I just had to share this recent breakthrough with my colleagues, who I know have experienced similar joyful moments. I've had two new students enroll recently. I found myself almost dreading starting with these two, chastising myself for feeling that way. One student took lessons for a year, however, cannot read notes (former teacher wrote note names in). This child had a major chip on her shoulder and didn't like any of her former music books--she's 6. The other is preteen and seemed almost as if she'd been forced into lessons, although mom and she said that she wanted to learn piano. Hence, my dread. By the second lesson, both are smiling, cooperating and seemingly happy. I'm beginning to wonder if the negative attitude that some students have when they come to the first lesson is the result of a bad prior learning experience. I'm very relieved that we've connected.

That's awesome - you will probably make a real difference in the lives of these 2 students who likely would have given up on the piano had they not found you!

It is FREQUEENTLY coming SOLELY from horrible experiences with totally incompetent teachers.

Almost every transfer student I get cannot read bass clef, thinks that keys have assigned fingers (a huge problem when five-finger pieces are combined with too much fingering), thinks that the sustain pedal goes up and down with the hand, and in general thinks that "learning to play a song" involves about 2000 painful repitions--and thinks that reading and memorizing are the same thing.

The longer these transfer students have failed, the harder it is to turn them around. And the older they are, the greater chance they have had lessons for a longer period of time.

GaryD, I am shocked at the number of students I've had with most of the same issues you discuss above. The worst is a preteen who had 5 YEARS of music study (turns out she was in a class), came to her first lesson with page 1 of an advanced Sonata, assuring me she could play it. I sat down and prepared to be wowed, and was shocked that she started on the wrong notes with both hands, rhythms were horrendous, and if I didn't know the name of the sonata, I NEVER would've guessed what she was playing. A month later, and the dear girl still cannot read notes. How does this happen? I gently and positively moved her into a level 2 popular music book, a notespeller, am giving her composition projects in addition to basically starting her all over again on note reading. Thankfully, she wants to learn how to read notes, and has been very cooperative.