Do your students know HOW to practice?

May 25, 2010 Jennifer Boster

As teachers, we should not only expect our students to practice, but it is our job to teach them how to practice effectively. Practicing really is an art, and must be taught. It shouldn’t just be left up to chance that our students will figure out how to practice well.

In some ways I feel that I really didn’t learn how to really practice well until my last couple of years of college. I finally learned to really listen, to be harder on myself in not making little mistakes and demanding perfection, and to be more efficient in my practicing.

Young piano students especially need to constantly be taught the basics of practicing efficiently and effectively. Here are a few ideas:

Write out specific practice steps in their notebook. This is particularly important for very young students. Make sure the parents know the practice steps and help the student execute them! These steps could include things such as:

Practicing hands alone
Clapping and counting the rhythm
Saying letter names out loud

Section off the piece and have them learn it one line or section at a time. A challenging piece always feels much more do-able when learned one line at a time (and can be learned a lot more efficiently)

Teach your students to learn not only the notes at first, but to learn the dynamics and articulations right from the beginning. When a student puts the dynamics in right from the beginning, they will become habit much quicker!

Have your student practice slowly, with the metronome. As they become more confident in the piece, gradually increase the tempo.

Make sure they are watching the music, not their hands. A few weeks ago I had a student struggling with a piece – he had been working on it for a few weeks and was just not quite getting it. As I watched him play the piece during his lesson, I noticed he was hardly ever looking at the music, but at his hands. I suggested to him that he try to look just at the music. He tried it again, and voila! It was seriously like magic – the piece was perfect. His mom was amazed and he was so pleased with himself. It’s amazing the results you can get with changing such a simple habit!

Now this is an important one: teach your students to not stop when they make a mistake. The tendency of most people is to STOP when they make a mistake, and fix it. What happens, though, is that the student unknowingly creates a habit of stopping in that particular place each time the piece is played. I have noticed in my students that they often stop before they even make a mistake, because they are anticipating the mistake they usually make! Also, if your students are instilled with the habit of not stopping, they will perform much better under pressure at recitals and other performances.

Now, having said all that about not stopping, it is also important that your students be aware of problem spots as they play. After they finish the piece or section they are playing, they can then go back and find the problem spot, figure out what went wrong and why, and fix it.

Students must learn to LISTEN as they practice: listen for problem spots, listen for correct dynamics and musicality, listen for tempo, for note evenness, for articulations, etc. Sometimes it is very eye-opening (or, ear-opening?) to record the student’s performance (either video or audio) and play it back for them to really listen.

Have the student try to play each line or section three times in a row perfect. Make it into a game, use three candies or treats as a reward. Most often this results in the student doing a lot of repetitions – which is awesome! I think that sometimes young students don’t realize the importance of playing short sections over and over again.

Sometimes my students will come to lessons unprepared; as much as I hate it when they are not prepared, I usually see it as an opportunity to practice with the student and show them how to practice more effectively. We work on a section of a piece, and usually get a lot accomplished in a short amount of time.

In what ways do to teach your students how to practice effectively?

Practicing Incentives

May 21, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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My hope, as a piano teacher, is to eventually teach my students to love music, to love it so much that their motivation for practicing is that they want to become better, that they love making music. I want them to practice so they can perfect that challenging piece, so that they can experience that great feeling when they have really accomplished something wonderful.

But sometimes students (especially the young’uns) need a little bit of extra motivation and incentive now and then. Now of course, you don’t want them to solely practice just so they can get that prize – but what if they wouldn’t even practice otherwise? Isn’t it better for the student to practice consistently just so they can earn a prize, than to not practice at all? Rewards, prizes, and other incentives definitely have a place in early music study, and when used wisely can be a great help in training young musicians.

As a young piano student, my teacher gave us points each time we passed off a song. Each time our card of points was filled, we received a coupon for a free ice cream cone. How exciting it was to fill out those cards! Sometimes students need something like that to show them how much they have accomplished. And to be perfectly honest, for some reason my sisters and I hardly ever redeemed those ice cream cone coupons (I know, weird huh?) – we had this huge stack of them in our piano bench (why didn’t we redeem those?? that is so ridiculous). Even if you use a card or chart and students receive stickers for passing off certain assignments, having that visual representation of their progress can be very motivating for some students!

As a teenage piano teacher, I challenged my students to practice a certain amount each day and to record their practice time. In the summer when they came prepared to their lessons and had done their practicing, I used to take them out to our big freezer after their lessons and give them an Otter Pop (mmmmm…I can taste it now…). Students love getting small rewards, and a cold treat on a hot day might just be the motivation they need! It can be something very inexpensive (stickers and Otter Pops are definitely affordable, especially if you buy a lot at a time!), and it adds a bit of fun to the whole practicing thing!

My parents are very wise, and they instituted a great incentive program for my siblings and I: if we didn’t do our practicing, we were required to pay for our piano lesson that week! Holy cow, what a great incentive for a teenager with little income. Obviously this incentive would have to come through the parents, but it can’t hurt to suggest it.

Often in my teaching I have done a similar thing to my first piano teacher, in that I have Piano Point Cards for each student. Students receive different amounts of points for different activities: passing off a piece, reaching their practice goal (more on that later), performing a piece for somebody, memorizing a piece, arriving on time to lessons, attending a recital, etc. The great thing about this kind of system is that you can come up with your own categories for things you want to stress in your own studio. If you prefer that students complete assignments rather than practice a certain amount, then give points for assignments completed.

Another incentive program: hold a practicing competition. A whole new element is added to practicing when the student knows that they are competing against their peers. Sometimes a little healthy competition is just what your studio needs! Be sure to pick some good rewards for the winners, and make it lots of fun!

When deciding on what rewards or prizes to award to students, why not use music-related prizes? For example, a fun piece of sheet music (such as a fun pop song or duet) or a small gift certificate to your local music store is double motivation – not only will the student practice hard to receive it, but once they receive the prize they will want to go home and practice the new piece! Awesome.

Another idea: give out studio awards at a year-end recital. Make sure students know you are watching and paying attention to who practices hard, who improves different aspects of their playing, who has a good attitude, etc. Give out fun certificates and perhaps some small prizes.

My favorite story about practice incentives is from my little sister (my three younger siblings also have taught piano lessons!). When she was a teenager, she once had a student who would not practice. Week after week she struggled to motivate this kid to practice, but to no avail. So one week she asked him what his favorite candy bar was. He told her what it was, and she said, “If you practice this week, at your next lesson I will give you your favorite candy bar. If you don’t practice, I’ll eat it in front of you.”

Well, the next week the kid showed up and had not practiced again! So my sister proceeded to eat the candy bar. Way to follow through! hehe

What incentive programs have you used in the past? What has been the most helpful? What do you think motivates your students the most?

You only have to practice on the days that you eat.

May 19, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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…my former piano teacher had a sign with this saying taped to her studio door, a nice little reminder of what was expected of her students. As funny (or depressing) as this statement may be, it’s the truth! To become a good, proficient pianist, you’ve got to practice! And consistently.

Motivating our students to practice (and teaching them how to practice correctly and efficiently) is probably one of the most important things we do as music teachers. It can also be pretty frustrating at times.

In my mind, there are three basic types of students:

First, the student that we all wish and hope for: the one who always practices, and always comes to lessons prepared. These students are pretty self-motivated, and love music enough to make it a priority without needing extra motivation (or nagging) from a parent or teacher. Lucky you, you teachers who have these students!

Second, the student who usually enjoys piano lessons and makes an effort to practice, but isn’t the most consistent and may need some extra motivation at times. This type of student is pretty common.

And third, the kid who never practices. They are late to lessons, they never improve, they never pass off pieces. Teaching them gets more and more frustrating by the week.

How can we help all our students become like the first type? How can we motivate our students to really practice, to come to love music and to become good pianists?

There are so many answers to this question. There are so many ideas and incentives and rewards, so many ways to be successful at this. I hope that this week we can explore some of these ideas and help each other find ways to motivate our students better.

I believe that no matter what methods we use to motivate our students to practice, we should first consider the individual strengths, weaknesses and needs of each student. What motivates one will not motivate another. Sometimes the best way to motivate a student is to find that one piece that they just love and can’t get enough of; or to help build their confidence through successfully learning a difficult piece; or to discover a way to finally help a student understand a difficult concept (and isn’t it wonderful to see that light bulb go on in their head when they finally “get” something?)

If our students are not good practicers, they will not be good pianists. Our job as teachers is to find out how to best motivate each student until they reach the point where they are self-motivated by the love of the music and the joy they feel when they play it.

Piano Teaching Q&A: Fun Summer Programs

May 18, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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Each week we will be featuring questions about music teaching, and will do our best to answer them and to give some ideas We would also love lots of comments to see what you think!

What are some fun camps, programs, and incentives that you do in your studio during the summer months?

One thing that I would love to incorporate in my own studio during the summer is some sort of piano camp. Now I have never done this before, so these are just ideas (and I would love to hear from people who have actually done summer camps!) – but I would love to incorporate things into a camp such as fun theory games, music history, and fun duets (and other fun ensemble pieces, like quartets). Field trips and concerts would also be awesome! A summer camp would be an excellent way to supplement the students’ music education, because you would be able to cover (in a fun way) so many concepts that there is just not enough time for in regular lessons. Summer camps also are a great way to build up your studio and find new students. What kind of things do you do for summer camps?

Incentive programs are also a great idea – one that I have done before is a practicing contest. Because each of my students have different practice goals (more on that next week), students received points in the contest if they reached their individual practice goals for the week. A competition is sometimes just what students need for a little extra motivation!

Sometimes summertime is an excellent time for a fun recital! You can pick a theme and a venue, and make it special and different than your usual studio recitals. In the past I have loved doing duet recitals – students team up and learn some great duets together (which can be a fun way to motivate students and help them get to know each other). Janina and I once did a duet recital with both of our studios combined, and we held it at a local rest home and performed for the great people who lived there.

Summer is a wonderful time to be creative and have a lot of fun with your teaching. What are some ways you have spiced up your studio during the summer months? Also, take a minute and take our poll!

If you have a question you’d like to ask us, leave it in a comment or submit it here.

Finding New Students in the Summer

May 15, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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While in college, I would come home for the summer. I needed a job, and wanted to teach, but wondered how I could find students just for the summer! Anyone ever have a similar predicament?

I advertised a lot (in ways such as these) and was happy to end up with about twelve students – not too shabby!

I think that with a little creativity and with a good attitude, the summer months really can be ideal for building up your studio & recruiting new students. Even though a lot of people like to start up lessons in the fall with the beginning of school, and summer can be a really busy time for some families, I do think that it is possible to be successful in finding new students during these months. Here’s what I did…

I made flyers advertising “SUMMER PIANO LESSONS” (because in my case, I would only be there for the summer months…I wasn’t sure how many students I could actually get, and was pleasantly surprised with the response!). Here is what my flyer said:

SUMMER PIANO LESSONS

any age, any level, everyone welcome! (does this scream desperate or qualified? hmmm…not sure. hehe. and no, this part in parentheses was not on my flyer.)

Have you ever wanted to take piano lessons, but never had the time?

Have you had lessons in the past, and would like a refresher course?

Is your child too busy during the school year, but would like to start piano?

Has your child been asking for piano lessons, and you’d like to give it a try?

By being a bit creative in the way I advertised and in the target audience I was advertising to (people who otherwise might not sign up for long-term lessons), I was able to get a pretty good-sized studio for the two summers I was home from college. I had a wonderful mix of ages and levels, including young beginners, older beginners, adults, teenagers, and transfer students of various ages. Sadly, I had to leave my students at the end of the summer to go back to school, but they knew that would happen all along, because that is how I advertised it! (Luckily I also have younger siblings who also teach, so I was able to pass on a few of my students to them!) We had an end-of-summer recital, and I think the students/parents were all pleased with the progress made in those short few months. Here is one of my cute little beginners who started lessons that summer – definitely one of the students I was sorry to leave!

So my point – you can see either see summer as a tough time to get new students (which it can be), OR you can work hard, use a little creativity in your advertising, and have a great summer teaching your new students.

Those Lazy Summer Days

May 14, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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When I was a teenager, during the summer months my piano teacher challenged us to practice three hours per day (a big jump from my usual one hour per day of practicing).

Admittedly, my younger sister and I would often spend at least an hour of those three hours practicing duets together (three hours is a long time when you’ve never practiced that long before!). I can still hear in my mind this Mozart duet we played for hours and for some reason we thought it was hilarious, and never took the piece too seriously. (It sort of reminded us of the ballroom scene in Roger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella where everyone is wearing purple.) Serious or not, it makes a good memory and we did have fun.

We also had this great duet we played (The All-American Hometown Band by Walter and Carol Noona – one of my absolute favorites duets – my husband and I play it all the time) where we would switch places on the piano bench in the middle of the song. To mix things up a bit, we decided to play it on two different pianos, and then switch pianos halfway through. Problem was, the pianos were in two separate rooms of the house. We would play the first half of the piece, then it was a mad dash through the house to switch pianos. We not only got in our required practicing time, but some good exercise

Boy am I glad my teacher had us practice more during the summer. Even though I didn’t always get the three hours in (and I often would goof off with my sister for the last hour), it really taught me how to practice and prepared me for college. It helped me to be a much better, dedicated pianist. Thankfully I have great memories from it, and it was a wonderfully positive experience.

Summer can be an interesting time as a piano teacher. Because many students have much more time in the summer, piano study can feel a lot more relaxed (which can be good or bad…), and with this extra time the teacher can add in some fun, supplementary activities (or at least more practice time! bwah haha). There are also obstacles, such as students going out of town and missing more lessons than usual.

I personally was never involved in any special summer music camps or classes or activities (other than the increased practice time mentioned above). However, I do love to come up with fun summer ideas to use in my own studio, and hope to implement them in coming years.

What things do you do in your studio during the summer? Any special piano or theory “camps”? Fun classes? Practicing contests, fun recitals? Field trips? How do you handle lesson scheduling and missed lessons during the summer? Did your teachers ever do anything fun or exciting during the summer? How were your lessons different during the summer months? Did you ever attend any camps or festivals? We’d love to hear your experiences and ideas!

We’d even love to hear any fun summer piano memories (why not, I’m in a random mood). This one time, my sisters and I went to piano lessons on a summer morning, and somehow ended up downstairs watching a parade on tv with my teacher’s cute, grandfatherly husband, eating bowls of Cheerios. Good times.

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Maintaining Your Skills

May 10, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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If there ever comes a time in your family (such as when you have young children) when you are just spread too thin and must take a little break from teaching, I believe there are many ways to remain competent and to maintain your professional skills.

Remain active in professional associations
Attend conferences and workshops
Take piano lessons
Practice!
Visit the music store and peruse new methods
Teach a student or two
Read lots of pedagogy books!
Subscribe to as many music journals as possible – and read them!
Listen to piano literature
Be an adjudicator for festivals
Take a music class
Teaching swap with the children of another piano teacher – you teach their kids, they teach yours
Help your child with his/her practicing
Teach your children
Perform!

What other ideas do you have?

Creative Scheduling Ideas

May 7, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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I previously mentioned my decision to not teach in the afternoons while my children are in school (of course that won’t be for a few years, but some of these ideas are great if you’re wanting more scheduling flexibility at any time!). Although a bit seemingly crazy, this actually is quite doable. Here are some of my ideas.

Ways to teach music lessons NOT in the afternoons:

Teach in the evening. Of course this may not be ideal if you like to spend time with your spouse (so important!) in the evenings. But, what if they are in school and are studying at that time? You can make it work. My toddler is in bed by 7 or 8 each night. There have got to be teenage or adult students who would go for this.
Teach adults in the morning/daytime. I find teaching adults a great joy. I once taught a wonderful young mother lessons in the late morning. She and a friend who was also a young mother would watch each others’ children for one hour per week while the other had time to do something for themselves – I think it’s a great idea!
Teach home-school students. They have more flexible schedules! You could teach while your children are at school.
Teach in the early morning. (I only put this on this list because it works for some. It would never work for me. I am definitely not an early riser.)
Teach adult group lessons during the day, or group lessons of any age in the evening. While I have never personally taught group lessons, it seems like a wonderful experience, as well as a great way to utilize your precious time more efficiently.
Teach adults with shared lesson times. An idea I have toyed with, where two adults share one time slot. Each would get two private lessons per month, as well as a monthly group performance/theory class.
Teach on Saturdays.
Teach preschool music classes. Something I’d love to look into!

What other ideas do you have?

How Teaching Blesses My Family

May 5, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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This morning my sweet little two-year-old climbed up on the piano bench and said to me, “Teach me piano…teach me piano…”

It happened yesterday as well, after a student left. James turned to me and said, “That’s mine piano!” He then climbed on up and we had a little lesson. He was SO excited. Both times the “lesson” lasted about five minutes and then he was done. It was just priceless though. We played quiet and loud and high and low and short and long. He really loved played short. What a joy. I think it may have been my most favorite “lesson” ever.

The Two Best Jobs

May 4, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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There is something so wonderful about music and music teaching that goes way beyond being just another “job,” don’t you agree? Once you’re in, and you experience the joy of performing and teaching and using your talents in so many ways to bless your life and the lives of others, you are in it for life. That really is how I feel about music. I am a musician, I am a teacher, and I always will be. I hope to one day be one of those amazing women still going strong and teaching piano and changing lives into their 80’s. Think of all the students you could teach in that amount of time, think of the joy of really seeing them progress, grow, move on and in turn teach and inspire others. I think what I’m trying to get at, is that being a music teacher is wonderful, and it is something that will always be a part of my life.

As will my role of being a mother. And even more so than teaching music, being a mother will always be an important and integral part of my life, and one that brings me so much joy and fulfillment. Think through the years of all the wonderful things you can do to bless your own family; think of all the things you can teach your children. Think of the joy you will experience as your children grow, learn, become potty-trained, develop talents, become wonderful people, and in turn have children of their own and raise and nurture them.

The roles of parent and music teacher are both important, far-reaching and so fulfilling. For many of us, they will most likely be integral parts of our lives for years and years to come. I do feel like this is the case for me; I also feel that at certain times in my life, one will be more important than the other (and vice versa) and will take the spotlight.

I currently have just a few students. My husband’s schedule is such that he is able to be with my little boy while I teach. (I love this!) I would rather my son play with his daddy during that time than hire a babysitter. So, as of now, it works wonderfully. Still, there are those days when my little buddy just wants to play with me, and when I tell him I have to teach a piano lesson he gets a little disappointed look on his face that just tugs at my heartstrings (anyone relate to this?).

Of course it is wonderful (and so needed) to have a little time off from being a mommy, and to pursue those things that you love. I know we all need and appreciate this time. I always feel so energized after teaching a lesson, it’s always a great reminder to me of why I chose this profession. But as I think about taking on more and more students in the future, I have to stop and think – when is it going to be too much? How much can I handle?

Each teacher and parent is different. Each of us has our own situations, priorities, needs, beliefs. What works for one teacher will not work for another.

I wanted to share my own personal feelings on the matter of balancing these two roles. Maybe some of my ideas will help give you some ideas of your own. Hopefully others will also share their experiences and their plans.

I have always decided and known that I would be a mother and a wife first, and a piano teacher second. It is just a no-brainer to me that that is what I want to do. Of course I love teaching and will continue to be a teacher for my entire life (picturing my 80-year-old self in a great piano studio, teaching lots of students, having lots of energy, maybe a Steinway or two…). But when it comes to choosing between the two, my family comes first.

I have decided that, no matter what, I will not teach in the afternoons when my children come home from school. It is so important for me to be there, to be available to hear about their day, to help with homework. I know that may sound crazy from a piano teacher’s perspective, because that is the traditional time when piano lessons usually happen! One thing that I’d like to address this week (probably in a later post) is ideas on when/how to teach at times OTHER than after school. I think that with a little creativity and ingenuity, there are really so many possibilites to make it work!

As a teacher with a husband who probably has a few years of grad school ahead of him, I am so excited that I have such a wonderful way to help support our family during that time. I plan to come up with a teaching schedule that minimizes the time spent away from my child, and allows me to teach enough to help support the family.

I have decided that, once my husband is done with school (who knows when that will exactly be :)) and as our children grow, I will probably take a hiatus from teaching for awhile. (I know, gasp!) That may mean no teaching at all, it may mean only occasionally taking on a student or two, it may be teaching a fellow-teacher’s children while they teach my children, who knows. I am not completely sure yet. BUT, just because I take a teaching hiatus does not mean I take a music hiatus. I will not let my piano skills go or leave the “piano world;” I will maintain my skills, continue learning and seeking higher education, remain a competent pianist and teacher (after all, being a mother is being a teacher). I will practice. I will perform for my children. I will help them in their piano/music study.

My goal and hope is that even though I may take a little teaching break (for a cause that, in my book, is the most important thing there is), I will be able to continue my education and training, maintain and improve my piano skills and be ready to continue teaching piano lessons for the rest of my life.

Now, we’d love to hear from you! How do you find a balance? What are your ideas and plans about how to be a parent and a piano teacher? What are some ideas for child care during lessons? For those of you who do have older children, how has teaching worked during these years?