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Here's my list (which I only pull out for those students that need a little reminder of piano etiquette):

I will not play the piano while teacher is talking.

I will not interrupt the teacher when teacher is talking.

I will only play the piece I am instructed to play.

I will treat the piano gently - I will not bang on the piano.

I will use tissues when nose is running, and cough into my sleeve.

: )

I learned somewhere that the 2 rules for rules were to have three rules and to state them in the positive.
(Nevermind that the rule about 3 rules is violated by only having 2 rules for rules.) When my daughter was young, in order to have her friend over, we had to have rules that the friend was expected by her mother to obey. So we made up the HOUSE RULES:
1. Be kind.
2. Preserve wholeness. (later amended to "Promote wholeness")
3. Remember the rules.


For piano, I like Morodiene's rule!

Good list.

Er, good student list.

What about a teacher list? <smiley>

I like to combine M and Anz list here into...
1.
Do what I say, the first time I say it, and all will work out well.

2.
Be prepared for each lesson

I think these are the most concise and easy rules!

I think we should ask students to come out the "teacher's lists".

So, if you are piano students here, please contribute what you expect your teachers to do for you in lesson.

Thanks!!

I like this list. I think it is a nice balance of "do" and "do not" statements. (In my personal opinion, the first two are an example of how it would be difficult to make a "positive" statement out of them - "be polite" might be too vague, but to my ear, a statement that gets a similar idea across, like "I will only play or talk when the teacher is not talking or when I am asked a question" is a little too wordy and even a bit confusing.)

Here's a few too many:

Pay attention.
Provide specific and concrete instructions.
Set realistic expectations.
Acknowledge both effort and progress.
Maintain perspective and laugh sometimes.

My daughter's classroom teacher has them recite this every morning:
We adhere to the Delano Code of Law which says the following:

I am Intelligent.
I am Talented.
I am Special.
I am Worth Loving.
I am Worth Forgiving.
I am a Gift.
I am Intrinsically Good.
I must Believe in Myself.
I will be My Own Best Friend.
I have Discipline.
I have Courage
I am Responsible.
I have Commitment.
I am a Winner.
I will Always Envision Success.

it's much more positive and covers the same themes.

Maggie, I love your list! I am going to copy it and have my student recite every week.
Thanks!

Does your daughter go to a private or a public school? I'm surprised such recitations are allowed on a daily basis.

Public school. There is nothing objectionable with any of the code. They say it after the pledge (which is more objectionable since it mentions G-d). Why would a recitation be surprising? Her teacher works on character, the class is a family -we may not "like each other all the time" but since we are family we respect each other as well as social skills in addition to academics, physical education and music.

I was in a Distar classroom once during an internship.

They started the day by screaming the rules at the top of their lungs.

They seemed to really get into the spirit of it, too, like being at a pep rally.

Okay, the copy editor in me feels compelled to edit your original list, ezpiano. I hope that's not annoying, but if you're going to show this to your students and their parents, you want it clean.

1. No whining.
2. No saying, "I can't."
3. No rudeness, no swearing, and no defensiveness. Treat your teacher with respect.
4. No banging on the piano. When the piano lid is closed, no elbows on the piano.
5. Be quiet, keep your hands in your lap, and pay attention when I'm talking.
6. It's okay to not be perfect. Have a good attitude about your mistakes. They are an essential part of learning.
7. Bring your notebook, theory book, and all piano books to every lesson.
8. If you haven't practiced, tell your teacher at the beginning of your lesson. Then we can do something else rather than going through your songs.
9. Be open. Be willing to change. Even if you think your way is better or it's too hard to do something different, give my suggestions a try. Some things just take time.
10. Have fun! Making music is exciting.

I incorporated "no defensiveness" into your #3, added a new #5 according to another suggestion because I thought it was important, added #10 to keep the positivity up, deleted some of the more bitter-sounding wording or flipped wording around to make it more positive, and corrected some grammatical and punctuation errors.

Feel free to use or not use this as you will.

Someone asked for a teacher list. I like Malkin's list:



I'd just add one more: respect your student's goals.

I took lessons as a fifteen-year-old with a Russian lady who was a very good pianist, but who also only really wanted to teach future concert pianists (or at least those who had the ambition to some day go to conservatory). It shone through in the way she taught the rest of us, in that she was incapable of recognising that a *small* step forward is a step forward nonetheless.

You will get along easily with a great many of your students, if you can accept the fact that not all of them will take the same path you did in your piano education, and even among those who do, not all of them will get to the same destination -- nor will they all want to get there.

As an adult piano learner, I have one to add to the teachers' list:

1. Whatever the student/parent says/doesn't say or does/doesn't do, don't take it personally.

Reading this forum, I think piano teachers let themselves get bent out of shape much too easily.

We are passionate about what we do, and emotional people by nature- thus why we are musicians. I would say about 80% of the stuff we post on here is to vent and learn how to work through, deal with, find solutions for, etc. And most of it the student or parents don't see or have to deal with. Everyone needs an outlet and a place where constructive criticism can be received to improve oneself. So please do not take this forum, which is intended and used as this purpose to mean that we're always losing our tempers, flying off the handle, taking everything personally, etc. It just means we want to do our best for each student.

Please, if your suggestions or advice cannot be constructive, please refrain yourself to post here. Thanks

I find the concept of a comprehensive rules list for piano student behavior somewhere between laughable and distasteful.
Not a good way to build a teaching relationship.

There are no rules in my studio, except maybe to show up on time and with music.

Peter, for the most part, I've been horrified by the various lists posted here. Is this really what teaching is about?

*shrug* There are lots of good ways to be a good teacher. I don't have rules, myself, and with a few exceptions, I haven't had problems with student behavior either. If having a list of rules helps someone, I don't see why they shouldn't use it. Horrified sounds a little harsh, don't you think? Lots of classrooms have lists of rules. Kids often thrive knowing exactly where their limits are. Quickly going over them doesn't take much time away from real teaching, and it might (that's might, not will) make a difference in student behavior.

If I have a student who is in need of specific boundaries (I don't at the moment), then having rules for that student that are fair, not too long, and they are reminded of regularly is a good strategy. I'm thinking of attention deficit and similar issues where having rules gives the child comfort so they can calm down a bit. Global rules I would only give if I were teaching a class, personally.