Prospective Teacher with Questions

[kcowley]

I am going to start teaching piano in the future and I don't know where to start.  I am a college student and will probably be teaching young kids from the beginning.  What sort of books do I need?  How do I plan lessons?  Where do I get the books (like Alfred Prep, Bastien, etc.)?  Please help.  Thank you!

[amp]

Do you have a music store around? Even if you have to travel a while to get to a good store, make an afternoon of it. Go there look at ALL the music methods, pick one that you think teaches in a way you would feel comfortable.  

The most used methods are Bastien's, Alfred's and Faber. All work fine. Work through the books with the students, make sure to introduce some technique (either by using the method's technique or your own).

You'll find, you'll teach like your teacher taught you. Ovousily well, if you want to teach others! Don't worry, the methods are really a good structure. Maybe observe a local teacher, teach a young beginner? Tons of opurtunities out there to learn more, and to be a better teacher. I feel (literally) I grow everyday, learning new ways to try and convery the concepts.

Good luck!

[la_carrenio2003]

This is an extensive shield, but I'll try to give you some tips. Children have to sing by first: they will want very badly to play the songs they know. Put the lessons as a game. For teaching the notes, you can  create a story where the characters are the seven notes and call them with names in which the first letter is the note. For teaching them to read, the same: explain for example that the ruled staff is like a building with different floors where the notes live, etc. At the beginning, when they cannot play anything, you can play for them and make them to accompany you repeating one note or two or an interval, you don't need books for that... At the moment of putting their hands on the keyboard enfasize the relaxation and the shape of the hand but using images. For relaxation I tell them: let's play the game of the "rag puppet". For explaining the shape of the hand tell them:"Fall in the keyboard like if your hand were a parachute" or whatever you imagine. When they play a song with one finger that finger I reccommend to be the 3rd in the first place because is the best way to make them use the whole arm and play with weight. Switch the activities during the lesson, the attention of the kids doesn't last very long in one : you can play for them and make them dance, after they sing a little, after that make them draw right and left hands or the clefs, after that they play, etc. Hope it helped a little and feel free of asking anything.

[glamfolk]

I've been finding that Alfred's and Bastien are pretty poor for preparing kids for classical music.  Thompson and Faber are much better, and  little more accelerated.  Sometimes kids get a little bored moving too slowly.  Games are a great idea--the whole thing should be fun, shoudln't it? Each kid is different, and you'll probably find youself using many methods.  Have fun!

[allchopin]

you can play for them and make them dance, after they sing a little

Geez Im glad you are not my teacher...

When you buy these "methods" are they whole sets of books or just one?  Also, should the student be required to buy these or myself?

[la_carrenio2003]

Geez Im glad you are not my teacher...

When you buy these "methods" are they whole sets of books or just one?  Also, should the student be required to buy these or myself?

allchopin as always so "acid"... but I already got used to your style, no problem. I was of course talking about very little kids, up to 5. After that age they get less childlike and you have to change  the way of teaching.  Those methods are usually sets, but you can use different books of different authors, I do that, actually. You can buy the books if you need to have them, but the students have to buy the book they're going to use.

I agree with glamfolk : I don't like Bastien very much either but the books for homework can be used for the little kids and for the repertoire another one. Bastien's books with easy transcriptions are good for adult beginners. When I was a kid I used an american serie and I still think is a good one but I don't know if they're still available -we're talking about more than 20 years : "Everybody likes the piano", Joseph M. Estella. Before those I used the "Very First" of John M. Williams and Shaylor Turner, edited by The Boston Music Co., but again I don't know they're still available...

I use russian methods with my little students, I brought them from Kiew. If any of you has the possibility of buying them I highly recommend. There's an english edition  of Marina Glushenko : "Piano Books for the Young Musician" (Bibliopolis, St. Petersburg, 1994). There's an ukrainian author, Milich, I have all his books, he covers from the very beginning until 7th grade of music school.The Nikolaev's method is quite known in the former Soviet Union, and I like very much Artobolevskaya too. I'm talking about high quality didactical books used in soviet schools for many years: they work, believe me, I saw it with my own eyes...

But, in general, here is a rushing list of "international" music literature for kids,I think available everywhere -of course, you have to use them all, they cover all the styles-:

- Anna Magdalena Bach's notebook
- Daniel Gottlob Türk, Little pieces
- Henle and Breitkopf & Hartel have editions of the first little pieces composed by W. A. Mozart and those which his father composed when he taught him.
- Carl Czerny op. 599
- Kabalevsky has books for beginners available in the West.
- Books of sonatinas by Clementi, Dussek, etc.
- Schumann's Album of the Youth.
- Tchaikovsky's Children's Album
- The whole Bela Bartok "Mikrokosmos" serie. In the 6th volume -the last one- there are actually very good pieces for young pianists. I think there's another book "For children" written by him...
- Prokofieff's "Music for Children"

That's all I remember by the moment...

[allchopin]

Got used to my style so quickly? Well, Im a likeable kind of guy...  no I'm not "acid", just slightly sarcastic yet exaggerated when put into written words- you know.  It just formed an odd mental image, you "making little kids dance..."  hehehe..

Would it be OK to simply pick pieces from various non-famous books rather than follow a method?  What is the purpose of the method exactly?  And what makes one better than the other?

[la_carrenio2003]

Would it be OK to simply pick pieces from various non-famous books rather than follow a method?  What is the purpose of the method exactly?  And what makes one better than the other?

Yes, I actually do that. The purpose of the method is having all you need in one book, it's easier and cheaper for the student, and  following it it's more secure when you didn't study teaching's methodology. You can combine both: follow a method and giving the child pieces from another books, too. That's what my first teacher -private- did with me, it worked OK as you see... For me, those methods with boring pieces for 5 fingers, all in C, aren't good, that's why I like russian methods. The music has to be interesting to listen, so you keep the kids motivated and develop their musicality. Folk music for children, that's the best way to go in the beginning: it takes in perspective the entonations the kids are used to listen, folk music is always interesting and musically complex. Here in Venezuela we are lucky to have TONS of music for children in different ages: this music is often associated to games or dances -don't freak out, allchopin-, music for children always tell a story and has images which develop children's imagination.

[winhx]

Dear all,

I grew up in VietNam from 1965 to  1988, I was told that the Soviet Union, USSR piano method .etude books (Ethodu)  were the Best. Now , somebody told me that they consisted  of  7  volume. I got Volume 5 at home, which I purchased in Viet Nam 25 years ago.
I wonder if they still published the former Soviet Union, USSR   Piano Etude Books  or not... Where in the world  could we purchase them now , since I have nephews , 4 years old that starts learning Piano , now.
Thank you for helping me.
God Bless  You All