I once had a professor in university who seemed to mark papers with some sort of “throw a dart at a letter grade and that’s what you get” type system. He had no criteria or written expectations – he’d simply dole out the assignment and then (so it seemed) randomly assign grades based on his mood.
As someone who (admittedly) was a bit of a teacher’s pet in high school, this was extremely disconcerting. If I didn’t know what was expected of me, how could I deliver what he was looking for?
It was interesting to watch my classmates’ motivation dissipate rapidly in this class. If there were no criteria, then why even try for a good grade… it wouldn’t matter anyway. But I’ve never had a “roll over and die” attitude, so I spent the first bit of the year trying everything I could think of to produce what he was looking for… and still I’d receive random letter grades over and over.
Criteria for Piano Practice… Do You Spell It Out?
It was this professor’s lack of communication and consistency that frustrated a lot of my fellow classmates (and ate up a huge chunk of my university study time). And it was this experience that led me to ensure that I always have criteria for my piano kids. And today I’m sharing my “Zero In” sheet; a tool my students keep in their binders to refer to during their home practice time.
Having practice criteria means your students:
1) Know what they need to accomplish before they “complete” a piece
2) Know what level of “polish” I expect for each piece they are working on (sometimes I don’t require a piece to be absolutely perfect before moving on if the learning goals have been achieved)
3) Know what is expected of their performance pieces (s these criteria are sometimes different than “learning pieces”)
And the biggie…
4) Know exactly how to structure their practice time to accomplish the above.
Practice Shouldn’t Look The Same Every Week
Once I started setting out this criteria for my students then their practice habits changed. Because they knew what I expected of them, they were able to more efficiently hone in on that which needed the most time. This also meant that their practice each week looked different (if they were nearing the completion of a piece then they worked mostly on “polish”, if we were a few weeks from a performance they were working on memorization etc.). Having a practice routine that is varied and goal-oriented makes for more efficient use of time.
How To Use The “Zero In” Printable
The first thing to remember is that the “Zero In” sheet is NOT an assessment sheet. It does not indicate a student’s mastery of a specific skill. The “Zero In” sheet is a practice guide. It’s purpose is to provide students with a visual representation of where they should be spending their time with in a particular piece.
You can check out (and use!) my “Zero In” sheet here. Using the bar graph above each criteria, take a highlighter and color in the “level” of effort and focus that you expect for each practice aspect. For example, if you want your student to focus on the tempo of their piece (once their note reading and rhythms are correct) , then more bars would be colored on the tempo graph and just a few on the note-reading graph. Your student can then easily see (and “zero in on”) where the most amount of time needs to be spent on each piece during that particular week. As your student progresses on a piece you can add colored bars as necessary. As he fully completes practice aspects, simply place a check-mark over the corresponding graph.
What seems like second nature to seasoned piano players when it come sot practice is not always so clear to young children. So, add some clear criteria to your piano students’ home practice and they’ll immediately become more efficient practicers!
Bridget says
Thank you! I have 2 students that immediately jumped to my mind when I read this article. This would be perfect for them AND their parents as they practice at home!
Denise says
This is wonderful, Andrea! Thank you! Just what I needed this week as I help my students prepare for the upcoming music festival in February. I have a question for you about memorizing: a have a few students who have tried memorizing their festival pieces only 2 weeks after receiving the piece. They were so excited to tell me this; however, what I discovered was they memorized their songs wrong! Wrong notes, wrong rhythm, no dynamics, etc. How do I address this without sounding negative and without squashing their enthusiastic spirits? Do you ever encounter this? I guess this is all part of “expectations” as discussed in your post. Any advice would be appreciated. 🙂
Emily says
I know I’m not Andrea, but…
Definitely praise them for having that much passion for the piece. Stuff doesn’t get memorized that fast unless students are invested in it (or just geniuses).
A lot of this can be fixed if they listen to themselves playing. I know I can get really wrapped up in memory and forget everything else when I want to show off how quickly I memorized something!
Wrong or missing notes I usually just refer to as memory “black holes”, and explain that trying to memorize a piece so fast can sometimes leave behind a few things.
Depending on the student, rhythm could be addressed directly without crushing their ego. Especially those that think memorizarion is just being able to play the right pitches. I use a “critique sandwich” (usually a nice thing, critique, two more positive things) to keep them beaming with pride.
Dynamics I usually refer to as personal expression or adding a bit of yourself to the piece. Usually they become easier to memorize when the student knows why (crescendo because we’re going up in notes, quieter because this part’s melody is delicate, little bit of rit here because we’re reaching the climax of the piece). I’ve never had a student get offended when I asked them to add more of themself to a piece!
Sources: I was always one of those students with poor memory and I’ve had a fair amount of practice teaching memory since it’s strongly encouraged at my recitals.
Hope my suggestions help a bit!
Christine says
This is great. Thanks
Denise says
Fantastic suggestions, Emily! Thank you so much! I love your suggestion of a “critique sandwich” and explaining to the students the “why” of the piece. I will use these suggestions. Do add to this, I tell my students that since the composer is not able to sit beside them and explain how he/she wants a song played, he/she has left them instructions on the page using letters, signs, or words. It makes them connect to the composer a little bit. Thanks again, Emily. 🙂
Leia says
Love this, thank you!
Sylvia says
Again……another fabulous idea and printable! Love you guys!
Thanks!
Jan Tuttle says
I really love the visual goals this presents! Thanks for sharing this!
Barbara says
Slightly off subject but thought many would appreciate this point…I went to the “Overscheduled Olivia” link above and re-read this. It reminded me of a student, just this week, telling me about her horseback-riding lessons and how she fell off the horse. Then she proceeded to use the piano to show me how the horse starting running faster, as she played from bass to treble with her hand “galloping” up the keys; then, as she twisted her hands on the keys, she fell off and landed on her back. I was elated that she chose to use the piano in her description and that she sees a way to tie her activities together. Sometimes our students are our best teachers. Thanks for linking back to other posts; it’s very helpful to look over them again.
Back to subject…another fabulously useful tool from TPT. Thanks!
Janice says
Thanks again for this very helpful article! I have had a couple of discouraging weeks where students have not practiced much at all or they have practiced without being focused on rhythms, accurate notes, fingerings, etc. I spend so much lesson time telling them and showing them how to practice but have had little success. Now, after reading this post, I have some new ideas to try!
Amy Carr says
You are brilliant! I truly can’t tell you how much I appreciate the tips and inspiration you share. I have also been incredibly frustrated with some students and their consistent lack of focused practice. This is an excellent way to refocus all of out efforts.
Ashley says
This is great. I have been wondering how to approach more focused practice time at home. This past week, in some of my longer lessons, we did an “experiment”… The first half of their lesson they had to pretend I wasn’t there, and just practice like they do at home. I didn’t make corrections or say anything. When they were done I gave them a report card, telling what they had done great! and what they could improve on. One student who is working on practice through repetition, worked on her piece for about 4 minutes before moving on. When I told her, she was shocked, she thought she had been working on it “FOREVER!” So I showed her how to use the timer on her phone, and we agreed on 10 minutes for that particular piece. She thinks that is reasonable and I can’t wait to hear the difference at her lesson tomorrow!
Cara says
Great idea–thank you!
Wendiann Trent says
Thanks again, Andrea, for an other nugget from your golden treasure trove of knowledge. I was looking for a new graphic for festival prep and this will be great! You are AMAZING!
Karen says
This is brilliant! Thanks so much for sharing it!
Andrea says
So glad you find it helpful!