When Andrea and I were in Scotland we popped into the national museum to escape the rain and stumbled upon Dolly the cloned sheep. And while taxidermy’s not really our bag, it was still kind of cool to check out the world’s most famous sheep… even if I do think cloning is a creepy idea.
I understand scientists have their reasons for cloning… like bringing back extinct species. But I’ve got enough on my plate as it is let alone having to worry about outrunning a woolly mammoth every time I walk the dog.
Maybe my stance is a tad ignorant, but experimenting with cloning living species seems to be more problematic than beneficial.
Why Cloning Presents a Problem For Piano Teachers Too
Are you inadvertently cloning yourself each and every time you teach a piano lesson? When you watch your piano recital do you see a whole whack of Little Miss Music Teacher’s running around?
When teaching children piano it is easy to settle into a teaching style that makes you comfortable; to present music that suits your taste, and to structure a lesson that matches your pace.
And for some students this may work. You may indeed succeed in cloning your piano persona. Some students may love your style… embrace your style.
But many may not.
Thanks to an inability to successfully clone humans, science has allowed us to remain as diverse a species as any, and the teaching methods and styles that may suit you won’t always suit your piano students.
Which is why, as teachers, we need to adopt multiple personalities… to morph our styles to match the learning needs of each of our students… to find music that appeals to their personal tastes.
When this happens, many common piano problems seen in students (lack of practice, lack of motivation, disruptive behaviour) disappear without a trace.
So, if you’ve been inadvertently experimenting with cloning, I urge you to abandon your research in favor of chameleon field studies. Becoming a piano teacher with multiple personalities is not an easy task… but neither is running from a rabid mammoth.
Lars says
Sorry, this is just a question that I have and it’s not meant to be rude. Many books and articles talk about changing our teaching style according to the personality of each student, but they never give any concrete examples. I understand choosing a variety of repertoire for the students, but what other actions should we take and adopt? Thanks!
Trevor says
Hi Lars – a good question! Adapting your teaching style does go beyond just selecting varied repertoire. A lot of what we blog about surrounds this concept of being a “chameleon” piano teacher. Each and every thing you do as a piano teacher can be adapted to suit the child in front of you. Rather than concrete examples like changing up your repertoire, instead think “How is what I am teaching right now tailored to the child in front of me?” – this means taking a look at the way you give information (aurally, visually, kinaesthetically), how you structure your lessons (lots of variety vs. lots of repetition… predictability vs. lots of changes in routine), how you approach a brand new piece, the goals you set, the expectations you have etc. etc. Each child you teach is unique and being able to adapt your style accordingly will result in successful lessons on the part of both of you. Hope that helps!
Robin Madden says
The help with having students do some composing has helped. I have one that has just hit the wall on learning much new music, but she is very interested in making her own music. We did Muttzart last summer, and she wrote a rondo, with a little help from Finale. Now we will work on chord progressions and fine tune her melodies. It is more fun for her to express herself right now.
Josie says
Thank you for this advice, it takes much more time and effort to individualise every lesson for every student but it is so rewarding when they respond enthusiastically and it certainly stops me becoming bored!