the important things

July 27, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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Thanks to all who participated in our poll this week! I think the results to this poll were closer than any other – it seems that all of these factors play an important role in laying a good foundation for our piano students.

What is most important in laying a good foundation for a beginning piano student?

Other answers:

Trusting the teacher/Collaboration between student and teacher/Cooperation
All of the above!

Interestingly enough, “knowledge of theory” did not get any votes – yet if our students do not have a sound knowledge of music theory and how music works, do they really have a good musical foundation? Something to think about!

This week we’d like to talk about memorization. How do you teach it? What techniques work the best? Tips? Ideas? What are the challenges? Why is it important? I can’t wait to hear your comments 🙂

On a personal and somewhat unrelated note, today I visited my former piano teacher and it reminded me how important and far-reaching our influence as teachers really can be. My younger brother had his last lesson from her before leaving for college, and so my mom and I went to give her a little gift and to visit. She has been teaching my family piano lessons for over thirteen years, starting when I was an awkward thirteen-year-old girl with braces (gotta love awkward years). She has made such a difference in my life and the lives of my siblings who also studied with her – and I think of the many students we have each taught (my three siblings who studied with her have also taught piano for a long time) and realize that one teacher can have a very far-reaching influence. All the more reason to be the best teachers we know how to be, right? No pressure 😉

a foundation of good practicing

July 26, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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A student can be bright and talented, have a true love and appreciation of music, can catch on to concepts very quickly and sight read well, BUT will they really be good musicians and have a good musical foundation if they do not practice consistently? If they don’t make an effort to apply themselves, or if they are not taught good practicing techniques/habits by their piano teacher, are they really becoming good pianists?

Teaching our students how to practice and helping them establish good practicing habits is key in laying a solid musical foundation for their continued music study. In the past few days I have read a few things that have really made me think about practicing – how I can better teach my students to practice, how I can help them enjoy practicing more, and how I can help them practice more effectively:

With Your Own Two Hands: Self-Discovery Through Music

I have just barely started reading the book With Your Own Two Hands: Self-Discovery Through Music by Seymour Bernstein. And I mean just barely – like I’ve read the introduction and a couple of pages. But so far I love it! It talks about how skills gained in practicing can influence your life. And something that really got me thinking was that it mentioned something about practicing and discovery. And it made me think – when my students practice, is their practice session full of discovery and excitement or drudgery and monotony? Is it a real joy for them to be learning new pieces and new concepts (and do they speed through their method books as a result) – or do they just do the bare minimum practice requirements and call it good? Something to think about!

I read a great article on The Musicians Way Blog about mindsets and how they influence practicing. The author talked about two different types of mindsets – the “growth mindset” and the “fixed mindset.” Those with a growth mindset might hear a great performance and “inquire about the ways in which the artist acquired fluency and then apply their discoveries in the practice room.” Those with a fixed mindset would hear the same performance and think, “They’re more talented than me. I could never do that.” Go check out the article!

Mariel Mohns wrote a post on her blog (fenwickpianostudio.blogspot.com) about helping her students become perfect practicers. She includes a great chart to help students apply good practicing techniques at home. I think this is a fabulous way to ensure our students are becoming good practicers at home!

Thoughts? Comments? 🙂

What I Want My Young Students to Know

July 22, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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If you were to teach a beginning student for maybe a few months or a year, what would you hope that they would know by the time they stopped taking lessons from you? In order to feel like you gave them a great foundation to build on, and that their new teacher will be able to pick right up where you left off without needing to reteach concepts, what would they need to know? Even if they will be continuing to study with you, what would you like them to know and learn early on in their study to lay a great foundation for their piano study over the course of the rest of their life?

Here’s a little list I came up with of skills & knowledge I would want my students to have. These are pretty basic, but sadly a lot of young students don’t really know these basic things. If I got a young transfer student who knew and really understood all of these things and was able to play them well, I would be thrilled!

Technique

*good hand position – curved fingers, no collapsing knuckles, plays on the fingertips instead of flats of fingers
*legato playing – able to play nice legato phrases, including lifting of the wrist at the ends of phrases
*staccato playing – able to play nice, short staccatos – see my “basketball analogy” 🙂
*dynamics – plays good, contrasting forte and piano

Theory

*knows all the notes on the grand staff – and really knows them – not just by finger numbers or by playing in C or G position
*basic understanding of intervals and primary chords
*knows and understands the rhythms of basic notes – quarter, half, whole, eighth
*knows and understands sharps and flats

What would you add to this list?

laying a foundation: the joy of music

July 22, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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Tonight my sister and I were talking about teaching piano (she is also a piano teacher!). One thing we talked about was the challenges of transfer students. At times it can be challenging and slightly frustrating when you need to completely re-teach basic concepts, such as note names or rhythms.

This conversation got me thinking about my own teaching, particularly of young beginners. Do I teach them the things they need to know to become good musicians? Do I give them a good foundation that will help them succeed with other teachers they may study with?

Teachers of young beginners really do have a great responsibility. It is at the beginning that the student starts to form habits – good or bad – in their technique, their practicing, and their performance. A child’s first experience with piano lessons will probably remain with them for a long time. If they have a bad experience, they may not progress much, and probably will quit early on; if they have a good experience it will make all the difference in their success and their later piano study. If they learn how to practice early on, they will learn so much more and progress much more quickly. If their love for music is nurtured through a positive and engaging experience, they will likely be music-makers and music-lovers for life!

So how do we give our beginning students a good foundation? What are the things that are important? (I hope you take a second and take our poll this week, for it deals with this exact question!) I believe there are many factors, all important to some degree.

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I believe that two very important ways that we can give our students a good foundation of piano study are:

fostering an appreciation and a love of music, and by
making lessons a positive, fun experience that will give the student a good attitude toward piano study.

(I also believe that teaching them good technique and theory and practicing skills are of the utmost importance….we will talk about that later!)

Do we make lessons a fun and positive experience for our students? Do we plan fun and creative ways to teach and reinforce musical concepts? Do we introduce them to the joy that is found in music? I think these are great questions to ask ourselves periodically as we evaluate our teaching.

I think that Bonnie Jack said it so well in her post about teaching a first lesson. She talked about the importance of getting your students excited about piano lessons. She said,

“Do something fun! Young children especially have eagerly looked forward to this day, filled with the wonder of music that is so evident to their little minds. Be careful to nurture that wonder, rather than squashing it with lengthy explanations and assignments. Get off the bench. Move to the music. Do not for a moment let this newly opened mind begin to believe that music is boring and unmoving.”

I love discussing teaching and sharing ideas with other music teachers, and have really been inspired lately by so many of your blogs, particularly by ideas of how to teach concepts in fun and engaging ways. I am excited to use many of these ideas in my own teaching, and really want to strive to make my teaching more fun and engaging, particularly for young beginners.

Amy Greer, a pianist and piano teacher who blogs at tenthousandstars.net, shared a wonderful quote by Kodaly that I love:

“If at the most susceptible age, from the age of 6 to 16, the child isn’t at least once moved by the life-giving power of great music, later he will hardly be influenced by it. Many times one single experience opens the young soul to music for his whole life. This experience shouldn’t be left to chance: to obtain it is the duty of the schools.” -Kodaly (1929)

I think of my two-year-old son who is so into music right now. He sings as he plays with his toys throughout the day; he dances around whenever there is music playing; he climbs up on the piano bench and loves to play the piano. I think of the joy that music already brings to his life, and how much that joy and appreciation will grow if my husband and I continue to nurture that love of music in him. I believe it is the same with our piano students – if we nurture that love of music (that I really think is inherent in young children) by making piano lessons fun and engaging and by bringing great music into their lives, we really can lay a strong musical foundation that will bless their lives for a long time.

Laying a Foundation

July 20, 2010 Jennifer Boster

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What gives a beginning piano student a good foundation? If you were to teach a young beginner for a few months or a year, what skills and knowledge would you wish to teach them in that time to start them off on a lifetime of music making? What skills would you hope they could attain before studying with a new teacher? What is most important for a beginner to learn?

**Thanks to a survey-taker for the idea for our topic of the week! Yes, I do read your responses and love your input on what we should discuss on this blog. If you haven’t yet taken our reader survey, head on over!