Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum Helping an adult student out of a slump

Even if she has no interest in performing in public, how about having her record some of her pieces? I find that recording pieces (in my case, for the ABF recitals) is a great motivator, both in preparing the pieces for performance, but also in marking milestones along my learning path. Going back to listen to them really helps in recognizing progress, and can inspire us to keep going.

This is something I'd have to do with her when I see her, and she is not good with technology. But thanks for the idea, we'll give it a shot!

I may be too late to contribute here. I don't know why but I'm usually at the butt end of the thread. I should call myself as a thread killer.

Adding to everyone's suggestion the only new point I can make is that she may need an 'adult' piece that she can play. How about Chopin's famous a minor waltz. I think it will motivate her. After 7 years starter books, Christmas songs and halloween songs, she may need something like that. She may not be completely ready for it but the sheer joy of learning Chopin will overwhelm the negative. I would encourage her to practice more too while explaining that it has repeated themes and the only parts she needs to master is 15 bars or so (I forgot actual#). I was very taken back noticing so many adult beginners start piano wanting to play Chopin when I joined the ABF forum. It may motivate her to practice more to play other pieces

Hi, Morodiene,

I'm an adult student with 6+ years under my belt.

Since she liked The Entertainer, she might like the Martha Meier (sp?) graded series of jazz, rags and blues. They are interesting, teach new styles, and can get more and more complex as the series goes on. They are also fun to play.

I saw in your latest post to the forum that your student wanted to learn more of Fur Elise. But you could ask her if she's like to learn some pieces in the rag, jazz, blues genre, too.

If you can get her hooked up with other adult students this could help. My teacher and I TRIED this in my locale but we only had 1 other adult student show up. But, it was nice having someone else to shoot the breeze with about piano. We never got to the point of getting a time set up to meet and play, but just being able to talk to another adult student helped.

I am self-motivated to begin with so practice for me is not an issue, but having another adult to compare notes with is a nice social point of contact.

A R

I've tried this idea with several of my below-average students, and it really does not help. A camera is just as stressful as a live audience. Some people just don't want to be heard playing the piano because they are extremely self-conscious about their own playing.

+1 for Martha Mier!!

Ya, I was thinking the same thing. This student does not enjoy performing, but will do it because I ask her to and it gives us a goal. But it is very stressful for her, but perhaps recording will be better. It's worth a try and if it doesn't work out then perhaps we can get enough good sections to "doctor something together". Hey, if the pros do it, why can't we?

+1 for Martha Meir ...and Dennis Alexander has some great books at different levels for Jazz too!

I think it is great that you're willing to work at helping her out of her slump.

Often as an adult learner when I'm feeling down and quite uninspired, I have to step back from my various worries and concerns and do some re-evaluating:

What reasons were there for picking up this instrument when nobody obviously forced me to do so? I look inside my mind and I also go back and look through some of the recordings and videos I'd seen that originally got my butt off the couch - especially those with which I have a special connection in originally both confounding and overwhelming me with a sensation of unadulterated beauty and inspiration. I realize that those same reasons I originally had for embarking on my journey are still there inside of me, but that they've simply become buried under various concerns and distractions - not unlike my piano workspace - that are either currently or no longer of any particular use to me and need to either be put away until quite some time in the future or conversely put to rest entirely.

This process, as well as simply the process of objectively recognizing my growth and development certainly help to inspire this hyper conscientious adult beginner. If she is experiencing personal troubles in her life, make sure she knows that no matter what, music does and will always "represent an ideal world; a world where all dissonances resolve, where all modulations - that are journeys - return home, and where surprise and stability coexist."

Some new music may help get her excited. I find being asked what I want to play or learn hard to answer. I love so much different types of music. But if I hear something I think ooh I'd love to play that someday. Play some music of yours that is at her level and see what sparks her interest. Hearing somebody play something at your level gives you context of how the piece should sound and how nice it does sound. For me this can be a real motivator. And she may find something she likes that she didn't even know she liked!!

Morodiene, leaving aside practicing, does your student play for fun, pieces she already knows?

She has not been doing that, which is why the concern. But we had her lesson on Friday and we had a good discussion about the direction of things. So we will see this week how she's doing with the change.