Teaching Group Piano Lessons

[florentin]

I taught piano lessons individually for years, but in the last two years I taught, for the first time, in a group setting also.

Currently, I teach piano lessons in two different group settings. One setting is a piano class in a public school where I am Music teacher, and another is at church where we have a piano lab.

I would appreciate a discussion on the topic, with others who have taught lessons in a group setting.

1. What are some challenges you faced, and how did you solve them?

2. How did you differentiate between individual and group assistance/advancement?

3. How did you differentiate between individual and group assessment?

4. What material(s) have you used?

5. What type of pianos were used?

6. What else would you add to the discussion?

Thanks for your participation.

[faulty_damper]

1. Too many students.  Keep class sizes small.
2. Each student works on his/her own theory books.
3. There is no formal assessment needed.
4. Children's books.
5. Acoustic pianos or keyboards.

[florentin]

thanks

[rebeccapiano]

When I was in university, I had a keyboard class that I attended for harmony. We had about 10 in a class and all of us had sophisticated Yamaha Clavinovas capable of half pedaling and weighted keys. We were given sheet music with chord progressions (it was a harmony tutorial) and we plowed through them as our instructor would go around the room, from her desk, hitting buttons whilst listening to us play through the system and giving us feedback through her microphone.

Seemed to work, except I suppose you'd need fancy and expensive technology! Mind you in the 19th century, 6 hand piano work (two pianos, four players) was a trend. Have you looked into the work of Robert Pace? He devised the Robert Pace method which advocated group learning.

I don't teach piano in a group but I do teach music in groups. It's mostly Orff/Kodaly work though.

[florentin]

Rebecca,

I also teach Orff on a regular basis. Are you Orff certified?

[echristensen]

Very interesting discussion, thanks! I have taken group lessons in college but never taught them, I can see how there would be many new challenges to face.

[m1469]

I can only answer these questions a little at once.  I currently have 5 piano classes, two of them are 7th-12th graders, three of them are K-6th graders.  I am in my third year teaching these classes.

1.  There are always challenges, but they are often changing.  One of my personal, biggest challenges as a teacher in general has been in setting appropriate expectations for my students (and that goes for private teaching as well as for class teaching).  All that I list below are part of what adds to my expectation-setting challenges.

- Variation in ages that I teach in a single class.

- Then, it is taking into account behavioral mannerisms during class (that is true for any classroom setting).

- Then, it is taking into account each individual's circumstances at home - even the most basic being that some of them have no instrument to practice on.

- Another is that I teach at a school which caters to home-schoolers, and there is often a portion of parents who believe they can do the job better than a teacher.

- Another is that I have bosses to answer to; not directly about curriculum, but if a parent complains to my bosses for any reason they see fit, there is an added stress because I feel a responsibility not just towards myself but also towards the school.

- Then, there is the school itself.  It is in its fourth year of existence and, while it has been growing each year, for me to build a music/piano program there has required that I accept anybody who wants to be in the class.  That is fine, but based on all of the above, it can sometimes dramatically change the dynamics of the whole class and, given the right circumstances, could mean the class actually failing.  And, while I very much tend to enjoy having these classes, I also very much need the income and need the classes to go and the program to grow.

- I must grade them in a way that satisfies them, me, and my bosses.

- And finally, our piano room features very basic electric keyboards that are sometimes faulty, are not a full set of (plastic) keys, do not have any pedals, and for which at least a couple of the adapters for the earphones are constantly finding their way out of the room, never to return.  There is not any sort of motherboard where I can just listen in on an individual student, and in order to check in with them individually I must (and do) make a point to go around to them each individually and try to get them as much on track as I possibly can in 5-6 minutes.

Focus on the goal.  That is the only way I can overcome these things.

[m1469]

And let me add another couple of my greatest challenges:

- I have teaching ideas (among other piano-related ideas) that have just been rather latently sitting within me for a couple of years now, most of which I need quiet, dedicated time to focus on and develop.  I want to talk with master pedagogues, and I want to read more books.  I need to be writing and expressing/working out ideas.  I also need to be able to be teaching these ideas and growing and learning with that.  This is a real part of a huge musical desire that I have, and which seems to serve almost no purpose whatsoever in my life, either teaching or other, because in its present form I can't meet all of the challenges of the actuality of my classroom teaching by experimenting with undeveloped ideas.  So, I generally have to just ignore something within myself that very much wants my attention but to which I can't give it.

- I still need my own practice time and some sort of fuel for my own growth, of which is currently extremely limited.  So here again, I must basically ignore a very deep and important part of myself that very much wants my attention but to which I cannot give it.

[hfmadopter]

- I still need my own practice time and some sort of fuel for my own growth, of which is currently extremely limited.  So here again, I must basically ignore a very deep and important part of myself that very much wants my attention but to which I cannot give it.

I think this happens with teachers, the key is giving of yourself so others can grow. And often it is taxing on ones own growth regarding the same arena, I.E. musical growth. Instead the growth is about how to teach better and better, perhaps.  I see the complexity of your situation for sure.

[m1469]

I think this happens with teachers, the key is giving of yourself so others can grow. And often it is taxing on ones own growth regarding the same arena, I.E. musical growth. Instead the growth is about how to teach better and better, perhaps.  I see the complexity of your situation for sure.

People can only give to one another in proportion as it is accepted by another.  It is one thing for one's own musical desires to be matched by the need for whatever it is a person has to give, but it is another to have leftovers and to try to force that upon individuals who have no need or desire for it.  I can give of myself, I enjoy giving of myself, but there is still nothing that fulfills the same musical desires that would inspire me to spend hours at the piano practicing, working up a program, and performing it as doing exactly that does.  And I hugely need to do that.  And it is not good teaching practice to try to make teaching fill that personal desire.  Similarly, it would not be good parenting practice to try to force one's child to live out the parent's dreams.  My own musical desires are huge, I have feast upon feast to prepare and live out, and by comparison, most students want just the tiniest morsel - which I am happy to give, but it's certainly not all there is to me.

[Bob]

How is everyone set up for instruments for students in a group piano situation?  I've seen college set up where every student has their own standup keyboard with headphones, etc.  but it doesn't seem realistic for some places money-wise.

[zillybug]

I take group lessons at a music school in addition to a private lesson weekly. There are group lessons and private lessons for both children and adults. The classes have no more than 8 students and many of the adult classes have less. My class usually has between 4 to 5 students. The students are grouped by level from complete beginner to those of us who have played for a few years as adults and also in the past. In my case I took a lot of music in college but then did not play for over 35 years before returning to the piano about 3 years ago.  The director teaches all the adult classes. She covers some theory and ear training as well as repertoire. In my class, we are usually working on both solos and duets and sometimes quartet pieces. I would never give up my private lesson but it is nice to be with others and play together. I have to say I have been impressed with how well some of the beginners have done after just a few months of group lessons. The classrooms all have  8 digital pianos of good quality and a Steinway or Yamaha grand piano to play solos or duets on.