Piano methods and learning styles

[kittyboo]

Years ago at the University of Utah library I found a published dissertation dealing with piano methods and how left-brained or right-brained various methods are, in the author's opinion.  I'm wondering what sort of opinions people have on a subject like that.

[rembetissa]

Cliche response, but as long as you're not using some really terrible method, you can adapt almost any one of them to each particular student. As you teach someone, you begin to learn if they are visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc and you come up with ways to explain things how they will understand. For my visual learners, I draw a lot of diagrams and shapes; we highlight repeated motives the same color; as they sight-read I point to each note, tracing the contour of the melody. For my auditory learners, when they play a wrong note, I will sing the phrase and they are able to correct it. For the kinesthetic ones, I will tap the beat or rhythm on their shoulders, or tell them to put their hands on top of mine as I play so they can FEEL a certain technique. All of these things can be done with almost any method.

[stevenarmstrong]

That sounds interesting! My understanding is that learning music is kinaesthetic and aural and everything else so I never considered discovering the student's learning style and changing my approach accordingly. (Is that what we're talking about? Did I understand the topic correctly?!) Ultimately it all about being able to read what is on the page and to interpret that somehow i.e. not just to play the dots or rote learn etc. Technique is the tools for being able to do that. I admire that you take the time and care to adjust. I certainly adjust my approach but not to that extent...or maybe not consciously.

Interesting stuff anyway  

[keypeg]

Left brain and right brain refers to a thinking style.  The person who wrote about auditory, visual etc. - that is not what it's about.  Left-brained / right handed is analytical, step-wise, methodical.  Right-brained/ left handed sees the whole picture at once, is intuitive, senses things.

I am thinking that to teach you must grasp everything, and this everything is something that you might set out in a book in a methodical, organized manner, but that this is not actually how you would teach it. Similarly, a method book can be used in numerous ways.