I have a teen piano student who is literally flying through everything I give her. She started off in September a bit nonchalant… okay a LOT nonchalant. I could hardly get anything from her both in terms of conversation and in terms of progress. She’d play anything I gave her… but without enthusiasm. She’d practice, but not really make any great gains. She’d answer my questions but with one or two words. We just didn’t connect.
As I’ve mentioned before – I hate silence and so I’d fill our time with my merry chatter (probably annoying her to no end). I’d give her reams of material trying to find something that would click with her and ignite some sort of response. But this past month it’s as though she suddenly woke up. She’s practicing like mad, she’s laughing… giggling even! I’m no longer dreading our lessons – I look forward to them. And it’s all because I started asking the right questions.
Asking the Right Questions
The “right questions” are the ones I’ve discovered below:
1. What did you work on the most this week? I used to ask for a specific piece to hear first, but have quickly realized that asking for the piece she worked on the most sets a great tone for the lesson. Why? She gets to show me what she put the most effort into, rather than having to feel guilty about what she may not have focused on.
2. What is your favorite part of this piece? This question has given me the most insight into repertoire choices for her. I was (incorrectly) assuming she loved soft and beautiful pieces when in fact, her favorite parts of her music were fast and boisterous. She would never come out and say “I don’t want to play this kind of music” and so this question set us on the right track in terms of her repertoire.
3. What part are you going to work on this week? What used to be me directing her practice goals has now become her taking initiative and being invested in her own learning process. The parts that I’d like her to work on may or may not be the same parts that she herself wants to focus on. I’ve learned a lot about how this particular student “ticks” – what she considers to be her weaknesses, what she wants in terms of goals, what she recognizes as needing polishing. It’s helped me to then change my approach to suit her, and it’s resulted in greater progress.
With the Right Questions You’re Off To the Races
With the knowledge I gained from asking the right questions my student has completely transformed into a participating piano student. As we laughed our heads off playing through “Schooch” (a duet from March’s PianoBookClub book) she blew me away when she turned to me and said “This is the best part of my week!.” and then quickly followed it up “I really need to work on this section so I can keep up to tempo.” Mission accomplished!
CHRISTINE NEALE says
Wow! What an awesome turn around with your student, congrats 🙂 I LOVE questions #1 and #2 and will use them a.s.a.p with a couple of not yet teens I have who simply shrug when I ask them questions…. maddening little beings – lol!
Susan says
Thanks — I like these questions for a lot of my piano students — not just teens!
Lisa Emmick says
How insightful! I’m gonna use this today!
Jan Curtis says
I appreciate and use so many of your hints. Love these. Even when I already use some of the ideas, it is nice to be reminded of others that may have gone by the wayside. Thank you!
Karen Monroe says
Love these ideas! I have found myself doing #1 more and more this year without thinking about it much now that you bring this up. It has been a great question! It does help us get right to the point of what they have been working on and share their excitement from the week.
Janet says
These are great ideas! I have a three teen-age students who can play very well, but getting them motivated to want to play is a major challenge. I’m going to use your questions to (hopefully!!) ignite a fire in them to get them to work to the best of their abilities.
Kevin Smith says
I love teaching the teen students but maybe that is the secondary teacher in me. I find that a minute out of a lesson chatting about anything helps. Sometimes this is sport, sometimes about music and other times about school. Whatever you talk about, it shows the student you are interested and encourages communication.
anna says
Thank you again. I’m actually thinking of these questions quite personally regarding how I look at my own playing. I’ve just been playing for enjoyment of songs I like, but this is good stuff to ask myself as well as students.
Carol says
With my very young students I ask, “What would you like to play for me first?” — Instant motivation!
Beryl says
Thanks so much for this idea. I have just the student I’m going to try these questions on this coming week. He’s not a teen but I think it might just turn around the position he and I find ourselves in at this time (just after a three week break from lessons because of school holidays and Easter).
Drema says
Very insightful—- I’m going to try this!
Alice says
#1 and #3 are regulars when working with teens–I’ll start using “what is your favorite part of this piece?” this week!
Lisa says
Timely reminders for me this week. Going to try them out starting today! 🙂