A beginner student's first lesson

[spenstar]

I'm a high school student who has been playing diligently for 10 years, so I started offering lessons for beginner and intermediate students. I arranged a lesson with a new student, but he is a 9 year old who has ever played. There's so much material to cover for beginners, Andy I'm not sure how much a kid could take in. So if anyone has any tips on the pinpoint of where to start or any tips for teaching children, that would be great!! Thank you

[themeandvariation]

You are young. Giving piano lessons comes with a great responsibility.. The student trusts that You know what you are doing.  A lack of understanding of a proper progression and development of learning tools can create much trouble - and snowball as time goes on. 
You mention that you have played for 10 years. Have you had lessons Yourself for 10 years?  Or, how many years? 
If you Do have a teacher, it would be beneficial to schedule one or more lessons with them to discuss solely and In Particular how to proceed in your endeavor, and whether you are ready and responsible to do such.  If you are not willing, or circumstances not permitting, asking such a question here is Not enough to make a responsible decision in and of itself.

Are you planning on charging for this service?

[klavieronin]

Oh boy, I remember when I first started teaching. I thought it would be a piece of cake since I had a music degree and did two semesters of piano pedagogy at university. How wrong was I? It is a steep learning curve and every new student will be different. The best advice I can offer is to avoid teaching notation in the first lesson and instead make sure they can understand fundamental concepts like keeping time (counting in 2s, 3s, and 4s), high and low pitch, keyboard layout, etc. Try to come up with some improvising duets you can play together. For example a like to get new students to play a steady rhythm on the two black keys (C# - D# - C# - D# etc.) while I play a simple chord progression in the bass.

When it comes to teaching there is no substitute for experience though.

[love_that_tune]

You will find that the student shows you how much they can handle.  I learned by the seat of my pants how to teach under the auspices of a Master teacher.  Not every student has to have ten years of master teaching.  Give it a go with a lesson book series that you enjoy.  If I had a nickel for every student I've taken on who did not enjoy a rigid program, I'd be set for life.

Life has presented you an opportunity.  Go for it.

[jgallag]

I hope you don't mind if I share some thoughts a few months late. I would assume you are still teaching.

First things first: Students come to us to learn music. Not to learn finger numbers, high/low, proper technique, etc., although those things are all necessary. Your student *must* leave the lesson being able to play at least one piece, and hopefully several. You can do a mix of whatever's in the method book and rote pieces, of course. Repertoire by Rote by Dennis Alexander/Amy Greer, the Pattern Pieces from Piano Safari, Solo Flight by Elvina Pearce and Paula Dreyer's Little Gems for Piano will give you some resources. You can also teach Accent on Solos I by William Gillock by rote, though I like to teach students to read that one. Also any folk tunes. NEVER use Piano Pronto as a method, it's downright terrible, but it is a great resource for catchy folk tunes. I teach either with The Music Tree or Piano Adventures, so there's no reason the beginner can't leave the lesson playing the first four pieces in the book plus a rote piece or two.

One thing that might be useful to you is to make a checklist of all the things a beginner should know. Up/Down, Finger Numbers, Note Lengths, etc. so that you can keep track yourself of what you have and haven't taught. Realize that students need tons, and I mean tons, of reinforcement. You don't get to teach something once and then be done with it. But at least with a checklist you can be sure you hit everything. Don't get too hung up on the order, each method book is different, so there's no reason you can't be different as well. It's not worth worrying over. One of my favorite things my pedagogy professor said is to think of talking about concepts like putting a drop in the bucket. Each time something goes in, the bucket may not be full yet (meaning it might not stick yet), but you're getting there. Little by little, you are going somewhere.

Have kids preview the rhythm by tapping and counting the main rhythmic idea. Also have them walk and count, swing their arms and count, clap and count. Variety is key. For me, metric counting has almost never worked at the beginning. I've done tons of them: takadimi, unit counting, note name counting, making up words. Keep switching, try it all. Kids will not be confused because one week you used numbers and the next week you used "ta, ta, ta-ah."

Encourage them to read by how the notes move. Look for intervals. You don't want them to think "C-D-E" but "C, up a step, up a step." When they miss a note, it's not so important what the note is, but how far it is from the previous note. Intervals are the basic building blocks of reading, not note names (though they've got to know where the notes are too. Note Rush is a fantastic app for working on note recognition).

Sing, conduct, demonstrate. Try to always be making music alongside them. Yes, occasionally you want to sit back and assess. But a kid can learn a lot about dynamics simply from listening to your voice as you sing along. If you play with healthy technique and artistry, the student will see that out of the corner of their eye as you play alongside them in a different octave. Plus they will hear the tone quality in your playing. When demonstrating arm motions, have the student put their fingers on your wrist, or even hold the back of your upper arm. And, the constant aural model you are providing will reinforce their aural learning of the piece.

Finally, I do want to say that learning pieces by rote or by ear counts as aural skills. You do not have to sit there and do "Is this a second or a third?" Keyboard patterns and geography (key, chords, arpeggios) can be taught through improvisation.

Some other books I think you should know (though this is my opinion):
Finger Paintings by Dennis Alexander
Kaleidoscope Solos by Jon George
Everybody's Perfect Masterpieces eds. Carole Bigler and Valerie Lloyd-Watts <- Easiest "classical" book I could find that actually has satisfying pieces in it. Not for the absolute beginner, but you don't have to wait too long. Kabalevsky, Gurlitt, and other great pedagogical composers are in here.

Bonus: Join MTNA, your local state division, and any other local piano teachers' organizations. Take pedagogy classes. Consider a degree in piano teaching.

Have fun! I really do love this job. I'm glad it's my profession.

[wkmt]

At WKMT we follow a very clear plan for our beginner's first lesson.

You can check our brief at

http://www.piano-composer-teacher-london.co.uk/single-post/2015/03/08/Our-first-piano-lesson-teachers-blog

[keypeg]

At WKMT we follow a very clear plan for our beginner's first lesson.

Are you suggesting that Spenstar use your plan when he teaches?  (Not with the original student he asked about, ofc, since that was 9 months ago).  Would a high school student be able to teach in this manner?

[jgallag]

Are you suggesting that Spenstar use your plan when he teaches?  (Not with the original student he asked about, ofc, since that was 9 months ago).  Would a high school student be able to teach in this manner?

Well, that was a diplomatic reaction. Unfortunately, I tend to be a bit more frank.

At WKMT we follow a very clear plan for our beginner's first lesson.

You can check our brief at

http://www.piano-composer-teacher-london.co.uk/single-post/2015/03/08/Our-first-piano-lesson-teachers-blog

Do you understand why this is a very poor lesson for a child? Did you understand that post was about young beginners?

Let's start with the basics. Your lesson includes at least 17 concepts which the beginner is expected to practice and remember for the next lesson. Do you know that the typical student sees the teacher once per week, his/her parents have jobs and other responsibilities that often keep them from practicing with the student at home, and only very well established teachers (unlike the original poster) can afford to demand that all students begin with hour-long lessons? On top of that, there is no reason for the student to CARE about any of the concepts you've presented. You haven't gotten the student excited about making music with these ideas.

Fine motor control is one of the last muscular skills to develop, and yet your lesson begins with a focus on the hand. For some reason, teachers love to power through teaching hand shape before the gross motor muscles. Technical instruction should begin with the posture and the arm and proceed to the smaller muscles as the student matures physically and becomes capable of such fine movement. Your table exercise is almost impossible to decipher (at least I can't). How about this: put your hand on your knee, then move it to the piano keeping the same shape. With that same shape, press down the keys. Hand shape - done. Your intro to technique is horribly boring for children. This kid will probably sit through this for five minutes at most.  It's also tough to read. I'll be honest, I just read it again, and I'm not sure it is even about hand shape. I see a lot of alignment discussion in here. How about this?

Imagine your elbow is you (or shoulder) and your hand is a puppy. Your forearm is the leash. If your puppy walks to right, will your leash stay where it is? Will it go to the left? There you go: language a kid can understand, though I still think it's inappropriate for a first lesson, or even for a first year of lessons.

Sight-Reading Basics: To start - up and down. How to tell which notes are left hand notes and which notes are right hand notes. Fingering. The keys on the piano (this is best done by teaching the groups of two and three black keys, followed by how each white key relates to the black keys. I always say the Dog "D" lives in the Doghouse - the two black keys. Students can figure out the rest from there). Can they say the alphabet forwards and backwards? Bonus: can they say the alphabet in 3rds? (that's very useful!). One thing you do have right is seconds, thirds, and repeated notes. All of this, in my opinion, should be introduced *before* the student ever hears of treble or bass clefs or the landmarks. Contrary, Similar, and Oblique motion should not be touched for a long time. Those are university counterpoint terms. Kids do not care.

Exercising: First of all, if it is truly meant to be an exercise, the score shouldn't even be touched. Learning without the score develops aural skills and memory. Second of all, why Bartok's Microcosmos? Those pieces are so incomprehensibly dull. Much better to wait to introduce Bartok until they can play For Children. I already named enough rote resources that can be used to train aural skills and technique.

Okay, I know I'm just being difficult. You aren't going to change your ways. But I do think it's important for the original poster to understand why this is a bad example of a child's first lesson. By the way, it's also a bad example of an adult's first lesson. They may have higher patience levels, but they still have the same basic goal the kids do: to learn music! Your student *must* be able to leave that lesson playing more than just the first piece in Microcosmos, preferably much more and no Microcosmos at all.

[keypeg]

Well, that was a diplomatic reaction. Unfortunately, I tend to be a bit more frank.

In fact, this is the post the WKMT would have been responding to, in December, to a query that was made early March.

(original post) I'm a high school student who has been playing diligently for 10 years, so I started offering lessons for beginner and intermediate students. I arranged a lesson with a new student, but he is a 9 year old who has ever played. There's so much material to cover for beginners, Andy I'm not sure how much a kid could take in. So if anyone has any tips on the pinpoint of where to start or any tips for teaching children, that would be great!!

So wkmt has told a high school student, who 9 months ago was starting a 9 year old student almost a year ago, the information in that link.  The student who was trying teaching back in March, was asking for advice on how he (the student) should proceed.  Wkmt gave a link to what they do at their school, in response to this request for help.  The response made no sense to me.  I may have been less diplomatic than it appeared.

[hardy_practice]

Talking of puppy dogs - I teach children to hang their hands from the wrist saying they should feel like a puppy dog that's sitting up begging.  It doesn't patronize as I do it myself to illustrate.   You can aso add puppy dogs are smart enough not to stick their elbows out as they do it!  I might use the doghouse bit.  Elephants And Dinosaurs Grow Big Easily never fails and neither does Good Dogs Always Eat.

[klavieronin]

Elephants And Dinosaurs Grow Big Easily never fails and neither does Good Dogs Always Eat.

What is that? Open strings on guitar and violin?

[hardy_practice]

Sure.  Kids love animals.

[wkmt]

Your student *must* be able to leave that lesson playing more than just the first piece in Microcosmos, preferably much more and no Microcosmos at all.

If you have to choose between listening to Bartok's advise on how to progress with your piano studies from the scratch or a random piano teacher, who would you pay attention to?...

[keypeg]

If you have to choose between listening to Bartok's advise on how to progress with your piano studies from the scratch or a random piano teacher, who would you pay attention to?...

To start with, Bartok died in 1945, so we cannot choose between being taught by Bartok or another teacher.  Even if he were alive, in my town, and accessible, Bartok was a composer - did he teach?  If he did teach, did he teach beginner students, or did he take on students who were already formed (well) by previous teachers?  Your suggestion of choosing between a dead composer and a living teacher literally makes no sense.

Re: "random teacher" --  A teacher cannot be "random" - only the choice can be "at random".  In the first stage, all teachers are "unknown" and the first step is to narrow down the search using certain criteria.  Beyond background, we also look at what and how a teacher teaches, what he teaches toward.  At this point, that choice of teacher is no longer "random".

I read jgallag's post.  What he or she wrote was thorough, thought out, and made sense.  If s/he teaches and were in my neighbourhood, I might well give this person a try, because of what I read.  It also makes this person less "random", to use your words.

Meanwhile, the post you seem to be responding to addressed many things.  Much of it had to do with the physical act of playing the piano.  I was not able to see how Bartok related to any of it.

[keypeg]

There is still the issue that you seem to be advising a high school student, who almost a year ago had a 9 year old student whom he was starting to teach - by telling this high school student what your school does.  I was not able to see in what way you were trying to help this beginner teacher in that situation.

[hardy_practice]

Bartok's school of playing was pretty percussive high fingers.  Not at all suited to a modern pedagogy.  My teacher knew him.

[keypeg]

Bartok's school of playing was pretty percussive high fingers.  Not at all suited to a modern pedagogy.  My teacher knew him.

Do the things described in wkmt's link reflect Bartok's "school of playing" (what you described)?  I'm also wondering - did Bartok himself teach beginners?  I'm interested in learning things that I don't know.

(I still don't know how that link is intended to help the high school student who has started to teach.)

[jgallag]

http://www.ispci.timofeev.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=218&Itemid=227

This is a very interesting article. Obviously, it's only one resource, but it does assert twice that Bartok did not regularly teach beginning students. In fact, it seems his only experience was working with his son, Peter, to whom the collection is dedicated. And, as keypeg said, the collection is old. The article below (again, I realize I am quoting secondary sources) indicates that Peter Bartok was 9 in 1933. A lot has happened since then, especially in the world of pedagogy. This article is by Elissa Milne, an Australian teacher who also has something to say about the collection:

https://elissamilne.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/mikrokosmos-heresy/

I'm not saying never teach Mikrokosmos (okay, I did say that, but let's say I'm fine with you wanting to use it. Plus, you know what they say, "Never say never"). In fact, Elissa Milne makes some compelling observations that might persuade one to add the collection to one's teaching repertoire, though her conclusion isn't necessarily that you should use it. What I am saying is that it is not a first lesson piece. The first piece, while it looks very simple, is truly not for an absolute beginner. There are different note values and rests. 1) It is hard to understand a rest (silence) unless you fully understand continuous line in melody. 2) Understanding of rhythm must begin with understanding a steady beat. Therefore, the only natural start for notation can be the note which most often gets one beat, the quarter note.

It is written on the staff, so the student needs to be able to find treble and bass Cs. There is a bit of changing direction in ways that aren't necessary predictable. If you've worked with kids, you know they confuse up and down a lot and can be blind to changes in direction. My biggest problem is that the melodies are written in parallel unisons. 1) Let's start with the basic observation that the hands are not constructed that way, they are mirror images of each other. Therefore, if there is to be playing in both hands at the same time (and I would argue that should wait), the most natural way to begin is contrary motion. 2) What happens when the student figures out that all the pieces at the beginning of the collection are written in octaves? The student reads only the treble clef and just makes sure the left hand plays the same thing. 3) Go looking for melodies in octaves in actual literature. I am sure you can find it, but you're going to find many, many more examples where the hands don't do the same thing. And I would argue that's easier technically. It's just a matter of coordination.


(One of the silliest things that still persists in modern pedagogy is the teaching of parallel scales. Let's list some pieces that use parallel scales: Brahms Rhapsody in B minor, Chopin G minor Ballade, Bach-Busoni Chaconne. Notice anything? It's hard to come up with examples, and they're at the pinnacle of piano literature. Why then, is it required on so many piano exams?)

Finally, it just plain isn't catchy. It's not the kind of piece that a student runs home and says "Mommy! Look what I can do!" And I know that's a tall order, but there's also this: Even if you get the student to play the piece correctly with you in the lesson, what's to say they'll be able to remember how to do it when they get home? Already they're faced with defeat, and that kills motivation. Our big objective is to make kids feel like they can play the piano, like they are already good at it. Success builds motivation.

So, really, go ahead and teach the whole collection. I'm not saying don't. I'm saying it's not a good idea for the very first lesson. A student should always be studying a variety of music, and the pieces are definitely short enough that they can be taught alongside another course of study. It's great that the collection introduces students to different modalities early on (though this can also be done through improvisation) and that they get used to sounds outside of the major/minor system. I think his suggestion to stomp on the beat for tied notes is wonderful, and I will probably start using that myself.

I understand that I am a random teacher. I understand that seeing kids five days a week doesn't necessarily qualify me to understand how they work. I can tell you that I hold a master's degree in piano pedagogy which involves comparative study of most of the currently published methods, extensive reading on child psychology, development, and music education, as well as examination of a large body of teaching literature. I have observed and taught under master teachers, including a fellowship at the New School for Music Study, a division of the esteemed Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy. I regularly attend conferences for piano teachers and participate in organizations at the local and state levels. My hope is to share what I've learned from all those experiences with as many teachers as I can.

I also would like to learn more that I don't know. I would love it if you would explain the rationale for your lesson plan in detail. How does it present the information in a way that's relatable to children? How does it sustain a child's interest throughout the lesson? How does it get them excited to learn more? You say that it is better to listen to Bartok than a random teacher. Well, the evidence suggests Bartok wasn't a teacher, and certainly not a teacher of beginning children.

[keypeg]

Thank you for the links.

From the article I see that Bartok was absolutely inexperienced in teaching beginners, but that he experimented in teaching his son as a beginner.  We also see his son saying that the ideas were shot at him so fast that he wasn't able to handle it all.  An expert in one area (composing, teaching adults) can still be a quasi amateur in another, enthusiastically trying things out.

wkmt - in his response to the critique and analysis of what was put forth on the site - which started with physical technique (I still don't know if that has anything to do with Bartok) - responded by asking whether one would choose to study what Bartok says, or "some random teacher".  I am studying with a teacher who has perfected his teaching over a period of 45 years or more, still improving his methodology to this day, and especially interested in developing sound foundations in the beginning.  So the question is:

--Would I want to study something put forth by someone who is no longer around, and who was inexperienced in teaching beginners --- or would I want to study with the a teacher who is knowledgeable and experienced in this area. --- I'll take a teacher who is experienced and knowledgeable in this area (foundations, etc.), and who is actually alive and around to teach me.  That is my answer to the question.

[keypeg]

Elissa Milne -- an amazing teacher and composer whose works are featured in the Australian system (ABRSM? something else?)  One of the things she tries to do is to break past the narrow "Common Practice" type of music, diatonic, predictable chords and harmonies etc.  The attraction of Bartok can also be explained within this context.

[hardy_practice]

Do the things described in wkmt's link reflect Bartok's "school of playing" (what you described)?  I'm also wondering - did Bartok himself teach beginners?  I'm interested in learning things that I don't know.

(I still don't know how that link is intended to help the high school student who has started to teach.)

If Mr wk can't be bothered to summarize his method here then I can't say I can be bothered to visit his links.  There's a piano tutor out there somewhere co-written by Bartok.  It's got nasty finger raising à la Hanon.   I teach the grade 8 Bulgarian Dance from Bk. 6.

[hardy_practice]

Elissa Milne -- an amazing teacher and composer whose works are featured in the Australian system (ABRSM? something else?)  One of the things she tries to do is to break past the narrow "Common Practice" type of music, diatonic, predictable chords and harmonies etc.  The attraction of Bartok can also be explained within this context.

My kids like her pieces.  I've got her email somewhere.

[keypeg]

If Mr wk can't be bothered to summarize his method here then I can't say I can be bothered to visit his links.  There's a piano tutor out there somewhere co-written by Bartok.  It's got nasty finger raising à la Hanon.   I teach the grade 8 Bulgarian Dance from Bk. 6.

Quite reasonable.   Well, here's the issue:

A high school students posts here in March, because he's teaching for the first time, and has a brand new 9 year old student.  In December Mr. wk posts here, linking to his site, saying "this is what we do".  It is hard to see how that link is meant to help this young person doing his first teaching.

Meanwhile the link starts with exercises off a table and goes through quite a few physical things.  Jgallag responds, mostly about the many physical instructions, and Mr. wk "responds" with: "If you have to choose between listening to Bartok's advise on how to progress with your piano studies from the scratch or a random piano teacher, who would you pay attention to?...".  Up to now wkmt has championed Scaramuzzi everywhere, and now its Bartok?  I don't think he's responding at all to the analysis of the physical instructions - I think it's game playing through name dropping.  One shouldn't listen to Jgallag because he's unknown, and Bartok is known --- doesn't matter whether Bartok taught what wkmt put forth on his site.  It's not even about what he put forth on his site about starting with hands on a desk and all that.

I also don't think that Mr. wk posted in this thread in order to help the young novice teacher with his problem.  It was just another chance to create new links, once again, to his school.  The Bartok reference was also not in justification of the physical descriptions, but a name dropping thing of sorts.  If there's a famous name in there somewhere, then the responding person shouldn't be listened to, because he's not a famous person. 

[hardy_practice]

Mr wk obviously knows the more sites that link to your site the higher up your rating at Google.

[klavieronin]

Mr wk obviously knows the more sites that link to your site the higher up your rating at Google.

I've brought this up before and tried to point out that it isn't that simple anymore. Not all links are worth the same in Google's eyes and if their algorithm suspects you of trying to cheat the system you can actually be penalised. Search engines are getting really smart and are looking more and more for natural and relevant content. This included the relevance of links to your site. There is also an increasing emphasis being placed on local search results which is why the links in this forum aren't likely to be worth much if the goal is to attract local students.

Having said said that, however, his site does rank fairly well in the search results so whatever else wkmt is doing seems to be working, for now.

[anamnesis]

(One of the silliest things that still persists in modern pedagogy is the teaching of parallel scales.)

This is an important point that has only been noted by a handful of pedagogues.
 
It's unfortunate that one of the key make-it-or-break-it barriers in the development of a coordinated-technique is shunted off as early pedagogical material.  An effortless, easy technique capable of handling virtually any texture can be ruined in moments by this supposedly simple texture.