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My daughter has learned piano for about a year, and she is on the second book of Thompson and Beyer. She's definitely making progress, but she can seldom play a piece without any mistake. Her teacher says it's because she couldn't concentrate enough. I'm wondering if this is common for a 6 years old. Also, do you let your student move on even if she/he couldn't play the current piece flawlessly?
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I think that she should be learning to play some pieces flawlessly and from memory as well.
This is a game that I used depending on the skill of the student. It is based on trying just that extra bit to play without a mistake once they have learned the piece, and only then.
For example:
8 measure pieces -
If they make a mistake, they must start again. This points to a weak spot that might need to be worked on.
If that doesn't work, go back to a four measure section.
A development on that game -
I place 5 nickles on the piano.
For each time they play the piece correctly, a nickle goes to the other side of the piano. They only have 5 chances
Or a dime, or something! Or 10 changes. You can vary the game. It should always have it turn out positive.
This makes them give that extra effort to be extra careful.
You can up it to 10
Or place a dollar and they must do it 5 times in a row without a mistake.
I rarely did this, but when I saw they the child just needed to concentrate an itsy bit more, it worked.
For a parent, if you dole out 10 minutes of computer or gametime, that could work - but ONLY if they know the piece fairly well and save it for something special, not an every week game.
"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything."
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For a parent, if you dole out 10 minutes of computer or gametime, that could work - but ONLY if they know the piece fairly well and save it for something special, not an every week game.
This is a joke right? Tongue in cheek, right?
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One size does not fit all, especially at age 6. It depends on a lot of things - the nature of the mistakes, her practice habits, her cognitive and motor development, etc...
"If we continually try to force a child to do what he is afraid to do, he will become more timid, and will use his brains and energy, not to explore the unknown, but to find ways to avoid the pressures we put on him." (John Holt) www.pianoped.comwww.youtube.com/user/UIPianoPed
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... and the definition of flawlessly.
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I'm guessing that by "flawlessly" they mean all the correct notes. Perhaps even rhythmically correct. Of course, this is just the beginning, not the end!
"Those who dare to teach must never cease to learn." -- Richard Henry Dann Full-time Private Piano Teacher offering Piano Lessons in Olympia, WA. www.mypianoteacher.com Certified by the American College of Musicians; member NGPT, MTNA, WSMTA, OMTA
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It's often a personality thing too. Having said that, some teachers do not seem to take playing flawlessly as seriously as others. If *every* piece is required to be entirely flawless the learning process might get somewhat bogged down, but to never be capable of a flawless performance also suggests something is missing in the process. At which point we come back to the idea that it might simply be the child's personality - they have little interest in polishing something they already 'get' in an intellectual sense.... whereas other children are obsessive right from the start.
Teacher, Composer, Writer, Speaker Working with Hal Leonard, Alfred, Faber, and Australian Music Examination Board Music in syllabuses by ABRSM, AMEB, Trinity Guildhall, ANZCA, NZMEB, and more www.elissamilne.wordpress.com
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Elissa, I think my attempt at sarcasm flew under the radar. No one plays flawlessly. We approach it, and the best get very darn close. I've had the privilege of hearing many of the greats live in concert and have yet to hear a "flawless" performance. I would be thrilled, however, if my performances even approached those in brilliance.
PS I know you know this, and we're really just discussing a student getting through 8 measures without playing wrong notes or pausing at bar lines, etc.
"Those who dare to teach must never cease to learn." -- Richard Henry Dann Full-time Private Piano Teacher offering Piano Lessons in Olympia, WA. www.mypianoteacher.com Certified by the American College of Musicians; member NGPT, MTNA, WSMTA, OMTA
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Thanks lilylady for the advice. I'll try some game to encourage her to concentrate more and see.
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Re: Elissa Milne
I think you are right and this has sth to do with personality. she's very frustrated about noting being able to complete a piece without wrong note, and the more she's frustrated, the more mistakes she makes.
i also notice that some kids can "skip" a mistake - if they play a wrong note, they just keep going, so that they can still complete a piece fluently. Not true for my daughter though, she knows her mistake, and always wants to correct it right away, and ends up back and forth on a measure during a play. So it's a dilemma for me - if i don't ask her to practice the erred part more, how could she improve? but if i always get her attention on the mistakes, she is more unlikely to let it go during a play.
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I knï½ï½—, ï½ï½Žï½„ it seeï½ï½“ tï½ã€€ï½ï½… thï½ï½” it's hï½ï½ï½…less tï½ã€€ï½†ï½‰ï½Žï½„ ï½ï½•ï½” ... btw, the quï½ï½”e in yï½ï½•ï½’ signï½ï½”ure is reï½ï½Œï½Œï½™ã€€ï½…nlightening. thï½ï½Žï½‹ï½“ï¼ One size does not fit all, especially at age 6. It depends on a lot of things - the nature of the mistakes, her practice habits, her cognitive and motor development, etc...
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Not true for my daughter though, she knows her mistake, and always wants to correct it right away, and ends up back and forth on a measure during a play. So it's a dilemma for me - if i don't ask her to practice the erred part more, how could she improve? but if i always get her attention on the mistakes, she is more unlikely to let it go during a play.
Check out this pro-tip: Either side of the crack. (I still don't much care for Hough's political musings, but when it comes to piano, his entries are interesting.) By the way, with respect to the original question: (NB: I am not a piano teacher so please do take what I say with a bucket of salt.) It seems too much to require a six year old kid to play note perfect (on even one piece) before going on to the next book/level. I mean, we don't require our kids to get 100's on their tests to graduate them from 1st grade to 2nd grade at their elementary school. So if a young piano student gets most of the pieces right, isn't it ok for him/her to move on and just enjoy the learning experience?
Last edited by MegumiNoda; 04/29/10 08:03 PM.
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fallapart,
I am not a teacher. I am a parent.
When I record my kids (7 and 4.5) on video, they pay more attention to what they're playing. I play it back to them and they point out the mistakes themselves.
Mom of Two Girls Who Used to Be Beginners
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Not true for my daughter though, she knows her mistake, and always wants to correct it right away, and ends up back and forth on a measure during a play This seems to be a pretty common problem, especially for kids who have any sort of perfectionism streak in them. Carried to extremes, this perfectionism can be a clear problem. You don't want kids to develop a habit of repeating measures every time they slip up a bit. They will never become comfortable performers that way. On the other hand, you don't want kids to be completely cavalier about mistakes either. They need to practice measures with an eye on controlling all of the components of the music (the notes, the rhythm, the musical line, etc.) until it is repeatably 'perfect.' That's what makes a comfortable and confident performer. Even at age six, teaching a bit about sight reading may help students who have the perfectionism gene to use that gene properly -- as they practice to gain command of of music -- while helping them to understand that flow is important too. A kid who has been taught to sight read, and encouraged to do it as a regular part of their practicing, may be able to overcome the urge to go back all the time whenever they make a mistake in performance.
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My daughter has learned piano for about a year, and she is on the second book of Thompson and Beyer. She's definitely making progress, but she can seldom play a piece without any mistake. Her teacher says it's because she couldn't concentrate enough. I'm wondering if this is common for a 6 years old. Also, do you let your student move on even if she/he couldn't play the current piece flawlessly? I haven't read the rest of the comments yet, am I'm pressed for time as a student is due to arrive, but let's please remove the word "flawless" from your vocabulary. For a young child, age 6, with one year of lessons, it should be all about the enjoyment of learning and playing and doing her best to become accurate in thinking and in her actions. Some pieces last a big longer in study than others, but no beginning/elementary piece should take longer than 3-4 weeks to finish. Most of them are accomplished with the first time it gets on the assignment page, the teacher (me) walks them through the first playing and we notice things that are in the piece: what kinds of note values, seeing the phrasing, reading the words if there are some. Observing and marking the page if necessary. I use color coding for vividness and reminders. The next week, the piece comes back for the first time and is acceptable. There may be some unfinished polishing to do and it's assigned. Or further, more in depth instructions for practicing are given and previewed at this lesson. Student does better in the presentation next week and either, one more week to continue polishing, or a week to work on putting memory into place. My elementary students have between 4 and 8 songs assigned per week so it's not a problem if one is taking more time, as there are pieces being finalized, then memorized. And, a new piece will be in the mix as one piece exits. Perfection is bogus, all the child as a young musician can be is himself or herself based on the musical ideas already learned in progress. Be accepting and encouraging of all positive things. Don't bring up things in a negative way or demand a response or finished product. She is a human being in the process of learning an art and she is soaking it up according to her present abilities and the teaching she is receiving. Do you have questions about how well the teacher is doing at teaching her? Betty Patnude
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i also notice that some kids can "skip" a mistake - if they play a wrong note, they just keep going, so that they can still complete a piece fluently. Not true for my daughter though, she knows her mistake, and always wants to correct it right away, and ends up back and forth on a measure during a play. So it's a dilemma for me - if i don't ask her to practice the erred part more, how could she improve? but if i always get her attention on the mistakes, she is more unlikely to let it go during a play. Just one point from someone who isn't a teacher. Everyone, that is everyone makes mistakes. Concert pianists make mistakes. The great Artur Schnabel's recordings are peppered with them. There is no such thing as a flawless performance. Of course it is a matter of degree and it's difficult to know exactly the nature of the mistakes you are taking about. However, although it isn't always possible, I think it's important that your daughter is encouraged to acquire the habit of playing through the mistakes and then going back afterwards to sort out any problems. I also wonder whether your anxiety about this matter might actually exacerbate the problem.
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No one plays flawlessly. We approach it, and the best get very darn close. I've had the privilege of hearing many of the greats live in concert and have yet to hear a "flawless" performance.
I'm glad you mentioned that. I won't say more about "flawless" except that I think it can make people crazy if they think it exists.
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Not true for my daughter though, she knows her mistake, and always wants to correct it right away, and ends up back and forth on a measure during a play. So it's a dilemma for me - if i don't ask her to practice the erred part more, how could she improve? but if i always get her attention on the mistakes, she is more unlikely to let it go during a play.
Check out this pro-tip: Either side of the crack. (I still don't much care for Hough's political musings, but when it comes to piano, his entries are interesting.) By the way, with respect to the original question: (NB: I am not a piano teacher so please do take what I say with a bucket of salt.) It seems too much to require a six year old kid to play note perfect (on even one piece) before going on to the next book/level. I mean, we don't require our kids to get 100's on their tests to graduate them from 1st grade to 2nd grade. So if a young piano student gets most of the pieces right, isn't it ok for him/her to move on and just enjoy the learning experience? www.stephenhough.comHe does have some good practice tips to share, nothing new really, but I find them to be especially interesting coming from a master like Hough. go to his website and in the right hand corner is a link to his blog. I think "either side of the crack" might be his tip #3 in a series.
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I would never want a student to stop at a mistake and correct it either when playing for me or during her practice. Stopping is an intrusion to the musical phrase or section she is trying to play. We will never get through hearing the piece if we always stop for a mistake. Learn to play through even though a mistake has occured.
Mistakes are sometimes very casual and won't happen again in the next playing. A true mistake is totally wrong, not even close to right, and in a youngster the teacher wants to verify that the student does not have a problem in understanding a concept or executing it. Mistakes come and go.
I make a point of asking my students to show me all their mistakes. They get to be proud of not having any to show to me. I say, "The more mistakes you make, the better we can fix them, until you have no mistakes left to be made!"
Perfectionists are alarmed by mistakes, it gets their full attention, and the excuse/explanation that follows takes paragraphs to explain, oh the blame and guilt that follow a mistake. Absolutely an unnecessary reaction and very detrimental to boot.
Tension and anxiety begins to build up when a student is too concerned, too cautious, working to make sure he doesn't fail, which is totally different that working to succeed.
Let's not do this to our children. Approach music with enthusiasm and enjoyment and keep encouraging. Let the child be musical without the element of perfection or flawless. Good work and consistency of purpose will get her there when her basic eduction at the piano is completed, providing the teacher is a true musician and capable of communicating the joys of music.
Would you tell your child they are breathing wrong? That is about how I equate music as related to the being of any child. Music should be as natural and untarnished an experience as breathing is to the child in beginning lessons.
Acceleration and pursuit of accomplishment will happen when the child is ready. And, it needs to be done in a positive and rewarding way. It is about the inner works of the child, the spirit, and the person she is innately, and the things that are instilled to her in childhood through experience, carefully and thoughtfully placed there.
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Mistakes are also an intrusion though, Betty. I like the positivity of your attitude very much. It's important not to get bogged down in negativity about mistakes. But the more times you play from start to finish without stopping to fix anything, the more you create the probability of going wrong in future. And the less likely you are to know what to fix.
The key, for me, is to have two totally separate modes. The first is learning/practising mode and the second is performance mode. In the latter you never stop. In the former you always stop. Then you think. Then you FIX the cause of uncertainty at once. Then you go back into it and have no need to either stop or go wrong. Do this even once and you may well have fixed it virtually once and for all. Forget about it and you may need to spend hours to remove a moment where you begin go wrong habitually. That's really not fun.
When fixing, the big thing is never to "half-stop". To stop completely is great. You know where you went wrong, because you only just did it. If you just change the note and continue, you have learned nothing- except how to get from a right note to a wrong one, then to the right one again. This is the one thing that should never happen. You need to stop and learn how tog et from A-B. Not from A-C and then to C-B. But if you go back and seek to get a complete unit- whether it's two bars of four or whatever, you have replaced the inaccurate memory with an accurate one. If you start this way, you soon have the ability to enter performance mode. This is vital too- but you need to prepare yourself for it.
When you prepare properly- why would you be panicking in performance mode? Instability causes panic. That comes from the wrong-mindset in preparation. To play a wrong note is not to fail. You need to make it clear that wrong notes are done by everyone ONCE - but you then need to see them off for good. You don't have to be rewarding towards sloppiness to be positive. You just have to show that wrong notes don't matter IF you fix them up. When you make it clear how easy the fix is to make, there's no negativity. It's just part of what you do to play well. You don't have to make it look as though you are castigating a child for mistakes to solve them. The student has nothing that they need to make excuses or apologise for. They just need to know what the next course of action should be.
The pianists who make the most "accidental" mistakes are those who tolerate the most accidental mistakes in practise. Most accidents are preventable.
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Betty, To some others: for heaven's sake, we are talking about a 6 year old girl who has been playing for one year. Let's get things into perspective.
Last edited by John_B; 04/29/10 07:44 PM.
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My daughter has learned piano for about a year, and she is on the second book of Thompson and Beyer. She's definitely making progress, but she can seldom play a piece without any mistake. Her teacher says it's because she couldn't concentrate enough. I'm wondering if this is common for a 6 years old. Also, do you let your student move on even if she/he couldn't play the current piece flawlessly? In my studio, if student make a mistake in the middle of the song, I will still let them continue to finish their song. When they finished, I will show them how the mistake part should sound like and try to correct them. I will also ask them to play one time (just the mistake part) in correct way. If they are able to do that, I will pass the song and move on to other song. If they are able to do that only after couple times of attempting, I will ask them to review the song for one more week and play it for me again next week. Just want to say too that I don't think I am perfectionist, and this is what I would do in my studio.
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Betty, To some others: for heaven's sake, we are talking about a 6 year old girl who has been playing for one year. Let's get things into perspective. It's never too early to play accurately within your limits. The habits you learn young are those that become the most deeply ingrained. The question should be how to achieve more through encouragment, without being negative or off-putting. Seeking improvement and positivity are not mutually exclusive, you know. If a child accidentally steps into the road, does a parent seek to stop them from doing so in future? Or do they say, "they're only six, they'll probably do that from time to time". Mistakes at a piano aren't life threatening, but sometimes there's good reason why you seek to improve things. Pretending that inherent negatives are positives is not necessary. You just focus on the positives of how to progres.
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Flawless surely is contextually understood here?
We mean no wrong notes, a steady pulse, accurate rhythm, correct touch and contrasting dynamic levels as indicated in the score (both of these last two qualities have a multitude of possible 'correct' realisations at this stage). Hand position hopefully graceful and without tension, but maybe that's still being worked on, depending on the physical propensity of the child.
If a child can't *ever* manage to play through a piece with a basically correct realisation of the score (I'm confident this is what we are actually talking about) then yes, I do think something is wrong.
Teacher, Composer, Writer, Speaker Working with Hal Leonard, Alfred, Faber, and Australian Music Examination Board Music in syllabuses by ABRSM, AMEB, Trinity Guildhall, ANZCA, NZMEB, and more www.elissamilne.wordpress.com
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I have never missed an opportunity toward making progress with a student. No one has ever gotten away with anything. I am a taskmaster with a cheerful attitude and a "can do" persona.
I examine all things with my student but we do it with the idea of examing what we heard and saw on the page and did we meet the composer's intention in this piece? We check to see that the student is comfortable with how he feels while playing - physically and mentally. "Do you feel good about that?" "Did you notice any problems?" "What did you notice?" "Are you satisfied with it?
Kids will give you good answers if you ask questions they can respond to. They are the first to tell me they want to play it again because they heard or felt something to fix on line 2 measure 3. They are able to choose to go back again or to go on. Most will go back willingly and find exactly what needs working on at the lesson.
When my students begin to build their own new music independently - intermediate level - ususally 3rd year - they are full of confidence and enthusiasm and reliable working skills and habits. Just yesterday, a girl in 3rd year, having her 11th birthday this week - brought in the 2 most recently assigned pieces from the week before, playing them incredibly well in every way. Now the final polishing and memory work in the next week maybe two. But, she also went home with 2 more new pieces of music to prepare on her own. Her markings she made during practice at home are only essential markings that she needed to make - she didn't miss a thing on the music.
The next thing I expect to have happen in about 3 months is that she will continue to get new music but will sight read them very well at the time I put them on the music rack and write their names on the assignment list in her notebook.
I think creativing an independent learning musician is allowing them to make their own mistakes, correct them, and for everyone in her/his support group from the beginning to be only positive and encouraging.
I know the harm parents, even if they say they mean well, can do. A supportive parent needs to take anything and everything up with the teacher without the student being aware of the issues the adults might have in meeting the students needs. I think our job is to help the student through the obstacles and keep them from harm, being trustworthy guides.
Woe does not belong in music making and is dysfunctional to the pursuit of happiness and excellence. Woe makes people miserable.
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As teachers I think none of us would want a student whose ability to play expressively was paralized by their fear of making a mistake. Playing a piece well involves so much more than perfect rhythm and notes. The best performances I have witnessed were not note-perfect but could not be considered anything other than perfection in their ability to move an audience.
At the age of 6 is the time when you can create an understanding that, while paying careful attention to detail is important, the overall goal is to create beautiful art. She's young - the piano should be a source of enjoyment for her, not a source of stress. Focusing on the negative will be counter productive.
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I'm enjoying this discussion, as I am continually evaluating and adjusting my teaching processes.
I am very much an inconsistent teacher at best! Judging by what I believe to be the student's ability at the moment, I may pass one student on, but make another student playing in a very similar way, repeat the piece. Perhaps I have one student spending a couple weeks on something that another student can sight-read at the same level. My standards for them are individual.
In early pieces, I am looking to see if they have mastered the basic concept presented within the piece. Is the piece teaching dynamics? Then I will be pickier about that particular concept, and more forgiving of other mistakes. I also am pickier about mistakes that recur over and over.
Keep in mind that a 6-year-old will developmentally not be able to follow as many steps as an older child. Right around age six is when they are learning to process several steps at once.
I do have students who seem to have trouble with attention span, as the OP mentions. Getting them to concentrate all the way through a piece is a challenge. I like the suggestion above of recording them. Sometimes a simple "I'm going to sit back and count your mistakes" works. They play, I count (silently.) When they are done, I point out the mistakes. Stopping and restarting after a mistake counts as an additional mistake (a mistake in rhythm.) Then they play again, and see if they can beat their own record. This simple game seems to help some of them concentrate better. I tease them gently as I do this - I tell them I'm trying to make them nervous. That takes the pressure off a bit.
Working on duets is a great way to get past the stopping and restarting.
Performance opportunities also encourage mastery. My students make a lot more mistakes when they "don't care". A child performing for her parents or teacher may not feel the same pressure to succeed as in a performance situation.
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One of the things we do is to make a very clear distinction between "practice mode" and "performance mode". When you are in practice mode, you stop when you make mistakes and correct (5-10 times depending on conditions). When you are in performance mode, you continue if you make a mistake. This seems to work well for us because it is very clear to the kids exactly when they should be stopping and when you shouldn't. Note that "performance mode" can occur at any time (e.g. during a lesson or during practice) and isn't restricted to "real" performances, it's simply an explicit way to clearly state expectations.
As for the conditions in which mistakes are made (referencing lollipops statement) we find that our daughter sometimes has the opposite effect. When she is more casual, she relaxes more and is less likely to make a mistake, but during performances/competitions/etc she can sometimes tense up and become more likely to make mistakes. So the situations in which mistakes are more likely occur can definitely vary.
And finally about a 6yo with a year of experience. It's not uncommon or unusual for that level of expectation given the age and experience.
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As teachers I think none of us would want a student whose ability to play expressively was paralized by their fear of making a mistake.
True, but it must be remembered that fear of making a mistake often comes through likelihood of making a mistake. It's not the only source. But it's a very powerful source of nerves. Confidence comes from nowhere more than than assurance. If you don't deal with things at source, they become likely in performance. And no amount of positivity will help if the performance breaks down. Kids are often very self-critical themselves. Having been told that wrong notes don't matter may not help, if they see peers play more accurately. They need to be shown how to deal with them in the simplest way possible. That does not mean making them feel like they have failed when they make mistakes. But, important, neither does it mean pretending that a high frequency of mistakes in practise does not matter.
At the age of 6 is the time when you can create an understanding that, while paying careful attention to detail is important, the overall goal is to create beautiful art. She's young - the piano should be a source of enjoyment for her, not a source of stress. Focusing on the negative will be counter productive.
Which is why you do not do so. I don't think such collossal straw-man arguments are much use here. I like Betty's positive attitude tremendously. It's a fine example. However, I could never condone the idea of encouraging kids to think that mistakes in practise do not matter. Psychology aside, they do. There is plenty of evidence about that, in terms of the way brains and neural pathways develop. So you need to show how to fix things, without making negatives. It's interesting to note that Anton Rubinstein was said to have been very strict about accuracy from students- despite being renowned for his countless wrong notes. He knew the difference between giving a spirited performance and setting all-important foundations.
It's simply not a case of either being positive about detrimental errors or making scathingly negative criticisms. That's a huge simplification.
PS. Regarding continuity of rhythm, I recently started using an exercise for sight-reading where the students must play the rhythm as written but are not permitted to play ANY correct notes at all. I alternate this with another one, where they are required to play every note flawlessly, but with no rhythm whatsoever. They can take 10 seconds per note and are encouraged to tap the key first, to aid certainty. I think these opposing extremes could be very valuable. One is only about not stopping. The other is only about taking your time and being certain to read properly and plan, rather than ever going for a "hit and hope". Blend the results together and you should have a nice balance.
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My daughter has learned piano for about a year, and she is on the second book of Thompson and Beyer. She's definitely making progress, but she can seldom play a piece without any mistake. Her teacher says it's because she couldn't concentrate enough. I'm wondering if this is common for a 6 years old. Also, do you let your student move on even if she/he couldn't play the current piece flawlessly? Thompson and Beyer is a recipe for disaster. Do you have more current method books available? One thing your daughter is missing is intervallic reading. It is perfectly normal for 6-year-old kids to play pieces with flaws. For my own students, I look for correct notes, fingering, and rhythm. Those are required for every piece assigned, although I've learned to "open one eye and close one eye." Sometimes when the kid plays 75% correct, it's time to put a sticker on the page and move on. Spending more than 3 or 4 weeks on the same 8-bar piece can drive a student (or teacher!) crazy.
Private Piano Teacher and MTAC Member
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re: Nyiregyhazi,
Thanks for the clarification - I completely agree with you. It wasn't my intent to state that students should never learn to play a piece without mistakes...simply that at the young age of 6 the joy of the piano should be the main focus. Hopefully a large portion of that joy comes from being able to play well - which, of course, involves the ability to play accurately without mistakes.
Many children take great pride in playing "flawlessly", others are so concerned about doing something wrong that their expressiveness suffers as a result. We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't encourage accuracy, but I've always found that by focusing mainly on the positive, the students' weaknesses improve as a result as their confidence grows. They are more willing to take chances in their learning if they feel as though they are successful.
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Thank you all for the great discussion and advice.
Betty, I'll be more positive and encouraging, focusing more on the love and enjoyment of music. John B. may have a point here: my own anxiety about the issue may affect my daughter's play.
In the meantime, we'll try Nyiregyhazi's sight reading method. I mention it to my daughter upon reading the post and she thinks keeping the rhythm without playing correct notes could be so much fun!
As for the method books, I have no idea. I thought Thompson an Beyer are pretty standard, no?
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Let me know how it goes. It's still very much an experimental idea, although I'm pretty confident that it has benefits. Remember though, they're not allowed to play ANY notes correctly at all! Also, I'd definitely complement it with the one that involves ultra-slow note reading with no rhythm whatsoever (get them to just pretend that they might get sent to bed early if they hit more than two or three wrong notes, say, but stress they have as much time as they need to tap the keys and check each one, so there's assurance rather than panic). Put the two of those together and before long when they play normally they'll routinely be playing completely random notes with no sense of rhythm at all. Or hopefully, they'll remember the good parts of each instead!
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:23 PM
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