mission to demystify teaching students with special needs and save you years of trial and error by giving you all the tools you need, right now.
“When music teachers started asking me for resources about teaching special needs students that I could share in my membership, I knew exactly who to ask: Selena Pistoresi. Already well known in the industry, Selena blew us away with her knowledge and skills in this area; skills that far surpass anything I could have shared. Always happy to share her teaching in action, Selena recorded heaps of teaching videos, both in-person and online, showing exactly how to work with a variety of students. These have had by far the biggest impact on our members: seeing an experienced teacher in action working directly with her students.”
Tim Topham ‧ Creator of TopMusicPro
Introducing Unfazed: the online course that gives you the proven strategies you need to feel CONFIDENT taking on any student with Disabilities.
What's inside the course?
- Access to the Unfazed online course until 2/2/2024: video training modules, PDF downloads, curriculum, lists of my go-to favorite sensory-friendly studio and teaching tools, supplemental and “off the bench” activities for both online and in-person lessons ($599 value)
- All 3 studio-licensed digital versions of The Milestone Method - my foundational sight reading method books for students with disabilities ($87 value)
- Access to the FB community - get all your questions answered! (priceless)
Everything above included for $399.
I've packed years of experience and my best work into this course, and I want to make sure that you not only receive all of the content and watch it, but give you 30 full days to actually implement these strategies and start seeing results with your students.
Try the entire course. If you don't LOVE it, I insist that you get 100% of your money back. I'll even eat the credit-card processing fees.
It's simple: Join the course and try it for yourself. If the methods and framework don't work for you, email me. Tell me how it went with your students, and I'll give you all your money back.
This guarantee lasts 14 days.
““Selena is an expert in working with neurodiverse students & families. Her student-centred philosophy ensures that teachers assume competency, so students continually progress even if it’s not a typical trajectory. I especially enjoyed all the activity ideas she provided (both on & off the bench) plus how to adapt them to online lessons. Throughout the course, Selena was committed to making sure each teacher was supported & our (many) questions answered. Whether you trained as a “special needs” teacher, are new to teaching neurodiverse students or somewhere in between, Unfazed has ideas, strategies & activities to bring to the studio.“
FAQ
Unfazed is a self-paced course that you can complete at your own convenience. The course will no longer be available beginning February 2, 2024, so make sure to finish it before then.
Teaching students with disabilities or special needs is no more difficult than teaching "neurotypical" or mainstreamed piano students. It's just different. It has its own set of challenges, like any teaching does. Once you understand a few key ideas, your mindset will help you interact with students in a productive and successful way. Also, this course provides the exact road map you need, as far as curriculum and supplemental activities.
Though this iteration of the course lasts 8 weeks, you are welcome to go through the information at your own pace. Group calls will be recorded and posted for participants to watch at a later date. You'll have lifetime access to the videos and PDFs in the course, so you can take as long as you need and go through them again and again.
For life!
Definitely. We're all doing the best we can with our students, and you surely have some wonderful ideas already in place. This course will give you a unique perspective and provide an infusion of fresh material for you to use.
That depends! You're welcome to implement as much or as little as you'd like with your students. Learning the philosophy behind these methods may help you reframe methods you've used in the past, but you're ultimately in charge of how you teach.
The information in this course applies to students with a huge range of support needs, abilities, and levels. These methods aren't just for students with dyspraxia. They're not exclusive to a specific diagnosis like autism, ADHD, Down Syndrome, or something else.
Not sure if this is the right course for you? Send us an email at [email protected] and we'll answer any questions you have.
In case you need a little reminder from someone who used to be in your shoes, you can teach those students. You don't need a master's degree in piano pedagogy. You can become the teacher who knows what to do in every situation. You don't have to do it all at once - you just have to take that next step. You can do this and I’m here to help you every step of the way.