Achievement Day Coasters

Over the weekend, Robyn and I worked as evaluators for the Fort Collins Music Teachers Association 'Achievement Day'.  Not only is this a great learning opportunity for the students that take part, it is a great opportunity for teachers to learn a bit about the world outside of their own studios.  Unlike competitions, achievement day participants include more than just the cream of the crop which allows evaluators to get a sense of what is really going on in other teacher's studios.

There are of course the precocious elementary school students who are used to excelling at everything, and the occasional dedicated High School student getting ready for college auditions. But most interesting to me are the "coasters" -  the kids who stick with piano for years doing a minimal amount of practice.  Coasters make steady but very slow improvement.  Coasters are the kids who have had lessons for 5-7 years and are still in method books.  They are almost slackers, but because they show up for lessons and even practice a bit during the week, they squeak by.  They have neither a drive for excellence nor a real desire to express themselves through music.  They hide in mediocrity,  that comfortable limbo that avoids the highs of success, or the lows of failure.  As a result, they do almost nothing for exceedingly long periods of time.

So, what keeps kids in this state of blah?  What prevents them from throwing themselves into something, anything, that interests them?  Is it possible to somehow teach a coaster to become a climber, an achiever, or an artist?  Should it bother us to have coasters in our studios or should we simply be glad they come to their lessons each week?  Should we allow these students to continue with lessons?  Can teachers influence a student who coasts in every other aspect of their lives to do something different with piano?

One thing is certain:  Coasters are no fun to teach.  They are predictable and lack the curiosity that enlivens the work done in lessons.  So, should we teachers keep dragging these students along?  I don't know.  I will say that I have had more than one student switch from coaster to climber.  I take no credit for the switch, however.

I know what to do with slackers:  Let them slack elsewhere.  I know what to do with climbers and achievers as well.  It's the coasters that are the challenge.  Thanks to achievement day, I know that ours is not the only studio  dragging a coaster or two along for the ride.

Amplify one, then amplify all.

Last night was the final round of Greeley's version of the Kiwani's Stars of Tomorrow competitions.  We had three students from our piano studio make it into the finals and they all played quite well, but none of them won.  Nonetheless, it was a very positive experience for all.  Furthermore, all of the winners played well and deserved recognition.  Elementary, Middle, and High School divisions were all awarded to pianists all from the same family.  The Best in Show award went to a high school violinist.

O.K., here is the gripe.  This is a talent show that accepts any kind of performer.  Singers and dancers are very popular and are always amplified.  In between singers, there are young pianists that are not amplified.  They sound like they are playing in another zip code.  The only way to compete in this situation is to resort to theatrics and banging the piano to smithereens.  Therefore, tasteful, polished performances don't stand a chance against loud, crass, and sloppy playing.  This is especially true in the elementary and middle school divisions because of smaller hands and smaller sounds.  If everyone were amplified then the pianists would be on equal footing with the 7 year olds singing something cute, the middle schoolers singing something country (and flat!), and the High-schoolers singing something inappropriate.  Not only that, but the expressive players would be on equal footing with the pounders.

It would be nice if they would have the piano tuned as well.  Maybe that's why they won't amplify the pianos...

Middle School Piano Students

Students in middle school are more likely to quit piano lessons than any other age group.  Why is this?  Here is a list of reasons.

1. Students are more self conscious of gender roles.  Boys frequently quit at this age because "piano is for girls".  In elementary school, we have roughly the same number of boys as we do girls enrolled in lessons.  By high school, girls outnumber boys by about 5 to 1.
2. Students are developing their sense of personal identity and are attempting to separate themselves from things they perceive as childish.  Students that started in elementary school can begin to view piano as something for kids.
3. Students are being allowed to make more decisions about what they do.  Piano lessons are often the most challenging activity kids are involved in.  Because kids at this age have difficulty seeing the long term rewards of playing the piano, they will frequently want to quit at this age because it is too hard.  Parents frequently will decide that they no longer want to "fight this battle", so the student is allowed to quit.
4. There is greater peer pressure to fit in.  Since piano is a pretty solitary activity most of the time, it is vulnerable to outside pressures.  When competing against more visible activities, such as sports, piano can be a hard sell.  Plus, most middle school bands and orchestras have no chair for a piano.  

So, how do we keep these students?  I think positive adult musical models help.  Assigning more popular music helps motivate students and gives them something that they are willing to play for their friends.  Offering group classes for students of similar ages can really help as well.  Taking students to piano concerts can help students envision piano as something for adults.  That can be a powerful motivator for a middle schooler who is trying to appear less childlike.  

No matter what we do, Middle School is a challenging time for students and their parents.  As teachers, we can do our best to be supportive and use our best motivational tools.  For parents, we recommend love and logic.

What qualifications does one need to teach piano?

I am continually amazed at how many people in my community teach piano who have little or no expertise in the subject.  People who barely play the instrument themselves take money to teach others the fundamentals of piano playing.  As a pianist who has dedicated the last 20+ years to the instrument, it is quite frustrating to see bright, enthusiastic young minds, eager to learn music, taken in by teachers who may have had lessons in high school, but quit because it was too hard.  There are teachers who can't sight read the simplest of music. There are teachers who can't count dotted rhythms. There are teachers who can't match pitch. There are teachers who teach using untunable  instruments that were built before we had the automobile.

How do I know this is true?  Because I talk to these people.  I meet them when I tune their pianos at home or at church.  I've even met them at local MTNA meetings.  I see a couple of old method books sitting next to the piano, and I ask "are you taking lessons?".  They will then say "no, I teach piano".  I will then say, "Oh!  How long have you been playing?"  Then they tell me something like,"Well, I had voice lessons in high school, and I've sort of taught myself to play.  When I had kids, I needed some extra money, and when I inherited this piano from my grandmother, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to start my own studio."  I then try to hide my feelings of disgust.

Is it not unethical to take a family's money and a student's time teaching a subject which is beyond your own comprehension?

Sorry for the rant, but it has taken 10 years for Robyn and I to build up a full studio in Greeley.  Why so long?  Because, there are a multitude of housewives and retirees who take private students, but have no qualifications and no business teaching.  None of them charge enough to make a living, some of them barely charge anything at all, and some of them copy music illegally for their students.

So to answer the question, "What qualifications does one need to teach piano?"  The answer is obviously none.  It is up to parents to have high enough standards to seek out qualified teachers for their kids.

New Class

We have decided that having 19 students in our studio at one time is a bit much, so we are splitting the 6th-12th grade class into two parts.  High school students will now meet at 1:00-2:00 for master-classes.

A busy fall so far!

August and September have been very busy. The new semester began in August, with our combined teaching load at 39 hours. With several tunings a week for me and with Robyn's job at Mountain View Academy, this is normally a very manageable schedule, but a couple of things have made the last two months extra busy. The first is our rehearsal schedule for our upcoming duo recital. The second is that the piano we have been piano-sitting for the past 7 years has been called home to its owner in Wisconsin. That has meant piano shopping and piano moving. The third, is that UNC has yet again lost a piano technician, which meant that I had more tuning work than I expected. All of the above has conspired to steal away every bit of down time we would have had over the past two months.

Putting together a Duet recital has been lot of work. Practicing, rehearsing, booking the hall, and advertising have kept us quite busy. We are really enjoying playing together though, and have already begun planning our next recital which will be for two pianos.

Private Piano Lessons vs. Online Piano Lessons

There are easily more than 50 different websites offering some form of "online piano lessons". There must be a fairly large number of people attempting to learn how to play the piano this way and my ears hurt just thinking about it. But, who knows, maybe in another 10 years, we will be hearing great things from countless performing artists who have learned to play only by taking piano courses online. I highly doubt it, though. Here are some reasons that I think private lessons are still the best way to learn how to play the piano.

1. Private lessons provide intelligent, instant feedback.

Once computers achieve sentience, online lessons may give traditional teachers a run for their money, but until then, the best that a program of online lessons can provide is information, video, and recordings. While these are great tools for enhancing one's knowledge and understanding of music, there is no substitute for a thoughtful and observant teacher who can catch problems as they are happening and correct them.

2. Expression!

Music is best when played with appropriate expression. Good luck getting any feedback about this aspect from online lessons.

3. Customized Experience.

Teaching privately involves a lot of give and take. A great (or even a good) teacher can evaluate your current skill and knowledge and help to fill your most immediate needs immediately. Online lessons are not able to do this in any real way.

4. Personal attention.

The value of a working student/teacher relationship is one that is difficult to overstate. A full hour of personal attention every week from a teacher who has no other interest than to help you become the best at playing a musical instrument that you love has tremendous psychological benefits. Even a simple pat on the back for a job well done is something that online lessons can't duplicate.

5. Non-verbal transmission of skills and knowledge.

My most effective teaching occurs without speaking a word. There is no faster way to fix technical issues or to communicate interpretive subtleties than to show the student what they are currently doing, and then show them new possibilities for movement or expression. In fact, frequently, this is the only effective way to address musical and technical problems at the piano.

6. Creative give and take.

Playing piano is an interpretive art. It is not an exact science. If this were not the case, then there would be no reason to play the piano in the first place. What would be the point? Even the simplest of pieces offer many possibilities for interpretation. A teacher can help you decide which of your ideas are worth exploring, and which ones test the limits of good taste. Furthermore, a teacher can help you discover ideas that you would never have thought of on your own.

The value of private lessons far exceeds anything online lessons could hope to offer. There is no substitute for a great teacher.