Greetings everybody,
I have an 11-year-old student who taught herself to play by ear, but unfortunately got into the bad habit of playing with straight and/or collapsed fingers. Unless she corrects this I see a limited future for her piano-wise. I review the correct shape of the hand at every lesson but obviously don't have any control over how she plays between lessons. She says playing 'my way' feels weird so I am sure she reverts to 'her way' when she practices. Does anybody have any suggestions of how I might help her correct this? She has a good ear and obviously loves music. It would be nice to provide her with the tools to pursue it.
Thanks so much!
Kelly

Unfortunately, your only hope is for "her" to want to correct the problem and take your advice.

As you said, you can't correct the problem if she doesn't follow through when she's practicing everyday. If you can get her to play "your way" and listen enough to hear a difference in tone, it might work
Good luck......