You get a phone call and it’s a potential new student… an adult piano student… let’s call her Recreational Rhonda.
She’s 54. She played the piano 20 years ago and hasn’t touched one since. Her mother-in-law just passed away and she’s inherited a nice piano. She’s inspired to start playing again.
Sounds great, right?
But… Recreational Rhonda works shift work and she is wondering if you can work around her schedule. She’s not keen on classical music (“My mom forced me to play out of those old boring books and I’m not into that!”) and she’s totally blunt about her lack of musical ability.
Teaching Lessons To Adult Piano Students
Some piano teachers are anxious about teaching adult piano students. When they receive an inquiry, they invent full studios and write names on a pretend waiting list with invisible ink. Adults are not the typical cookie-cutter, 8-year-old student.
But for those teachers wanting to grow a studio fast, or for those wanting to tap into a unique niche to switch up studio hours, Recreational Rhondas is a real opportunity.
Here’s how to find success with adult piano students…
Be Flexible, But Set Expectations
For many adult students, a touch of flexibility is in order. They have work and family commitments that young piano students just aren’t dealing with.
For this reason, it helps to offer a spot in a schedule that allows flexibility with scheduling (my adult students come either at the start or the end of my teaching day). With flexible time slots comes the ability to then offer Recreational Rhonda different choices in how lessons will happen (every other week, on a rotational schedule, etc.).
However, with this flexibility needs to come clear expectations. Teachers must make sure they are forthright with payment expectations, missed lesson repercussions, and discontinuation policies.
Work Within Adult Piano Students’ Goals
As piano teachers of children, we don’t know exactly where each of our students will “go” with their musical careers. Some may be destined for college studies in piano, some may become piano teachers themselves, and some may become airline pilots and never touch the piano again. Because we don’t know, we’re bound to offer them a comprehensive piano education.
However, Recreational Rhonda knows exactly where she’s “going”.
Discussing her personal goals for piano lessons helps teachers zero in on exactly what she needs.
If she only wants to chord along with her husband while he plays the guitar, she’s not going to need to know about sonatina form. Most adults have a clear idea of what they want out of their lesson experiences. Tailor adult piano lessons to the individual.
Create Opportunities For Instant Gratification
Adult piano students are needier than young students when it comes to instant musical gratification. Adults are busy. Adults are hard on themselves. If they don’t feel some sense of progress and enjoyment early on, they’re quick to pull the plug. Choose your material and set your pacing with this in mind.
Are you looking for an older beginner resource that provides instant gratification while also delivering the perfect pedagogical experience?
Click here to learn about the WunderKeys Pop Staff Piano Library For Older Beginners.
Make Use Of The “Friend Factor”
Recreational Rhonda can be a hoot to teach. If she didn’t practice that week, she doesn’t want to be made to feel guilty about it (because if she does, it’s easier to just cancel the lesson). If she just can’t master a certain skill, she appreciates a good laugh about it and the chance to puzzle through it at home (rather than spending weeks working on that one ability). She wants to look forward to her lesson time as a chance to revel in the fun that is music and the enjoyment that is your company.
Recreational Rhonda’s sometimes get a bad rap – “Adult students are inconsistent, never practice, don’t show up and quit after a few months…” Have you heard that before? It doesn’t have to be so! Switch up your approach, and Recreational Rhonda may just become Long-Term Linda.
Our Older Beginner Book Series
With its unique approach to older beginner piano education, WunderKeys Pop Staff Piano Library For Older Beginners, Book One is a game-changer.
Most of the repertoire in this book is composed using our innovative Pop Staff. The Pop Staff is a modified bass staff that accompanies a treble staff. Chord symbols placed on the Pop Staff enable students to play simple left-hand pop chords, creating significantly more rewarding music than repertoire found in traditional older beginner books.
In the early pages of this book, the repertoire is composed entirely on the Pop Staff.
By the end of the book, students perform repertoire on a hybrid Pop Staff/Bass Staff that allows for bass staff and treble staff note reading (see the second image below).
All of this exciting music is accompanied by note-reading activities, sight-reading practice, technical exercises, and more!
Leia says
I have a few adult piano students and absolutely love teaching them! Interestingly, they all want to learn classical music and proper technique and history and everything, so that’s really fun for me. Plus, they tend to practice MORE than kids (because they actually WANT to!) and learn a lot faster than them, too.
Andrea says
Hi Leia – I love getting those kind of phone calls too from Adult students like you describe! These kinds of students are just as enjoyable to teach as “Recreational Rhonda” – they just require a different approach.
Stephen says
i totally agree Leia adult pupils are much more fun to teach, and work much harder! I have one pupil who went from complete beginner to grade 2 in 6 months!
Some great ideas in the article though.
Cindy Fox says
I started piano again as an older adult while working a 12 hour night shift doing 48 to 60 hours a week. I scheduled my lessons on my day off. I NEVER missed a lesson and always made up lessons if I took vacation. That was 5 years ago and I am playing Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Bach, etc. I love piano and have much more interest in it than the children who are also doing soccer, basketball, gymnastics, ballet, violin, recorder, language training, play dates, etc., and don’t have time to practice. Please do not make generalizations about adult learners. Most are very eager and willing to learn.
Andrea says
Hi Cindy – yes, as with any “type” of student, everyone is different. This posting was specifically about adult students who want to take piano lessons as a recreational activity (Recreational Rhonda).
Katie says
Cindy, we LOVE students like you! This article is for teachers who have unfortunately had bad experiences teaching adults and want a positive article to read in hopes of learning something new. I’ve taught private lessons for 20 years. It’s sad but true when we generalize about the negatives behind teaching adults. However, it’s best for us to stay on the bright side and keep an eye out for ones like you. If more adults would just do a little research before taking lessons then the stereotype would eventually fall away. Bottom line…this article is one way for us to get that messege out there! Students like you are rare but when we find them they are golden.
Jeannie says
My current oldest adult is 82. She only wants hymns and 20’s pop music. I use lead sheets. Because of the hand coordination, usually just one bass note. She is having so much fun and always has a new song in her mind that she wants to learn. The oldest student I have ever taught was 93. She only did treble clef and played with CDs.
Janet Bryant says
I have several adult students, and I absolutely LOVE working with them!! I find they are highly motivated because pursuing music lessons is a goal they have set for themselves, and they truly WANT to be there. They are also very open and honest with me about how much they have practiced and what they are looking for in their lessons. Sadly, some of my students who are children are only taking lessons because their parent(s) have decided they should. My most advanced student is an adult and, for several years, we have scheduled her next lesson around her work schedule the following week. I find being flexible in scheduling my adult students has allowed me to fill some of the middle of the day time slots that would otherwise go empty.
Corrie Anne says
I find teaching adult students hilarious!! They are so much fun. A lot of my adult students travel, but I have gotten them into the habit of updating me periodically on their travel schedule and they understand that they still have to pay each month to reserve their time slot. It works very well!
amy says
music doesn’t have an age, so why should it be taboo for an adult to study piano. Bach didnt quit he composed until he died.
Krista Woelk says
I had tried adult students in the past and they either never started, I showed up at their place for the first lesson and they weren’t home and never bothered to contact me again, or started and a month later decided they couldn’t make it work with their schedule, too much going on. This year I took on 3 adult students all seemed like exceptional circumstances. A mother wanted to learn along with her very young kids (I didn’t think this family was going to last long, but they are dedicated and mom has really worked hard and come a long way.) A grandmother wanted to learn in a semi-private with her pre-teen grandson – this is going well. She is motivated to practice so she can keep up with his progress. A mother whose daughter last minute decided she wanted a break from piano. Mom felt she had found an excellent teacher and didn’t want to lose on a space in my studio. She asked if she could take her daughter’s lesson time so she could hold it for when her daughter decided she was ready to play again. I agreed. This is the first year I’ve had adult students work out for me. I’ve been enjoying it.
Raegan says
I have two adult students at this time. One is 55 and the other in her mid-30’s. They are actually a mother and daughter, and the daughter’s two kids take lessons from me, too! I had to learn how to give lessons to adults through these two amazing women. The mother wants to learn just so she can play for herself. We move at her pace, and I am actually using an adult method book (for both). She actually enjoys it. We also branch out and play from some other things occasionally just to break it up. The daughter is very motivated and moves at a faster pace, but we branch out way more often to play different music she has found here and there. It’s a lot of fun, and they both are very committed. They’re definitely not Recreational Rhondas. I would LOVE to have more adult students. It gives me (a homeschooling mom) some adult time, as well!
Heather says
I started fast out of the gate as an adult piano student achieving roughly a Grade 3 then stalled for a year then switched to Suzuki and after a year stalled again. I want to get back to it and am trying hard to discipline myself. Particular pieces seem to motivate me to learn. Very frustrating with seemingly no motivation. I will try again tomorrow.
Stephanie says
I’m currently teaching two adults and I absolutely love it. As this post stated, the challenges of teaching adult students are different then you’d have for kids. Some have physical issues, some travel, and of course there are jobs and family life. The one thing I’m learning to do is use a variety of music early on.
Linda says
I am very partial to the name Long-Term Linda! I have an adult student right now that is 20 years old. She is just starting her career and has a big family that often needs a babysitter. We’ve changed the day of her lesson (which has opened up more time for other students), and I’ve just been flexible about practice schedule, as she is very busy. We are working from a book–but wish Pop Staff Piano Library had been out when she started. We are supplementing with Rockin’ Repertoire for Teens and some other tunes. She is such a bright spot and it’s so nice to have an adult to talk to during a lesson! She has such a sunny disposition, and I really enjoy her! I definitely would teach more adults–they are much less work than my youngest student, who is 6!