We’ve all had one… a piano student who stares at his hands while mostly ignoring his music. And we’ve all probably engaged in a struggle to get him to view his score as a tool (not as an enemy)…
And chances are, during the struggle, you’ve covered the keys… you covered his hands… you’ve make him wear dribble specks… and still the problem remained… or it got worse.
So, when a teacher asked us to help her with this very same struggle, we knew for the sake of blood pressure readings in studios all over the world that we had to solve the “Won’t look at his music!” conundrum.
In today’s post we’re exploring a world where “looking at hands” may be indicative of a learning style instead of a problem, and how you can use your understanding of this learning style to get students to actually read the notes on a page of music.
How To Help Students Who Refuse To Look At Their Music
Grab a pen and paper and prepare to take notes as you listen to today’s podcast below. Our guest, Bradley Sowash, discusses how students who choose to look at their hands are actually employing a valuable tool that works with their personal learning style, and how teachers can use this as a springboard to note reading rather than a detriment to note reading.
In this 8 minute episode we discuss:
- Why some students are more apt to play by ear than others
- What should you do with a piece that has been learned by ear
- How you can teach improvisation while still using a score
- How can you encourage students who play by ear to use their score as a tool
- … and much more.
Click the player below to listen, or visit our iTunes page where you can download this, plus our other 31 episodes to your iPod to take us on the go!
Want more info on this topic?
Bradley Sowash and Leila Viss are presenting a webinar along this same vein – Groove Your Theory is set to take place on Friday, April 22nd. This webinar will show you how to take your theory instruction to the next level including (among many other topics) the best way to create your own lead sheets and how to use backing tracks to develop improv skills. Find out how to be involved here.
Read Also:
How to Teach Piano Chording To Kids
Teaching Piano Students To Play From Lead Sheets: Expert Step-By-Step Advice
How To Teach Piano Students To Play By Ear… And Why You Might Want To
Lori Arnold says
Thank you! Definitely needed! Just learned I need to change and learn more about inprov.
Andrea says
Glad it was helpful Lori! 🙂
Paulette says
Hi Andrea and Bradley,
Thanks so much for the wonderful suggestions! Reminding me to keep the doors open to creativity…… I was strictly a note reader and have branched out into lead sheets and improv. over the years. A lot of my students love to improv and really welcome the opportunity to change things;)
Andrea says
Hi Paulette – so glad you found the podcast helpful 🙂 Isn’t it nice to learn new things yourself too? That’s one of the things I love most about teaching… I myself am always learning!
Kelly Koch says
Thank you SO much, Andrea and Bradley. It was great to hear that Bradley was my student who struggles with reading. I’m excited to try these tips and look at the Groove Your Theory webinar. You guys rock!
Andrea says
Hi Kelly – we hope it helps with this student! Wishing you lots of frustration-free lessons 🙂
Kelly Koch says
UPDATE on Ben (student in this question): As suggested, we moved to another piece (James Bond Theme), showed him that the bass line is just the e minor and top note moves up and down…then had him play the melody line by ear. He is one HAPPY kid! What a student-saver this piece of advice was! I told him that he was an excellent musician and we were going to “play” to his strengths. Please pass on to Bradley how much it helped. Thank you again!
Beth says
I feel like often students stop looking at the music because they get lost – more often than we realize. Just as we point to the words to help early readers keep their place, it helps to point to the notes as students play to help them learn to track and re-direct their eyes to the notes.
Caesarsally says
I appreciated this webinar so much. Mr. Sowash’s suggestions were so positive and creative. I will definitely implement them. I believe this will help both my students and my lessons. Thank you and bravo!
Andrea says
So glad to hear it! 🙂
Eleanor says
I explain to the student that the brain tells the fingers where the keys are they need to play. Then I put a piece of paper over The right or left hand and ask the student to play a few measures looking at the music. They often realize that , yes, they can play looking at the music.