How to teach a 8 years old beginner?

[canardroti]

Hi there, I happen to have some students in the age area of (8-10). I have been using Bastien's method book but with little success. Maybe it is time to use a new strategy? What have you guys been using with success? These kids get bored easily and are not focused. I get bored as well with the Bastien's green, yellow, blue books. I am not very fond of them. Any help?

[communist]

Try giving them Bartok Mikrokismos

[go12_3]

Try the Piano Adventures by Faber & Faber Primer level.  Only use the Lesson and Performance books, not the theory and technique.  Kids don't need to get bogged down with too much stuff as beginners.  I have had beginner students from the Primer Level and get into Book One in 6 months or so.  Hope you have success and keep on trying.   

best wishes,

go12_3

[canardroti]

Thanks for the replies.  I made a mistake, I was not using Bastien but Alfred's book.
About Bartok, I have those books but I would not know how to teach from them.
I am a fairly new teacher as well.  I will look into the Faber and Faber piano adventures book.
Any more recommendation is welcome

[jgallag]

Write your own etudes that address whatever problems your students are having. Don't tell me you can't write a melody, my chorus teacher already tried to tell me that even though he could write the most beautiful arrangements. Melodies are quite easy to come up with. I mean, after all, you know best what your students need to work on, and you (should) have an idea of what style of music they like. If you get a simple program (I use Cakewalk), writing a 32 bar piece shouldn't take more than an hour.

Would you explain what you don't understand about teaching from the Bartok? I'm assuming if they're beginners you'd probably take the first few bars, show them where the notes are on the piano, show them what fingers should press the notes, and show them the best motions to play the notes. What more are you looking for?

[canardroti]

Thanks for yoru input Jgallag.
What i'm looking for is ..something that is interesting to a young student. Therefore something he heard before or something similar. I don't think I can jump straight to Fur Elise or the like with a complete beginner.
I assume a student would enjoy more something he has heard before.
Alot of those method books are full of little pieces that are potentially boring , I am trying to stay away from that...
What I mean about the Bartok is that I don't find them very interesting for a little boy and it is hard to know whether he'd like it or not, even if he didn't he could lie to me and say he does.. I could be wrong.

Write your own etudes that address whatever problems your students are having. Don't tell me you can't write a melody, my chorus teacher already tried to tell me that even though he could write the most beautiful arrangements. Melodies are quite easy to come up with. I mean, after all, you know best what your students need to work on, and you (should) have an idea of what style of music they like. If you get a simple program (I use Cakewalk), writing a 32 bar piece shouldn't take more than an hour.

Would you explain what you don't understand about teaching from the Bartok? I'm assuming if they're beginners you'd probably take the first few bars, show them where the notes are on the piano, show them what fingers should press the notes, and show them the best motions to play the notes. What more are you looking for?

[worov]

What i'm looking for is ..something that is interesting to a young student. Therefore something he heard before or something similar.

Make an easy arrangement of some film music : Disney films, John Williams's music. He might like things like this. Or some rock or pop songs ? Ask him what he likes.

[ahbach]

good books for beginners are the John Thompsons books they have the lessons with each section of music and they have tunes that the students would recognize....they are really good for fingering too

[mcdiddy1]

Faber are great books because they get the student playing in different octaves from the very beginging and not in the boring and limited c postion. The pieces are intresting and they  use bright colors and pictures and words that kids can sing along too.