Join Dr Sally Cathcart, Director of the Piano Teachers' Course UK, for this specially designed 5-day course running exclusively at the Chetham's International Piano Summer School in August 2025. Joining her across the week will be tutor, pianist and YouTuber Jill Morton, musicianship and Beethoven expert Dr Kris Worsley and the ever-inspirational Lucinda Mackworth-Young. Together, the PTC tutor team will bring their expertise, joy and energy to each and every session, ensuring that, whether you come for a day or a week, you'll leave inspired, refreshed and ready for the new term ahead.

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Who the course is for

This is a course for piano teachers and there's something for everyone on the course, whether you are an experienced, mid or early-career piano teacher.

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What to expect

Each day, participants have the opportunity to deepen their pianism and expand their teaching skills, as guided by the PTC tutors. The Piano Teachers' Course ethos of music-making, collaboration, respect, enjoyment, and support will be at the heart of the week.
 

Starting each day will be a 45-minute musicianship workshop that will help nurture your inner musician. These will cover keyboard harmony, sight-reading, chord progressions and improvisation. The following session focuses on different aspects of teaching the piano with a mix of demonstrations, discussions and guided reflection on selected lesson videos.
 

The topics include building reliable reading skills, engaging the imagination, developing a holistic understanding of pieces, and best practices for teaching adult students. The PTC team know from extensive experience how powerful it is to watch other piano teachers in action – an experience which can profoundly impact our teaching.
After coffee, everyone in the group will have the opportunity to take part in a creative teaching session led by one of the tutors, concentrating on music from a specially selected repertoire list (available later in the year). Ranging from Elementary to Advanced level, all participants are encouraged to play at least one piece.
 

During the afternoons, attention will turn to a broad range of topics, including practising, developing the inner musician, creating and maintaining a positive atmosphere and the benefits of using the feedback triangle. Each day will end with the opportunity to make music together, exploring duets, trios and multiple pianists at one piano!

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