Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum Some Interesting Students this Week.....

Student #1 (6 years old): He would actually nudge me with his
arm when I was trying to show him how to play something,
so great was his desire to play instead of just watch
and listen. Funny!

Student #2 (8 years old): Flat out told at the end of his first lesson with me (I am replacing his former teacher) that he doesn't practice at home at all. Not what a teacher wants to hear, but I told him I appreciated his honesty. When I told the school secretary, she said there are many students who just go to the lessons and don't practice at all, and she told me to just make the lesson as fun as possible. Now I must say I would prefer to have students who make progress, and I am NOT there just to make money. I want to accomplish something in my life, not just pay bills.

But then I realized the student was teaching me a lesson. I remembered what it was like to be that young, and restless, with overly controlling, dictatorial adults around me, with parents who signed me up for classes I didn't necessarily want, and now that the roles have been reversed, I didn't want to be one of those bad adults.

OTOH, it's only as an adult that you appreciate music
enough to have wished your parents had pushed you a bit harder in music classes. A prime example is the great Lang Lang, who certainly would not have become the great pianist that he is without the strict military discipline of his father.

Sooo....I'm gonna try to strike a balance with this kid, and make the classes as fun as possible, with maybe a bit more playing by ear of popular songs or movie themes like Star Wars, etc.

As I mentioned before, I only agreed to teach music because I knew I'd be learning from the students.

Kudos to you! You're learning. 6 year olds learn by doing, not by listening. You lose them very quickly if you play too long or talk at all. They show you with body language, as you noticed, so you're becoming more attentive. Now watch for his body language before he nudges; there will be a precursor.



You're going to give the individual kid what he needs at that instant in his development? And not take it personally if he doesn't fit some mold? You may be on your way to becoming a master teacher.

That's actually not all that uncommon. It's their succinct way of saying, "Yeah, I know, I get it, now get off the piano and let me play!!"

That would be fine with me if they actually then got on the piano and did what I was trying to demonstrate. The problem is that, usually, they will get annoyed, I will let them try it, and they will proceed to play it exactly the same way they had done it before, and the way I was trying to get them not to play it.

Agreed 100%.

Excess confidence can lead to a know-it-all
attitude, which makes new learning impossible.

I actually understand the stereotype of the
strict piano teacher now: You have to have
SOME modicum of control over the lesson, some
level of authority in the session.

The best students, and the ones that learn
the most, are the ones who listen and are
receptive to new ideas. There are exceptions
of course: if you are another Mozart, you don't
need lessons!

Little Wolfie had lessons non-stop from about two until maturity - first from Leopold, then from all the composers and musicians he met when dragged around Europe by his pushy father.

And his early compositions (including piano concertos) were basically based on other composers'.

Everybody has to start by learning from someone. (Including those who claim never to have a lesson in their lives - in which case, one might ask: if they had been born & bred in deepest Papua New Guinea, would they be able to do what they do? )

Good point.

A better example would be the great Vangelis, who refused
to take traditional lessons.

I don't like Mozart anyways!