Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum Need advice about daughter's piano lessons

I was actually going to agree with Gyro on this one; perhaps buying your daughter a digital or higher end keyboard with all the bells and whistles would be a way to introduce some FUN into her musical education.

I just passed out 'Axel F' to two groups of middle school/jr highers. I showed them how to work the 'single finger chord' in the LH, along with a dance/techno accompaniment style. They ate it up and it was a nice change of pace after CM evaluations last week.

By the way, what CM level is she?

That 'nugget' is also called fool's gold.......

Has your daughter been asked by you or her teacher what repertoire would interest her? I've often found that this age group requires a little of this and that. I have a student about the same age who suddenly sprung to musical life playing Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory selections, in the company of a required Menuet en Rondeau by Rameau. I had another student who agreed to play her Clementi sonatina in the company of Hedwig's Theme. All music, of any genre requires attention to phrasing, dynamics, form, etc. so a teacher must be a bit flexible and take a more creative approach when necessary. Just a few thoughts to pass along.

After taking lessons from the age of 7, I was SO DONE with piano in my middle school years. Or so I thought . . . turned out what (who) I was done with was Teacher #1, someone who taught me the mechanics through a steady diet of Hanon scales, classics and method books. I'm not knocking any of that, but there was something definitely missing for me. My parents finally tired of the daily battles and let me quit for a year. There was a feeling of emptiness though, and out of sheer luck I began after-school babysitting for a new neighbor who happened to be giving piano lessons. What I heard was so different and then at 13 I began studying with her -- and stayed with her until I graduated from high school.

What was so different? She made piano FUN. Oh, there were still scales and classics . . . but theory (new to me), learning to play musically and with expression, throwing in some jazz, rock and other more contemporary pieces -- and COMPOSITION. Part of my weekly assignment involved composition -- and that's what turned everything around. The ability to create and not just replicate is very powerful.

Hope that helps.

I like that dimension of composing, Lisa.. It gives kids that sense of having something uniquely created by them..Thanks for sharing.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but CM Honors Recital doesn't mean very much. Almost everybody who signs up gets through, even the kids who play semi-horribly. And every branch sets its own criteria, so some branches take 4+, while others take 5 and 5+ only.

I'm not at all surprised by your daughter's problems. It's normal! I have a couple of middle-school students who are on the brinks of quitting piano, too. Sometimes a change of repertoire works; sometimes it doesn't. Actually, most of the time it doesn't. Kids who want to quit sooner or later will quit.

I'm not a big fan of CM, but if students and teachers cooperatively work toward the guidelines, all well and good. I agree that there will always be drop out students, and sometimes it has nothing to do with the quality of teaching, repertoire, etc. In the teenage range, (not applied here) kids develop other interests and focus on social/peer connections, and getting ready for college. No matter what you do in the way of creative lesson planning, it may be to no avail. The other issue may be tangential to the lesson framework altogether, like rebellions against authority.. could be directed at the parent, using the music lessons as a convenient displacement. If parent is applying a lot of pressure in regard to practicing, etc. student might want to be spared further turmoil. Lord only knows how many varied situations can present.