Question: My Son Hates Piano

Question: My son loves making music but hates his practice time.  He's talented and can play anything he hears.  But he can't stand practicing.  Help!

Answer: Having been both the student and now the piano teacher, I really understand and see this "dislike of piano practice" alot.

There are several different reasons kids dislike their lessons/practice.

1. They don't like the music.  Sometimes teachers will assign music that your child genuinely doesn't enjoy playing. If this is the cause then the remedy is to talk to the teacher and ask for more repertoire that your son likes.  She probably won't give up the disliked repertoire entirely - there is a reason she assigned it.  But any good teacher will incorporate your request into her selections.

2. Watching the clock.  Some students need a set time allotment for practice.  Others, like me, find themselves watching the clock and wishing it would go faster.  There are two solutions that I've found to this.  The first is to use a timer instead of a clock and break it up into smaller parts.  If you need to practice 20 minutes, set the timer for 5 minutes and only practice each item on your assignment list that long and then switch.  That strategy is better for older students.  The second solution is to not have a clock at all.  Instead, before sitting down, decide one goal that you want to accomplish this time.  Once you've done it you're done!  You can walk away.  I've found that once students have the rush of success they don't want to walk away and will end up continuing to practice.

3. Feeling like they can't measure up.  This one is harder to deal with.  Children desperately want to please their parents and teachers, but sometimes what we expect is too much for them to cope with at that moment - even if you know they can do it.  It is important to remind your child that no matter how they play you will love them and you are proud of them.  Sometimes removing the pressure is all that is needed to return the fun.

4. Lastly, they don't "feel the music."  While this doesn't seem to be an issue for your son, it is for many children.  Music is a lot like language.  Reading a string of words on a page will mean nothing to you if you don't understand what the words mean.  Music is a bunch of black blobs on a page until the student can feel the music and relate to it.  Feeling the music is a skill students develop over their entire lifetime and is, in my opinion, the hardest thing to teach.  Some things that can help are listening to music, singing, dancing, watching movies with great music, learning the composers' stories and why they wrote the music they wrote...the list can go on and on.

5. Needing to go faster.  Knowing how talented your son is, this is probably what is happening.  Talented students have a unique problem – they move too quickly for their teachers.  If this is the case I wouldn’t blame your teacher.  Balancing speed with thoroughness is a challenge for most teachers, myself included.  If you think this is the case, gently mention to your teacher that your son doesn’t seem to be challenged enough by his music and you wonder if he could try playing a few more difficult pieces. 

6. Using the wrong curriculum.  Some kids do really well on programs like Simply Music and other “learn to play music and then read the sheet music” approaches.  But the transition from playing to reading is very bumpy in these teaching programs and is where most kids drop out.  If you are using one of these programs and are having this recurring challenge, you might consider trying a more traditional teacher.  If you just want to put your toe in the water, you might take just a few lessons with a traditional teacher in late summer, when you wouldn’t normally be taking lessons with your current teacher anyhow.

As a teacher, I really appreciate when parents confide in me.  Go ahead and mention to your teacher what you are seeing at home.  She may have a few more individualized ideas.  Your teacher is on your side.

While I'm sure there are many other things that can contribute to piano practice problems, these are the most common.  I hope this helps.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Christina

clearlypiano.blogspot.com

Twitter @clearlypiano

Yo enseño piano. Do you?

Okay, there is this question that has been rolling around in my mind for the past few weeks: Is knowing a second language important when teaching piano?

In the area I work there are huge Hispanic, Arabic, and Japanese populations.  Will my knowing Spanish, Arabic, or Japanese make me a more approachable teacher to these families?  What have you found?

This point really became obvious to me at a recent music competition.  I was a hall monitor and this sweet Japanese mother came up to me with her daughter.  I could tell that the mother was very nervous and unsteady when communicating to me in English.  My heart went out to her and I so desperately wanted to speak her in a language familiar to her.  But I couldn't.  I don't speak even one word of Japanese.  

Have you ever had a similar experience? What do you think?  Is knowing another language important for a piano teacher?

Photos Courtesy of : YGX and christopherallisonphotography.com

Game for Learning Ledger Lines

So this week I have been experimenting with a new game from my favorite blog: Susan Paradis Piano Teaching Resources.  The game is called "Steal a Heart Note Reading Game for Ledger Lines." I have been delighted with my findings thus far.

The idea for the game is for players to fill up their game board with "hearts" by identifying the note on the heart they draw from the pile.  Mixed in are also "Steal a Heart" cards which allow you to steal from someone else's board; "Give My Heart" cards which make you giveaway one of your cards; and "Be Mine" cards which can sit on top of any heart on your board and protect it from being stolen.  The Steal and Give cards were the students' favorite part so I printed an extra set for the pile.

Now, I don't know about you, but finding a game or activity which teaches accuracy in note reading is always a prized jewel in my opinion.  I could have been more thrilled than when my 10 year old and 8 year old began naming notes faster than me!

Note: It is essential that you tell the student the "FACE" and "All Cows Eat Grass" tricks, especially if you, like me, are letting the whole family - even the baby beginner - play together.  You'll be surprised but, if given the tricks, your baby beginner will be naming notes she's not supposed to "learn" for years yet. Oh, and be sure to leave plenty of time to play because some of the notes are tricky and it takes the kids awhile to figure them out.

So do you have a favorite note reading game you use with your students?

It's All in the Family

It was the last lesson of the school year, I had just come down with pneumonia, and I felt like crude.  There is nothing more distasteful than when the only thing you can put your mind firmly on is the clock ticking away the minutes til you can sit on the couch again.  Ughh.

My student walked in bright eyed and eager with her mother following behind her.  One look at the mother and I knew something was wrong.  It didn't take long before she began to explain.  Her very dear uncle was in the hospital and was not expected to make it.  I gave my condolences and pats and we went on with the lesson as usual.

But if there is one thing I have learned from teaching piano, it is that when you take a student you are not just taking a student, you are taking a family.  If you want to have a successful relationship with your student, you need to have a relationship with the family and sometimes that means doing more than the usual piano teacher stuff.

In the case of my student and her mother, it meant that the next day I went out and bought some dinners to send to them.  For another family, it meant that I wrote an encouraging note to thank the parents for telling how well their student was practicing.  For all of the students, I write thank you notes for the gifts they give me at Christmas.  And when we play games in the lessons I will often have the parents play with us.

More Ideas:
1.  Give small birthday gifts
2. Give end of year letters
3. Take students and their families out to special events like a symphony performance or musical
4. Send out periodic newsletters to all the parents with updates on what everyone is doing

But above all the other things you can do to support your students and their parents the best is to simply listen and be their friend.  Ask them about their week and listen sincerely.  Ask your parents to tell you what they are seeing at home.  "Is there a piece Johnny is playing more than the others?" "Do you notice him struggling with something?"  "What is Johnny really interested in in school right now?"  (Sometimes I will use his interests to illustrate a point in a lesson, ie. fly into the notes like Superman, hop on the keys like a puppy.)

But I have to tell you the end of the story of my student and her mother.  So, as you know, I went out and bought them a nice dinner, complete with chocolate pie and side casserole.  At the same time, I picked up some breakfast casseroles for a party I was going to hold later that week.  Being that I had pneumonia, I was unable to deliver the meal myself and instead sent the whole thing off with my dad to deliver.  Imagine my surprise a few days later to find a chocolate pie, casserole, and dinner in my freezer.  Thankfully the students' family likes breakfast casserole.

How do you make your students' families feel a part of your studio?

Photo Courtesy of: rachel_pics' photostream