STUDENTS QUITTING AFTER 3 YEARS OF PIANO

[rgh55]

What percent of students quit after 1-3 years of piano? I have had several quit lately that have been with me for 1 to 3 years.  These students stopped practicing and just lost interest, started doing more activities, etc. 

Thanks

[mobydick]

What percent of students quit after 1-3 years of piano? I have had several quit lately that have been with me for 1 to 3 years.  These students stopped practicing and just lost interest, started doing more activities, etc. 

Thanks

recession? also lots of kids go because their parents want to. a lot of kids in my school looked really bored in lessons and  didn't have any musicality and there were 3 brothers who were literally forced. my teacher would go insane cause they had terrible hearing.

[albertus_magnus]

From what I have read it is about 20%.


I quit piano lessons when I started college. One reason was financial and the other was time. It was one of the worst decisions.

[keyofc]

Rgh,

Don't feel bad -  I seem to remember in my piano pedagogy class - the average amount of time was 2 years for the typical piano student.
So yours went over the average.

[drexo]

I quitted lessons after ~2 years, not that I lost interest but for other reasons, mostly the financial aspect.

[miriamko]

I find the percentage of students who give up after 3 years and less ,is higher among the very young beginners. I generally do not accept children under the age of 7. I explain the reason to parents and they either wait or send to other teachers. The older beginners seem to stick it out for longer ,unless they are void of talent ,altogether.
Another reason for quitting (at any age) is the inability of students and their parents to grasp the fact that one has to practise and that we cannot promise "fun, fun,fun" without some individual effort at home. An average child with any musical ability will get through two years without much work but the third year is not so simple and that is when they give up.

[pianoplunker]

What percent of students quit after 1-3 years of piano? I have had several quit lately that have been with me for 1 to 3 years.  These students stopped practicing and just lost interest, started doing more activities, etc. 

Thanks

I dont think you need worry about the time they spent with you so much. I have been with several piano teachers but none more than a year or two and the reason I stopped had nothing to do with the qualifications or character of the teachers. I can remember at least one special thing I learned from each and every teacher.  For some , playing an instrument is just not an ongoing interest. I remember playing Cello and Guitar , and Sax, and just not having the interest to keep going with it. Piano is different for me but maybe not for some others.
 

[nanabush]

If the parent takes an initial interest as well (as in, they WILL read the notebook to see what their kid must practice, and they are aware of what must be accomplished the first few weeks), then the child tends to get along their way quicker.  The students whose parents don't give a crap end up being blindly forced into taking lessons because "it's good for them"... the parents with that mentality bug me, and probably are the types of parents who ground their kids for getting a C on a test but won't help them with their homework.

I've lost several students after 2-3 years, and for those who weren't due to a reason like moving, financial, etc, they all had parents who didn't give a crap about how their child was progressing.  If a kid can get away without doing ANY homework at school, bomb test after test and just scrape by while their parent does nothing to change it, the kid can surely do the same with piano.  The difference is, an 8 year old can't 'quit' school.

[jdledell]

My wife and I have been teaching private piano lessons for 25+ years in our home. Last year as part of our celebration of 25 years in this business we invited all of our prior students and their families to a weekend party of music, food and renewal of friendships. Since we keep detailed records on all of our students(almost 900 in total) we were able to chart our drop out rate over and extended period of time, as follows:
2.3% - less than one year
3.1% - 1 year +
3.7% - 2 years +
4.1% - 3 years +
3.3% - 4 years +
5.8% - 5 years +
3.9% - 6 years +
2.8% - 7 years +
2.2% - 8 years +
1.9% - 9 Years +
1.7% - 10 years +
21.5% - Stayed until college
7.7% - Went to another teacher
16.0% - Still with us.

[lostinidlewonder]

Students that learn less than one year I would expect to be a lot higher in percentage from my personal experience. The age range also determines how long students stay with you as well, I find most young students do not last as long as older ones this may be because when you are younger you might be forced into lessons where when you are older you are actively seeking lessons.

I have taught so many 4-6 year old students who only learn for a very short time, less than 1/2 a year. I always tell the parents that if their child is not determined or given a home routine to practice then there is NO use having piano lessons with a teacher. You will be surprised how many think that 1 lesson a week with a teacher is all that is required! I also encourage parents to give up piano lessons for their child as soon as they feel it too much trouble to get them to practice.

Some parents don't like to force their children and teach them discipline at a young age, but then there are those who encourage it completely. Often young children stop lessons because of their parents. Most children do not want to practice but who is to say they naturally have to! Children should be taught to work when they don't want to as soon as possible but it is NOT the teachers responsibility for the parents to apply this discipline at home.  This is how I see most young students leave. Practice is not always enjoyable and I find that certain parents ONLY want their children to do enjoyable things which I feel is quite detrimental to their perception of work ethic.

I also find many students leave around the grade 11/12 mark in high school (last  2 years of schooling). This is often because they want to focus on their studies to further their education/training for the workforce.

It is not the teachers responsibility to be the commanding force that makes a student want to learn something. A student needs to be curious on their own, it has nothing to do with willingness to practice but the curiosity to learn and need to learn. If the student doesn't care about learning then they should leave, why should a teacher make them care about it? Of course a teacher can encourage it in lessons but if the student doesn't naturally care then they will not last long, you merely put a bandage over a gashing open wound. I find students leave after they find out the amount of work that needs to go into learning the piano properly. Once they realize the work and the discipline required they run away because its too hard or too much time or too whatever, some excuse to evade change/work. It is normal, it has nothing to do with your piano teaching or piano itself, often it is a very personal issue with the student themselves, how they have approached learning throughout their own life.

[love_that_tune]

I find that the students who continue the longest have parents who realize that it is better to have their child focus on one or two interests.  Those who are on the swim team, hockey, soccer, gymnastics, school band, and every other thing offered have no time to practice nor do they have the focus without a "present" coach.  I find it appalling how exhausted the young teens are when they sit down for the lesson.  I've actually had to suggest that they get a good night's sleep the next week before their lesson.  The more affluent the area, the shorter time span of taking lessons.  I confess I'm more excited about adults students lately.  However, I use the time I have with younger students to try to show them the rewards of self-discipline.  In the end, there will be only a few who are "real" musicians.  Alas, that's for another discussion.  It seems to me that one is born with that "fire in the belly".  Wild horses couldn't stop me from playing the piano.

[bmbutler]

Excellent post.  Could not have said it better myself.

Statistics don't also reflect real life too - I just had two sisters quit out of the blue with no notice and not seeing it coming.  Thankfully I was able to enforce my studio policy of a 30 days notice or payment for the month was required.  Sometimes you can see it coming, sometimes you can't.

Students that learn less than one year I would expect to be a lot higher in percentage from my personal experience. The age range also determines how long students stay with you as well, I find most young students do not last as long as older ones this may be because when you are younger you might be forced into lessons where when you are older you are actively seeking lessons.

I have taught so many 4-6 year old students who only learn for a very short time, less than 1/2 a year. I always tell the parents that if their child is not determined or given a home routine to practice then there is NO use having piano lessons with a teacher. You will be surprised how many think that 1 lesson a week with a teacher is all that is required! I also encourage parents to give up piano lessons for their child as soon as they feel it too much trouble to get them to practice.

Some parents don't like to force their children and teach them discipline at a young age, but then there are those who encourage it completely. Often young children stop lessons because of their parents. Most children do not want to practice but who is to say they naturally have to! Children should be taught to work when they don't want to as soon as possible but it is NOT the teachers responsibility for the parents to apply this discipline at home.  This is how I see most young students leave. Practice is not always enjoyable and I find that certain parents ONLY want their children to do enjoyable things which I feel is quite detrimental to their perception of work ethic.

I also find many students leave around the grade 11/12 mark in high school (last  2 years of schooling). This is often because they want to focus on their studies to further their education/training for the workforce.

It is not the teachers responsibility to be the commanding force that makes a student want to learn something. A student needs to be curious on their own, it has nothing to do with willingness to practice but the curiosity to learn and need to learn. If the student doesn't care about learning then they should leave, why should a teacher make them care about it? Of course a teacher can encourage it in lessons but if the student doesn't naturally care then they will not last long, you merely put a bandage over a gashing open wound. I find students leave after they find out the amount of work that needs to go into learning the piano properly. Once they realize the work and the discipline required they run away because its too hard or too much time or too whatever, some excuse to evade change/work. It is normal, it has nothing to do with your piano teaching or piano itself, often it is a very personal issue with the student themselves, how they have approached learning throughout their own life.

[asuhayda]

I agree with the other posts.. it seems like my students either quit within the first couple of months or, they stay with me for years.

I've heard parents say (somewhat naively) that their kids must take at least 2 years of piano before they can quit..  for some reason, 2 years seems to be a benchmark.  If I have a student that is not particularly talented, I am looking for them to depart around this time.

Most times however,  my students don't quit at all.. I've been lucky.  I've lost only one student in the past 10 years now!  I'm keeping a lighter student load now than before however..

So, I would say.. first few months is a danger zone. 2 years.. beyond that, it's been my experience that students stick around for the long haul.

Hope this is at least somewhat consistent with other people.

Good Luck!