I have been teaching Justin, (almost 7 years old) since last September, and he learned to read notes from the usual primer books and was progressing just fine. However, a week ago, his mother mentioned that Justin was losing interest in playing the piano. Well, today's lesson he got interested for sure. I showed him how to play Twinkles with the left hand accompaniment and the right hand the melody---without worrying about the notes. I played a part of the left hand (I made it into 3 parts) and then he followed me----like follow the leader type of thing. I played part one and then he played it; he caught on real well. And I showed him another tune and he liked that too. I explained to Justin that he can play anything with his right hand on any key as I demostrated that on the keyboard, and play the left hand just like with Twinkles. It's so basic and simple. He smiled from ear to ear and that's when I felt he would continue to play piano. I realize that Justin is quite musical and has a natural ability to hear what I play and then play it on the piano. And I'm sure Justin will come home and play his piano whenever he gets a chance! Playing the piano is an audio and visual experience for Justin and not just reading the notes from books. The note reading isn't important now, it is keeping that music alive within Justin so that he can continue to enjoy making music his own way on the piano.
Topic: A good lesson with my student!!!