I've talked a bit about my ear learner. Let's call him Ryan. Ryan has a very strong interest in oldies and has a very rock 'n' roll vibe. He is learning guitar and piano, and has taken drum lessons. He has an interest in learning didgeridoo as well, among other instruments. Funky and groovy are good words for this kid. He has perfect pitch and good aural memory, so he picks up songs he hears after only a few listens.

I have encouraged him to develop his gift by helping him to take licks from songs he picks up and expand them into full songs. I've taught the circle of fifths, common chord progressions, and I'm starting to teach left hand patterns. Still, I've been somewhat at a loss as to how to teach him to read music. The trouble is, he doesn't want to read anything he doesn't love to play, and he doesn't love to play anything he can read.

I have a Ben Folds Five book, and I realized that "Narcolepsy" is actually pretty easy to play. He took to it right away, and now he's a big Ben Folds fan. He talks about him, as well as about new Ben Folds songs he's learned, at each lesson. Which kind of undermines my efforts to give him music he hasn't heard before, but it's really fun to introduce a student to something that really gets him excited. And he's working harder than I've ever seen him do.

Sweetest 6-yr-old boy ever:

He was working on a part in his song, and I had him do the section 5 times. Afterward I said, "Good job - and your last one was your BEST one!"

He said, "I know! Because I practiced it the most. It's just like planting a seed. The longer you leave it in the ground and the more you water it, the more beautiful of a flower it becomes!"

Took the words right out of my heart.

(Of course, he's usually talking about his birthday, and his favorite basketball team, and his uncle and aunt's birthdays, and his neighbor's cat's birthday)....

^^^Wonderful! Thanks, I needed that.

Darling. I may just steal it.

A 5 year old student (who started lessons at age 4) was about half way through his lesson yesterday. We'd been singing songs from a new primer book. He requested to sing them all, and I went along with it. He had also done some piano playing. At one point he said "I want to do something funner". And so we did.

I got a kick out of his word "funner", but appreciate the direct feedback. Ended up using a magnetic board...reviewing EBG and more. And he was happy. Later as his brother had his lesson, I could hear the 5 year old humming as he played with Legos. (The brothers arrive at same time and wait during each other's lesson.)

This felt like a success to me. The previous week this 5 year old was not having fun in his lesson...finding note reading difficult (hence we started a new, simpler supplementary book...and I worked on making reviews into a game).

it's hard to notice how quickly i can get into "piano is a discipline" mode with my young ones.
so, today i started a new assignment with my little ones to come up with 3 animal sounds on the piano this week (like a mouse eating cheese, or a gorilla stomping through a forest, etc). next week we'll sing Old MacDonald Had A Farm and incorporate our animal sounds. they were VERY excited!

I can relate to that description of being in "piano is a discipline" mode. With some you can push ahead, and other times it's pretty clear that they need more fun.

Little kids show their annoyance readily. (I had an unpleasant situation today along these lines). It's good to recognize that they're annoyed and re-evaluate how to proceed. It usually means I need to back up and cover some concepts again or in a different way...or I need to recognize that the child is learning a completely new concept...and I've moved too quickly.

This happened today in starting the transition to notes on the staff (with a 6 year old). It helped to do worksheets/game to distinguish between notes on lines and spaces etc. Lesson ended well, but frustrating initially. (This child missed last week due to parent forgetting lesson...and has apparently forgotten a lot as she's had little help at home. It was also back to re-teaching orientation to keyboard, steady beat etc.) Ugh! Next week we'll start off with a review...and I'll remember to Keep It Simple!

Maybe this is too little to post. But here it is anyway. I had an adult student who stopped lessons beginning this month due to needing to help at family owned restaurant (hired help quit I suppose). She had progressed well in just 6 months. Also she brought me tomatoes from her garden in fall. I enjoyed teaching her.

Anyway, she just called. They've got help again at their business and she'll start up lessons again in April. I feel happy!

If the 3 adults I have continue, maybe I'll organize a recital for adults after all. I had considered it, but then one left for 2 months due to a work assignment...he returned and another stopped lessons. Now that they're all back, I'll see. Maybe this summer.

So, asking the birthday girl (at her piano lesson) what she might be thinking of doing when she grows up, she replied:




Become a piano teacher! Nice!

I have a wood block perpetual calendar in my studio. (Three block set with month, day and day of week.) I had a student ask what it is. I told her it's a calendar showing what day it is.

Then she said "How does it move?" Obviously she assumed it would move automatically. I told her I flip the blocks to change them.

Did flashcards with a student yesterday. One of the cards showed a picture of the keyboard with an X on C. It asked for two enharmonic names for the marked note. She told me C and C-sharp-flat.

An adult student told me yesterday that her parents are visiting from China. She brought me a tin containing loose green tea that her parents had brought. Beautiful tin with Chinese writing. Had a cup of tea this morning. Mild, delicate flavor with no bitterness. Nice to experience something different. And I'll save the tin after eventually finishing tea. I also love the way the lid fits...not the lids we see here.

I know this is a small thing. But it's a kind gesture like this that makes life beautiful.

Ever heard of Donna Mints - yum yum. To find out more turn to page 38 of Piano Adventures Lesson book level 1.

I corrected a few times but he didn't catch it. I was trying not to laugh

^^^LOL. I have a student who calls them Dominoes and Sonic. (Fast-food restaurants, for those not familiar.) She knows the real names, but uses the association to remember them, and sometimes the wrong word comes out.

I had a recital on Sunday. On Wednesday prior, one of my students, who was to perform "A Whole New World" explained that she had memorized the piece, and therefore set about learning the words, and asked if she could sing while she played. We arranged for a mic, and she did beautifully. Very poised and solid for an 8 year old. (She won our local "Idol" contest for her age group.) I moved her to the end of the recital so we didn't have to mess with the mic too much, so of course, that's the song that's now stuck in my head.

But I have opened a can of worms - several others are planning what they will sing at the next recital... I'm not a voice teacher, so I'm reluctant to move the focus away from piano. I have till next fall to think up reasons why they can't sing. Hmmm, maybe we'll end with a Christmas carol concert where they all can sing together!

I love the Christmas carol sing idea! That could provide an opportunity for some of the more advanced students to try their hand at accompanying a group, too.

Recently a darling six-year-old student was telling me about playing one of her pieces for a small group of little friends. She said, "it felt like my Daddy was tickling me inside my stomach!" With her little blonde curls bouncing around as she prattled on, she was so cute I had to laugh out loud.

Today I sent a link of my updated policies and fees to all students/parents. After 4 years of teaching I've now got my fees up to the going rate after incremental yearly increases. It took me a while. I feel like I've come a LOOONG way in 4 years. This time I did not feel nervous about the increase, and today for the first time I turned away someone who inquired about lessons since my studio is full at the moment.

I'm just grateful about how it has all turned out. It seems like a milestone to get to this point of valuing my service and charging appropriately.

Reviving this thread, to post a little comment from one student before I forget it!

I have a new student, 1st grader. We were reviewing note values recently - whole, half, quarter. "And I know what eighth notes look like, too," she told me. "They have pony tails."

Hi Brinestone,

That is a great feeling when students bring good things as presents and remeber you A students often brings me boxes full of quail eggs.

My piano teaching method is not all invented by me. I have syntesized ideas of many different great musicians through centuries probably starting with J.S.Bach. Of course I have added a lot of things and created a working mixture.

Today, after reading a new heap of information and acquiring a lot of new ideas, the lessons I did with my students had changed. The new information in me is already working and has added new details. So I just went through a moment where it was felt how the new information in me works and improves me. It was so interesting and postive experience to catch such a moment. Have you had such experiences?

Best wishes to everybody.
Jaak

Here's a "funny"...

My husband said to me and my daughter the other day...

"The only thing I know for sure about piano is the difference between the white keys and the black keys is that the white keys are "regular" keys, and the black keys are sharps and flats."

I had to break his little bubble and inform him that white keys can also be sharps or flats.

He was not amused.

But I was.

LOL!!

Today on the bus to work the most gorgeous girl sat to me. I was eager to talk to her but I didn't have the stomach. I also had my headphones on. Suddenly I feel a tap on my shoulder and the beautiful sounds echo in the air : 'Is that Chopin Op.9 No.1?'. It sort of went on and when I had to get off she asked me if I'd want to come to her student recital.

These things just don't happen to you on a daily basis =]

Two happy thoughts:

1) The ear learner I mentioned earlier in this thread is . . . READING MUSIC!!! Like, really reading. He doesn't know every single note, but he knows most of them, and he's looking at the page to know what to do next. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I honestly thought he'd never truly become good at reading because it was so much easier to pick stuff out by ear. Now the trick will be to keep his ear strong so he can be versatile.

2) My five-year-old son is sticking with piano and still really enjoying it and progressing even faster than my other beginners, who are two or three years older than him. He plays "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" at least ten times a day, and he's trying to learn "Away in a Manger." It's so cute to see him concentrate at the piano and talk to himself as he practices.

what a lovely thread.. Lollipop.. I'm so sorry you lost your cat and hope you win the kitten war. (just give him one as a Christmas present).

I love my students and have gotten into giving them a little present every week (cheap crystals picked up a garage sell.. about 3 cents a piece). They absolutely love the gifts. I don't have many students.. just four (one of them adult and she doesn't get a present).

My doggie gets so excited when they come. He greets them lovingly and plops under the piano for their lesson. He has always enjoyed piano. I was rehearsing with a soprano.. O Holy Night.. and Pal, the doggie started singing along. I had to put him out.

side.

Last week, the mother of one of my students called to say that Fridays just weren't working out for them. They kept having scheduling conflicts and she (very nicely, I might add; this woman is an angel) asked if there was any way her daughter could switch to another day. The only thing I could come up with was to have her come at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, which basically makes dinner late and makes my kids, including a six-month-old baby, need to be good without me for 90 minutes two days in a row. I was nervous but hopeful.

Thursday was the first day we tried it, and it was AWFUL. My baby was totally losing it by the end, as were my three- and five-year-old. Dinner was rushed, I was stressed, and I wondered if I could keep doing this. My family is too young for me to teach more than an hour a day, which is why I scheduled lessons the way I did in the first place.

Anyway, I've been stewing for the past few days about whether to call the mom back and offer her Friday or just let her go. On Friday, a friend asked if I had any openings. I told her that I didn't really, even though I now technically have a slot on Friday open.

Today the mom of one of my students on Tuesdays called to tell me her daughter wants to quit piano. I just about shouted for joy, but I stayed professional on the phone.

The Friday girl's mom was ecstatic about switching to Tuesdays, I called my friend back to say I have a slot on Fridays if her cousin is still interested, and I have my old schedule back. I shouldn't be this happy about losing a student, but I am. I'd seen it (her quitting) coming anyway. She never practiced and didn't really seem to have a knack for piano, let alone much interest in it.

Perfect timing in how it all worked out. Congratulations Brinestone!

I have a student who came to lessons one day very excited. She told me her music teacher at school told her she can't answer any questions in class anymore because she always knows the answer! She was absolutely ecstatic about it. For Christmas this year, she gave me a cute coffee mug, but my favorite part was the card, where she told me that I was her favorite teacher. So sweet.

I also have another student who I started teaching at 4 1/2 years old. By the 3rd or 4th lesson he came to class with a song he had written on paper all by himself and played it through perfectly! His dad told me he wrote it just for me and couldn't wait to come to lessons that week to play it for me.

I love teaching so much!

You must be something special, trhmusic.

I have a student who wasn't progressing quite as well as I wanted (you may have heard of him on a separate thread on Pianist's Corner) who needed extra lesson time from me. Last Sunday, we had a lesson that went to about 70 minutes. His normal lesson is 30 minutes. But it seems to have sunk in finally!

Today, his mother arrived and gave me a chocolate ganache-covered cheesecake in the shape of a heart as way of thanks. YESSSS. Cheesecake is now Paleo.

Man, I wish one of my students' parents would bring ME a cheesecake. Heck, I wish anyone would bring me a cheesecake.

Maybe I should put a "cheesecake donations welcome" sign on my door.

I just found a great book of beginner recital pieces I'd lost! I brought cookies to a friend whose daughter took lessons from me for less than a year, and there it was sitting on her piano! Apparently when the daughter quit piano she never gave it back. Hooray!