Hi peps, I've been recently considering being a piano teacher. Even though I may have better potential as a doctor, etc... I really want to see what other options to have. I know I have a horrible personality, but that will change as I mature, so by the time I supposedly become a piano teacher, I will have a much better personality. I love to teach my little sister, and I love music, so it is really nice. OK straight to the point: What are some of your suggestions as a teacher? What are some things to avoid? For example:Things to Avoid:1. Forcing the student to play along with you2. Not allowing the student to play any way except for a certain way3.Using opinionated and exaggerated language in a lesson when teaching.4. Making the student play Chopin and Liszt with the metronome (unless they are someone like Lang Lang )5. Giving them atonal/not-very-tonal pieces way too early (I. e. No Prokofiev, Bach Fugues, Schostakovich, Bartok, or Copland until they've reached the stage where they appreciate the beauty of those works)6. Forcing them to attend student recitals7. Talking way too quiet 8. Having an extremely dry piano9. Having an uneven piano10. Exaggerating while you copy the student (unless the student is exceptionally stupid and cannot figure out what they are doing weirdly unless you exaggerate)11. Telling the student that they are not ready for certain pieces (unless they want to jump from Fur Elise to La Campanella )Thanks, Emily
don't be a piano teacher
Great advice! Thanks!Psh, Ill be a doctor if I can, and then Ill retire and then teach piano (if anyone is willing to learn from me hahaha)
I have known so many musicians who were medical professionals.. I have had piano students who were also doctors.. it's kind of funny to me when they get frustrated or they are afraid to perform... it's like.. you went to med school... you cut people open... and THIS is scary to you? being a doctor who also plays the piano would be pretty cool I think.
Max Planck was a scientist, but I'm pretty ssure he got a doctor's degree.
I'll give a real-world example from my piano lesson today -- I have been working on a Mozart sonata for so long that i already felt lower than a snake's belly.. but after this week's concentrated practice, I thought I really had FINALLY conquered it ...So, after playing the first section of the last movement, I looked my teacher, hoping and dreaming of the first positive comment. and then her words"Well, I can see you have had a good time this week, but it is still not right"
"Well, I can see you have had a good time this week, but it is still not right"
1. Avoid thinking one size fits all. Every student deserves to be given the approach that serves them best, not you. Every one of your examples feels personal, like it's something your teachers did to you, so you'll never do it. Except, what if your student needs that? Also, let the past go. I think you're still mad. 2. Don't talk too much. Piano lessons are not about lecturing.
For #2 OMG I agree. Unfortunately my new teacher is great, but she teaches in somebody else's studio. She tries to help me a lot, but she can be a little "lecturey". Here's the formula:Dry pianos + Loud ventilation + Lecturing= BORING
As I read through this thread, I see plenty ideas of what not to do, but I don't really see any vision of what a teacher is aiming at. Surely that is the first step and the main thing. If you have a general direction or goal, then the path will tend to define itself as you go along.
MOST kids who sign up for lessons are not serious... but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to take them... or that the teacher should be blamed when they quit.
Something I mentioned in another thread that did not attract any interest, but I've been thinking about it.Do we sell piano students short, compared to athletes?We all know excelling at piano takes a large investment of time and energy - hours of daily practice, good instruction, seminars and competitions - and we all know hardly any students can be induced to do it. We just accept that piano students aren't serious.Contrast that with athletics. Whether you're a swimmer, diver, gymnast, skater, soccer player, etc., you do all of those things and more, and no coach will accept anything less. And athletes routinely comply. We have a shared culture that athletes will work hard even with no pro career possible, and musicians for the most part won't.
any working class piano teacher will tell you...all too often the piano comes in last--behind soccer, football, dance, church group--whatever else the kid is into... except for the rare few who are truly motivated to play. I am not one of the big time teachers.. just a small timer in a studio... but that doesn't mean I don't take pride in what I do for a living..
Things to Avoid:1. Forcing the student to play along with you2. Not allowing the student to play any way except for a certain way3.Using opinionated and exaggerated language in a lesson when teaching.4. Making the student play Chopin and Liszt with the metronome (unless they are someone like Lang Lang )5. Giving them atonal/not-very-tonal pieces way too early (I. e. No Prokofiev, Bach Fugues, Schostakovich, Bartok, or Copland until they've reached the stage where they appreciate the beauty of those works)6. Forcing them to attend student recitals7. Talking way too quiet 8. Having an extremely dry piano9. Having an uneven piano10. Exaggerating while you copy the student (unless the student is exceptionally stupid and cannot figure out what they are doing weirdly unless you exaggerate)11. Telling the student that they are not ready for certain pieces (unless they want to jump from Fur Elise to La Campanella
I am an engineer with a Master of Science degree in applied physics, if that counts. I also play the piano.