Are You A Teachable Teacher
Are you interested in finding better ways to teach piano?
If so, then congratulations, that makes you more teachable than most teachers.
Finding success with new ideas is wonderful because success means you’re able to teach others better. I promise this makes you an exception. I say this because piano teachers, in general, are quite set in their ways.
I was taught with traditional children’s method books and fortunately, I succeeded. Most of my peers did not.
My own piano teaching career began at age 13 using the same methods my teachers used to teach me.
Early on, even at 13, I recognized some problems:
- slow progress
- low success rate
- boredom with the music
- no real joy in learning
Over the years my teaching methods evolved to solve these problems. In fact, I think it’s why I wanted to be a teacher. I just knew there was a better way. I wanted to reach more students.
I discovered:
- Necessity is not only the “mother of invention” but it is also what really motivates us to learn.
- By changing the order in which some basics are taught, learning them becomes easier.
- Energy improves when a student is presented with new challenges after they can see why they need them. Most students will start applying them right away.
A great example of this is …
[Warning: Okay, brace yourself. I am about to present something that is sacrilegious to many in the music world! ]
I don’t begin by teaching note names.
Are note names important? Of course they are and all my students learn them but not at the very beginning. Getting their hands on the keyboard right away is much more important because touching the keys and being able to read them on the staff is paramount.
Rather than note names, all my students begin by learning how to find C, the C scale, and middle C. We purely focus on skipping notes, walking notes, and notes that stay the same. They are able to read and play simple tunes without knowing any note but C. My typical student can play 10-12 songs, using melody and chords together, before we mention a note name beyond C.
Obviously then, this is done without any guide notes of F or G in either the LH or RH.
If you’d like to see a video on how this is done in my small group classes, let me know, I’d be happy to share. Shoot me an email and I’ll send you one.
After using this method for more than 1000 students both online and in the studio, I know it works well.
There are better ways to teach piano, even from the very first lesson.
I’m grateful I had the need to look for non-traditional ways to teach, as it makes my job a lot more fun too.
Spend some time looking at what makes other teachers successful. It’s quite satisfying to break out of your own routine and bring fresh perspectives to your hours at the piano too. Note names are not the best beginning approach.
