I’ve been experimenting with something in my teaching lately and I’m excited about the results. It’s my favorite kind of experiment because it requires absolutely nothing… literally.
I want my students to feel successful and comfortable in their piano lessons. But I recently realized I was assisting them maybe a bit too much. It was my outspoken 7-year-old little guy who brought this to my attention. He made a mistake and hesitated, and I hopped in to immediately help him. But he looked at me with his big brown eyes and said, “My brain didn’t have a chance to fix it yet.” How very astute.
The Four Second Rule
His words made me think. Was my desire to help and maintain his confidence interfering with his learning processes? Was I robbing him of the opportunity to make “brain wrinkles” by feeding him the answer too quickly?
It was a simple adjustment to make, and so for the rest of my teaching day, I started using my newfound four-second rule. Four seconds sounds short, but as you sit beside a student who is hesitating it’s actually just enough time to assess if a) they are going to figure it out on their own or b) if they’re going to continue to flounder and truly do need help.
What was interesting to me was, more often than not… they didn’t need me. Those 4 seconds passed, their brain worked away and they corrected the mistake or broke through the stumbling block. And what was even more impressive was that the next time the same instance occurred in their music they breezed through it without a second glance (usually)… something I couldn’t always say for an “assisted fix”.
The Importance of Silence
For some students, the 4-second silence was somewhat unnerving – and, as you might have guessed, it was these students who always “needed me” the most. They immediately looked to me for assistance instead of focusing on their thought processes. But my kind smile and nod of silent encouragement were enough to re-direct their thoughts from needing me to using their own skillset to figure it out. Eventually (rapidly) they stopped looking to me for help. Eventually (rapidly) they became more confident piano students right before my eyes.
When you consider the fact that our students practice with “silence on our part” at home, it makes complete sense that I should be giving them these same tools in their lesson time. Well-timed silence… followed by my encouragement and assistance if needed… is doing just that.
Speaking of homework! Have you had a chance to check out the Teach Piano Today Homework Pages? This section of our website contains fun, take-home worksheets that are only for subscribers of the Teach Piano Today Newsletter. Click here to join today.
Heather says
Great reminder. I am often guilty of over-assisting because I don’t want my students to feel overwhelmed.
Sam Marion says
Most of us are guilty of helping too quickly. I actually relearned this concept watching the parent of one of my students work with her child. She would wait a few seconds, and if her child needed help, she would ask questions, and her child would then work though the problem herself. We all know this to be true, but it’s nice to be reminded!
Leon Whitesell says
I do believe in this, and have for about 20 + years. When I taught in secondary schools it was called
” wait time”. I also applied this technic to my piano teaching and practice.I enforced it with ” hands to lap” so that my hands would not meander onward, when I needed to WAIT for my mind to ” kick in” and help. THANKS FOR HELPING EVERY READER TO REMBRR THIS IMPORTANT CONCEPT,
Jolene says
Excellent reminder!
Kathy G says
Yes, an excellent reminder. I have gotten better with this as I have gotten older and developed more patience. Good pedagogy teaching stresses respecting the student’s native desire to learn by teaching him/herself. I’ve just watched a tv show about Maria Montessori and been reminded of this yet again. Very important, and thanks for sharing this.
Laura says
I actually tried this last week. And my student and I were both so happy that she was able to understand and figure out the concept all by herself, she just needed a little time. The rest of her lesson she fixed things without looking to me, which made me excited because that means she’s able to solve problems throughout the week when I’m not there. Thanks for the great post and reminder.
Caroline Quinn says
Yes!!! Yes!!! Yes!! The perfect article and such a great reminder. We don’t want our students to be stressed but that is the only way they learn. If I do put in notes, I only do some gently encouraging them to learn the notes. I love your ideas. Happy Monday!!!
CHRISTINE NEALE says
Very nice and well written reminder. I ‘sometimes’ use the 2 second rule, but can’t wait till Spring Break is over to give 4 seconds a chance – brilliant post!
Trish Moore says
Great article. When you think about it, the student doesn’t have us at home and they have to figure it out. I won’t talk about the students who don’t touch a piece ‘because I couldn’t figure it out’ and a week of practice is lost – lol.
Lynnette Emme says
I often forget to apply this to a students song playing. I always give them time when trying to recite a definition, but this is a great reminder to do while a student is playing too! You mentioned at the end of the article that they have silence at home and should be given time in the lessons just like their home practice. I’ve been learning lately that it goes the other way too. I have been encouraging my students to be their own teacher at home reminding themselves to be paying attention to what they’re playing. It’s changing my bored, distracted, and lazy students into musicians who are enjoying their home practice time. Thanks so much for your encouraging posts!
Sophie says
This is something I’ve noticed in my lessons over the last few weeks as well! Thanks for putting it so clearly.
Danielle says
Great post! I had a wonderful professor back in graduate school who would always say that when teaching piano, it was his business to put himself ‘out of business’. In other words, give his students the practice and performance tools they needed, so that when he was not present, they could independently problem solve. Rather than always jumping in right away and telling his students specifically how to fix an issue in their playing, he’d allow time for their thoughts to process, then once they’ve done that and are still stuck, he’d offer various practice steps and ways in which to problem solve. I employ the same ‘philosophy’ in my teaching and give students a little breathing room to process things at their own pace. I’ve found this true for my young students as well as adult students, and it’s especially great when they’re able to tell me how they worked out an issue in their home practice when I wasn’t around.
Alanna says
I always wait it out a few seconds, then ask them if they want some help before I offer the answer. I’m always surprised by how many students will actually say “no!”, determined to fix it themselves, which I love to see 🙂
Marilyn Brennan says
I do like them to see they actually can find answers on their own at home, so have them do it here. Yesterday I busied myself doing some paper work related to a student and she just figured out a section on her own. Great reminder. Thank you.
Cest Parfait says
I alwsys say, “I will not rob you of the Joy of Discovery.”
Andrea says
This is awesome 🙂
ame says
Making a poster of this for my studio!!!!!!! Thanks
K. Walker says
Yes! A great observation that I’ve used for over 30 years now. Once the student figures it out on their own, they have a sense of pride when they encounter a similar situation and conquer it.
Cherie says
I often wait when children make mistakes. They are almost always able to correct themselves without my instantly pointing it out. And asking them questions like… so, what did you think of that? or Can you please review this? allows them another opportunity to correct their own mistakes. Great advice!
Jan says
I agree that it’s good to let your pupils learn from their mistakes, but I recently raised the subject with a Mum who repeatedly jumped in with the answers to questions as soon as her son hesitated – her response was that she didn’t pay me good money to stand by doing nothing while he worked it out for himself.
Trevor says
Oh dear… I see a lot of strife in his life to come! 🙁
Jeanne says
There is actually brain research that indicates that when you ask a child a question and when they don’t answer immediately you restate it their brain actually has to start the answer process all over again. Give them time to think! What they resolve themselves will be much more meaningful than what we solve for them.
Andrea says
Interesting – thanks so much for sharing Jeanne!
marian says
Yes! Learned this tactic in the classroom years ago. I sometimes tell my students “I am not being mean to not help you so quickly – I want your brain to have a chance to figure it out”
Madison says
Yes! I also find myself helping some students more than others because they look at me, or I just nod and smile if their little fingers are on the right note but just aren’t sure. This is a great reminder!
Jennifer Rasch says
I try, if I can, to wait until the student has finished playing the piece before giving my feedback. That way the flow of the music stays as intact as possible. As a classroom teacher, I am not afraid a little bit of silence, because I know how important it is in allowing students to think. Of course, if a child is stuck, I will give him the hints needed to get unstuck.
Andrea says
Great point Jennifer – it can be really unsettling to some kids to be interrupted mid-piece (and we may not always know it’s making them unsettled). A good thing to keep in mind 🙂
Brenda Steele says
Great timing to be reminded of this method! Actually, i feel this is a confidence booster. By the student concentrating on a problem area and n makes the correction gives them confidence in their ability to find the answer. If they don’t see the mistake play it like a game of hide and seek!! Tell the student the mistake is hiding from them. Hunt it, find(catch) it and correct it! have index cards ready so they can write out the mistake and practice it. They love to see how many mistakes they caught. teacher can play the song and purposely make a mistake for the student to find. Game : Catch Me If You Can.
Barbara Stepp says
Cute idea, Brenda. And something that can be utilized in online teaching! Thank you for sharing your idea!