I recently started teaching piano lessons to a transfer student. She’s 6, she has pigtails, and she is the most honest child I’ve ever met.
Me: “How did your practising go this week?”
Anna: “I really wanted to practice but I have a new coloring book”
Me: “Okay, well lets work on this song together then so you can go home and play it a few times before you start coloring each night.”
Anna: “Okay, well, I didn’t practice this one… but I just know it.”
And she did. Anna is one of those fortunate children to whom things come naturally. You need only explain something to her once. Her brain process the information, stores it away for future reference and she’s ready to move on. At this level of her studies (very beginner), she sees no need for repetition, explanation or… practice.
As I watched her perfectly plink her way through her beginner piece I realized that, for Anna, practice needed to take on a new meaning. I needed to shift my focus. Practice to her was not going to be “Play this until you know it well”… because she already knew it well. Without practising.
And then I couldn’t help but think about Liam. Liam who requires me to explain every new concept in at least six different ways – most of them requiring a lot of props and hands-on activities. Liam who, although he sits and practises the piano diligently four nights a week, often returns to his next lesson with the same level of understanding as he left with the week before. Liam really needs repetition, explanation and… practice.
It is an odd twist of fate that Liam’s lesson is immediately after Anna’s. You can’t help but compare the two. And they are like night and day.
But I am left wondering who will end up truly “knowing it” in the long run. The student who breezes through her method books with hardly a backwards glance, or the student who methodically processes every bit of info and repeats, re-learns and reviews with dogged determination?
And then… does it even matter? Is the true value of piano lessons found in the process… or in the outcome?
Kris says
Your articles are great! Thanks for all you do.
I don’t believe that your question has an either/or answer, but that both are important, for different reasons and at different times. Process is important, of course – it’s where we learn our skills and gather up tools, so to speak, that we then can use and apply for the rest of our lives. I like to think of it this way: the process of learning involves coming to understand what we need to do and how to do it (the learning/problem-solving stage) and it also involves “practice,” and that’s what we do after we can say, “I’ve got it! I understand and feel what needs to happen here!” So, in practice, what we are doing is repeating, correctly, what we want to happen, and training our hands, bodies, minds, and hearts to give it to us each time we ask for it. We develop discipline and learn a lot about music, and about ourselves, through “process.” But everyone needs to feel the pleasure of a good outcome, even if it’s just getting to the point where we can now do something we couldn’t do yesterday – the promise of a good outcome is a reward for process well done. There is pleasure in the very process of working on our music, but it is a different pleasure from that which we get from a good outcome – more intimate, and often not shared. The pleasure of a good outcome opens up the possibility of sharing what we’ve done with a wider world. It’s the vase the potter has made – the very same potter who has enjoyed getting her hands into the wet clay and shaping it now has something that others can enjoy as well, and that brings its own special pleasure.
Jo says
Good post! So true. I have learned through my years of teaching that I must teach to the individual child. Each has his own learning style, support at home, desire, and motivation. Some are naturally gifted with musical ability and others have to work really hard at it. It’s good to be reminded of this so we, as teachers, can adjust our expectations for each student according to their abilities.
Andrea says
Hi Jo – very true! We as piano teachers have a big responsibility to be able (and willing) to adapt our teaching methods accordingly. It is something that just comes with the territory of offering an individually based service. Thanks for commenting – have a great weekend!
Brittany Roque says
Great post! I can certainly relate to both students and I have found that for my”Anna” students, I like to challenge them with more songs than I would my “Liam” students. I load up “Anna” with a bunch of silly songs (at their level) then reward them for playing each song through a certain number of times. I truly think that at that level they just need to build good practicing habits. They may not NEED the practice now but someday they will. If they dont, things start to get challenging andthey usually throw in the towel, which is usually a super sad day for me!
Just curious how you handle these types of students?? Do you lighten up the workload on your “Liam”s?
Andrea says
Hi Brittany,
Yes, building good practice habits is SO important… even at the stage where they might not need to be practising quite so much (which is a large part of why we created our Shhh…Your Piano Teacher Thinks This is Practice book). I do give my Liam’s a lighter load… I believe strongly in creating opportunities for success with each student and if I don’t adjust accordingly for my Liams then I am setting them up for failure. Everyone likes to achieve goals – so I set the goals for my Liams accordingly. Happy teaching!
mary k. says
The kids who have to practice harder but stick with it usually develop greater character than the kids to whom it comes very easily. However we shouldn’t of course diss the kids with the natural talent. They could end up with stellar music careers. They are the ones who really keep us on our toes finding music that interests them. I unfortunately was a natural talent who didn’t develop the work skills till later so that did make other areas of life more challenging in the long run. However I wonder whether there is a point at which you just have to say to the kid and parents, I wonder if there is another interest your child has that would come more naturally to him? Some kids just don’t seem to have the gift.
Catherine says
love this. All so true.
I agree that all children (and adults!) are different and you have to go with their learning styles and needs. I give my “Anna”s things like transpose into a different key, (they don’t need to know that’s what they’re doing!) compose/improvise a piece that is opposite (or similar) to the character of the one they’re learning, and I make sure they have a number of books on the go, including some technique, whic hagain, they can transpose (Dozxen a Day is good for this!) there’s lots of variety anyway- I also print out pieces from the internet to enrich their studies- eg Susan Paradies, Jennifer Lim etc to so they’re learning even though the actual songs in the books they’re learning are very easy for them. It’s good to set them challenges even if they’re not the standard ones that most students need! I also do lots of aural games with them and set them challenges based on them as well- never too young to start developing their musical ear!
Sandra Coryell says
I appreciate your ideas. I especially liked the reminder to have them transpose.
Andrea says
Hear here! Great points Catherine and some good ideas on how to challenge the Annas in our studio!
Barbara Gilchrist says
I agree. I have to look at each student individually to see what works for them. I have a couple of students both girls that are very bright and catch on quickly. There are others that have lessons repeated over and over again. I do wonder if the ones that have to practice their lessons a lot more really come to appreciate this accomplishment compared to the student that grasps easily and doesn’t need the practice.
Andrea says
Hi Barbara – I do find that the ones who really have to work hard do have a deeper understanding in the long run. Because they’ve asked “why?” and spent the time perfecting they have made connections in their brain that those who can just breeze (or fake) their way through don’t make in the same way. The “Annas” in your studio eventually hit a wall where they can no longer “just know it” and they sometimes find that difficult to navigate. The ones who plod along may always do so – but they also know how to practice and that serves them well in the long run. Happy teaching!
Rebecca Brown says
Both of these students would be good candidates for more than one lesson per week. Anna, because you need to see her more often in order to keep up with her learning pace and not let her get bored. And multiple lessons per week gives you more opportunity to take advantage of her quick learning and teach her ways to be creative with what she has learned so far (transposing, improvising, composing, etc.). Liam, because if he is really struggling and not really making progress on his own at home, then he needs more face-to-face time with his instructor to ensure that he does not spend 6 days straight practicing incorrectly.
I have found, though, that you have to approach the parent with utmost confidence when you request that they increase the lesson frequency. If you come across at all like you are not 100% convinced that this change is necessary, then they will not agree to it. I’ve had several students, though, who have taken this approach, and it is always successful.
As far as your question about which one has a better chance of “knowing it” in the long run….. It’s hard to say. I’ve seen average students who have struggled to really “get” all the theory concepts, etc. along the way, but have been the most solid students several years down the road. I’ve also watched my daughter, who has always balked at theory homework, has always been able to get by on very little practice, and even insisted on quitting her piano lessons at age 12 because she felt she already “knows what she needs to know.” She is now one of the best high school percussionists in our region, and is acing her AP Music Theory class, even though she was actually too young to sign up for the class. She says it’s a boring class, because she already knows everything……although nobody has ever specifically sat down to teach her any of it. Nobody quite understands how she knows what she knows.