Every time I scored perfect on a spelling test my Grade 5 teacher would hang that test on the classroom wall. Being a diligent student, my display of perfect tests grew and grew throughout the year until, in June, they were brushing the classroom floor.
Most people would think that this was something to be proud of. But I was not “most people”. I was terrified. Every morning as I glanced over at the wall I was met with a visual reminder of the impending doom of my first failure.
The spelling tests are one of my earliest memories of what would become an intense fear of failure. Something that, to this day, is a major hang up for me…
But it doesn’t have to be a major hang up for your piano students. In fact, today we’re going to help you teach your piano students that failure can be fun. And we’re going to do it with a great children’s book.
Beautiful Oops… Making Musical Mistakes
Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzburg is an interactive book your students will love. But I absolutely adore the hidden musical message: Mistakes are okay… and mistakes can actually be turned into something beautiful. As the back cover says, “When you think you have made a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make something beautiful.”
If you’ve ever had a student who is afraid of making mistakes then you know how restrictive this can be to their progress. This book helps undo the negative associations that accompany failure and instead celebrates mistakes… and shows the good that comes from turning “mistakes” into something creative.
How To Use This Book With Your Piano Students
- Read this book with your student. Discuss the kinds of mistakes that are made in book and explore the notion that maybe they aren’t actually mistakes at all.
- Talk about the many different mistakes we can all make on the piano (wrong notes, wrong fingering, missed accidentals, incorrect rhythm etc.) Make a list as you brainstorm.
- Using your student’s current piece, decide which two “mistakes” from your Step 2 brainstorming session your student will intentionally make as she plays her piano piece. Circle two measures where these mistakes are going to happen. Emphasize that the mistake should be exaggerated. Let ‘er fly.
- Have a good laugh about how the mistakes sounded. But then… decide how those mistakes could actually be turned into something beautiful. Can you and your student make that mistake make sense? Can wrong notes be resolved beautifully? Can an incorrect rhythm actually be made to “fit”?…
- Encourage your piano student to perform her “new” piece for a family member or friend while they play the “Can you find the mistakes?” game.
Finding Freedom in Beautiful Mistakes
Once your students realize that mistakes on the piano aren’t something to always be avoided, their willingness to challenge themselves and explore the piano on their own at home will blossom. This is a fabulous book that every piano student should read. Give it a try!
Read Also:
By The End of This Post You’ll Be Teaching Improv To Students As Young As 5
How To Teach Piano To Perfectionist Pete
This is a great idea! When I was 8, I made one of the worst mistakes of my life. I refused to practice a piece that had to be memorized for recital in two weeks. I didn’t even look at the piece until three hours till show time. Somehow, my grandmother convinced me to practice, and I managed to memorize it. Still, I didn’t think I could play it from memory. My teacher didn’t allow me to use the music even though my mom explained what happened. I quit piano lessons shortly there after and refused to perform in any way with any thing for many years. I did eventually resume piano lessons with a different teacher, Mrs. Genie Harris. She and my mom have helped me overcome my fear to the point I now anticipate recitals and enjoy accompanying our church during praise and worship.
I think it also helps that if any of Mrs. Harris’s students get stuck during recital, she is right there to help them. Knowing I’m not going to be left to struggle on alone is a great comforter. 🙂
Bethany, you’re not alone. When I was 16, I went blank half way through my second piece. My teacher asked if I had my music with me. No, why should I? Recitals are always from memory. He asked me to try again. It happened again. I left the building in total shame. To make matters worse, it was the first recital my grandmother ever attended. She died shortly after. I swore I would never perform from memory again. And since all recitals are from memory, that would mean I would never be in another one. I felt liberated!! Until college. I started out as a piano major, but later switched to business to avoid the required recitals in front of the Fine Arts faculty and students. I’m now 60 and have been teaching since 1969. I played in churches for 30+ years. I kept my promise, but at a price. I couldn’t get my music degree.
I let my students perform with their music. I give an extra sticker for any piece they memorize. Being able to laugh at one’s mistakes, or at least to forgive yourself, is so important. Thanks, Andrea. Excellent post.
Oops! Sorry, Trevor!
I love this! Just received Beautiful Oops in the mail today – and am anxious to do this activity with the kids.
To help kids to perform with ease and not fear making mistakes in public, I have them practicing making mistakes quite on purpose during the safe setting of the lessons with me. I make sure that it is first made very clear, for a period of time, that a high standard is expected. No sloppy work, everything clean, in good form and very musical. But thereafter, there comes a point that I encourage them to play three mistakes for me quite on purpose. The point is to teach them to keep right on going as if nothing had happened. Indeed, I tell them, see? The mistake was written right onto the page, in the composer’s original manuscript! The mistake is correct and pre-planned! What I have found, to my pleasure and surprise, is that once kids are given permission to play their mistakes, the freedom opens up the door of creativity. They begin to improvise, once given the permission to make mistakes. I don’t see this improvisation as much with adult students making deliberate mistakes, as I do with the kids. But either way, the permission to make mistakes is freeing. And it fosters confidence when on stage. There is nothing more nerve-producing than to think in public performance situations, “what if I make a mistake?” Further, to hold high standards and yet to allow mistakes and play through them as if nothing happened, helps kids with perfectionism to relax a bit. Sometimes I will even have them practicing covering up a nasty-sounding mistake by improvising around it. This helps them to think on their feet and really practice it. Again this helps confidence in recitals or any other performance situation. And as before, a high standard is held at all times, this is not about goofing off. It is about just the opposite. It is about giving a polished performance with poise and ease, while feeling relaxed inside as the student plays. The experience of performing must be ease-filled and joyous, or there is no point to it. This is one way I try to help, and I find that it really works.