Of course the title of this post is tongue and cheek… I don’t suck. In fact, I am a skilled pianist. I have spent years studying the piano, honing my craft.
But I am not, nor ever was, a prodigy… a virtuoso.
And according to Malcolm Gladwell and his best-selling book, Outliers… I should thank my lucky stars; given that my passion has always been piano education.
You see, according to Gladwell, experts (or virtuosos) are instinctive in their actions; meaning they play or perform unconsciously. And because of their “instinctive actions” they often make horrible teachers. They simply can’t explain how they do what they do.
I, on the other hand, am not a virtuoso. While I am certainly an accomplished pianist, my actions on the piano are definitely conscious decisions. I thoroughly process every decision I make as I play through a piano piece; you might call me a “classic over-thinker”.
But this also makes me a great teacher. I can help a student conquer a challenging piano piece because I can explain in great detail every little action that must occur to achieve success.
Virtuoso or Not?
Whether you fall into the Virtuoso Category or not, remembering to “think like your student” should be your number one priority as a piano teacher. Don’t get frustrated when they just can’t seem to grasp a concept or skill. Instead, do what mere-mortals would do…
Break down the desired task into very small, specific, and deliberate steps that must be done to achieve success. Do this… and one day you will be able to live the Virtuoso Dream through your talented students!
Michael Hemsworth @ NewSongs says
Very true!
Andrea says
Hi Michael,
Thanks for reading! Happy teaching 🙂
Holly Valencia says
I agree whole-heartedly! 🙂
Andrea says
Hi Holly,
Just checked out your Facebook page – wow! You’re doing a fantastic job of building community within your music studio. Your students must love you. Cheers!
Rebecca Brown says
This is precisely what makes me a great piano teacher! I’ll never win the Van Cliburn competition. In fact….I’ll never enter, because I’m already so busy with teaching, running my studio of 14 teachers and over 100 students, and accompanying for solo & ensemble competitions. But I’ll always have a full studio, because I know how and why I do what I do with my entire body in order to execute the necessary skills at the piano…and am able to play very musically, at the same time.
Looking back on that paragraph, it sounds a bit braggadocios. But it’s reality. I read somewhere that medical schools don’t, necessarily, get excited about straight A students. They said that the straight A student has probably not ever had to work hard to get those grades. The B student, however, has had to learn how to think….an important skill in the medical field. By the same token, the best teachers are typically those who had to work hard to get where they are.
Andrea says
Hi Rebecca,
First of all, congratulations on the success of your music school! I know first-hand how much work it takes to get to that place. Kudos to you! I too have heard that anecdote about medical school entrance marks as well. Makes sense to me! Just as I’d rather have a piano teacher who could teach better than they could play, I’d rather have a Doctor who, under pressure, knew how to think through a problem effectively. Thanks for the comment!