I am good at a lot of things. I am bad at A LOT of things. And I am great at a few things.
One thing I am great at is lesson time management. Over the years I have learned to make every second of a piano lesson count. There is not a single thing that happens in my piano lessons that doesn’t have a musical purpose.
Even the simple chit-chat that happens as a piano student walks through my door has a purpose. And by the end of this post you’ll discover that my simple chit-chat is not as simple as it may seem!
How To Chit-Chat With A Musical Purpose
A little chit-chat at the start of a piano lesson is a great bonding exercise… even if that chit-chat serves no other purpose. But letting it serve no other purpose would be a colossal waste of valuable information.
Which is why each week I always ask my younger piano students the same 3 questions. The questions below are specifically designed to give me a little insight to my piano students’ state of mind for the purpose of teaching piano.
So, here we go:
1. Tell me about the most exciting thing that happened to you this week.
This question is great for breaking the ice with even your most silent of piano students, but its true value, of course, lies in your students’ responses. When I ask this question, what I am actually asking, in a round about way, is…
“Did anything out-of-the ordinary happen this week that may be impacting your mood, attitude or ability to practice the piano?”
I find that piano parents are usually pretty good at informing me about negative situations (family illnesses, divorce etc.) that can impact practice, but rarely have anything to say about exciting news that can also have an impact on piano practice. So, for the “good news” I go to the students and usually gain some pretty valuable insights.
2. Who did you play with at lunch today?
As stated previously, if my piano students are having trouble at home I usually hear about it from the parents. But I rarely know if my piano students are having trouble at school.
So when I ask this question, I am really checking on the emotional well being of my piano students.
From their responses, it becomes quite clear whether their interactions with friends are having a positive or negative impact on their emotional health and thus their ability to focus on piano lessons.
I don’t draw any wild conclusions from their responses, but with this extra bit of information I may be able to connect the dots between “friendship troubles” and an unfocused piano lesson, and try to make adjustments to my teaching style to work with the emotional states of my students.
3. Tell me something I don’t know!
This is my favorite question to ask because my students are always a wealth of quirky knowledge. But aside from gathering information to use on television quiz shows, this question also gives me insight into the interests of my piano students.
Music is a very personal pursuit. And students learn best when teachers can make piano lessons appeal to their personal tastes and interests.
Having this information is like having the answer key to a really tough test… you’ll end up with a Piano Teaching A+ every time 🙂
So, you’ve done your detective work and discovered your students’ interest… now you have the challenge of finding motivating music! But if you’re a PianoBookClub member this isn’t a challenge at all. With new music released each and every month PianoBookClub’ers are building a library of music to match the needs of any piano student. Learn more about PianoBookClub here.
What Does Your Chit-Chat Sound Like?
So those are the 3 questions that I ask my piano students… now it’s your turn! In the comments below, we’d love to know what you and your piano students talk about before getting into the nitty-gritty of a piano lesson…
Garreth says
I completely agree! I also like to establish this kind of chit-chat from the very first lesson, so we usually begin the lesson with a quick session of “My favourite food is… pizza! What’s yours? How old are you? I’m really old, how old do you think I am? What’s the last piece of music you heard, maybe it was on the radio or maybe you heard it played at school? Do you have any friends who play musical instruments? What do they play? Have you ever watched them perform? Do you have a favourite song? Mine is…” It’s a really useful way of getting to know what makes them tick, much more effective than getting their parents to fill in a long-winded questionnaire.
Andrea says
so very true Garreth! Thanks for sharing (and I admire your bravery in asking them to guess your age LOL 😉 )
Pam says
I do the same thing minus the last question: ‘Tell me something I don’t know’ – which will be fun to ask my students this week. I too use it as a guide to see how they are doing. It really works! Some really open up and it may take up some of our piano teaching time but it is worth it. The lessons become more meaningful and purposeful. Thanks for sharing!
Andrea says
Glad you found it helpful Pam! You will delight in the “tell me something I don’t know” question – I am always amazed by what they store away in their brains.
Lorri Turcios says
Since I teach at a Christian university, all my students know the importance of my faith in what I do…I also have to say that my pre-college students come from families of faith as well (I always ask permission from parents). 1) So I ask if they have any prayer requests…so we can start the lesson with prayer. That prayer includes their requests and a blessing on our lesson..2) thanks giving for the gift of music and a request for 3) grace to stay focused on the activity ahead.
Bonnie says
I love this! I used to teach in a Christian school, elementary music. I loved praying with and for my students. Thanks for sharing this.
Susan says
Love the chit chat. Time is so valuable.
I can tell by their gait and posture whether it will be a good lesson. My choice of questions start there. Have any of your wishes come true this week?
Did you make a new friend this week?
My first grade student always wears different shoes and flip-flops to lessons.
So every week our chitchat is about her shoes. She giggles and delights in the observation and then improvisation we create with her shoes! It’s a great mood changer for any little person that may not be having a great day.
Lori Arnold says
I always ask my student what went well at practice and what was difficult for them, so that way if need be, I can attack the problem right off and make a hard practice week turn into something easy.
kate says
great questions! I definitely do not do this every week, but I use a similar set of questions (plus a few general what’s your favorite food/color/etc.). Then I have my students answer the questions both verbally and on the piano. It’s a great way to get to know what’s going on in their lives but also show them how they express that through music.
Andrea says
Love this idea Kate!
Antoinette says
I like to keep things positive so I have two questions to ask. What made you happy today? What are you thankful for this week?
Miriam says
Love these questions!
Shirley says
I usually ask what was the most fun thing they did at school that day or a more specific question for home school students. I often ask (not necessarily each week) what was their favorite song practiced that week (which helps answer the question concerning practice).
Kristen says
All of these are great questions! My only additions to the discussion is that since I teach in the late afternoon/evening, I sometimes try to figure out if they’ve had dinner, and on Friday afternoons/evenings I ask what they are planning to do over the weekend.
Linda says
I do this as well, but as a music therapist, the questions are part of songs/activities: “Weekly Update”, “How Was Your Day Today?”, etc. Your post makes such a good point…..the more information we have, the better the lesson and learning.
Zelna van Zyl says
I love the tip someone has shared a time ago to play a major chord if the answer is yes and a minor chord if it’s no. It is interesting to see the hesitation when I ask whether they have been practicing every day.
Andrea says
Yes that was us Zelna! 🙂 Glad you’re using it. The link to that printable is here for anyone who wants it https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2015/08/03/a-back-from-summer-break-first-lesson-piano-printable/
Natalie says
I love this and use it every lesson, though the questions can change up. Many times I realize that I am teaching more than just piano. We can help shape these young individuals with life skills, and sometimes help them through tough things. We are always an example and I’m glad my students love to be there!
Andrea says
So very true! Thanks for commenting, Natalie!