If you teach an easily-distracted piano student then you likely know how frustrating it can be to try to make a lesson flow smoothly. But the frustration doesn’t end with you. Easily-distracted students are often very frustrated by their own busy brains and the comprehension challenges that arise as a result.
We’ve blogged in the past about strategies for teaching fidgety students, students with ADD and ADHD, and students who simply need to change focus frequently.
However, today’s post is about eliminating the hidden distractions in your piano studio that can have a significant impact on easily-distracted students …
8 Hidden Distractions In Your Piano Studio
If you have a piano student who is having difficulty focusing, it’s a good idea to look for ways to eliminate potential distractions as much as possible. Removing obvious distractions (your dog, a ticking clock, a hummingbird feeder) is easy to do, but today’s post is about those things that are not so obvious… and I call them “hidden distractions”.
Hidden distractions often go unnoticed by a piano teacher but scream out at piano students. Unfortunately, since children often have difficulty recognizing and verbalizing learning needs, instead of simply stating “That “thing” is bothering me” they instead display a variety of undesirable behaviors.
If you’re dealing with an easily-distracted student or one who is acting out during lesson time, take a look to see if these covert distractions could be part of the problem.
1. An Unpredictable Lesson Routine:
Most children crave routine, structure, and predictability. While some can deal with variations to routines, others can be completely thrown for a loop by an omission or addition to their normal routines. A simple “Guess what! We’re going to do composing today!” can turn into thoughts of, “Weren’t we going to play a game?… What if we aren’t going to play games anymore?… If we don’t play games anymore then I won’t get to play with the big foam dice and I love that… I’m worried that I might never see those big dice again….”
Using a visual calendar that is displayed and discussed at the start of a piano lesson helps to set students up with clear and comfortable lesson schedules, helps to pre-warn students of any variations, and helps to prevent students from having to fret about what may or may not happen during a lesson.
2. The Promise Of A Reward
Well-meaning parents of easily-distracted children will often promise rewards or treats to encourage “good lesson behavior”. Studios, mine included, may have systems such as “Beethoven Bucks” or studio prize buckets to encourage regular practice. And while these strategies might work great for some, they should be used cautiously with others. If not explained thoroughly, reward systems can create distracting thoughts of what the reward could be, if the reward will actually be received, and the feelings that will result upon failure to achieve a reward.
For easily-distracted students, aim for motivating without pre-promising anything, opting instead to reward or acknowledge desirable behavior as it happens (not in the future).
3. The Need To Please
Most piano students love to please their teachers. But for some, the desire to avoid making mistakes, or the fact that they could possibly disappoint you, causes overwhelmingly distracting thoughts that then result in a lack of focus… which causes mistakes… which further reinforces their worries.
Create an atmosphere where mistakes are not only tolerated but are celebrated as a very welcome by-product of taking on challenges. Check out this “mistake-friendly” blog post for more ideas.
4. Something They Are Just Dying To Tell You About
As important adult figures in their lives, your students are often waiting for days to tell you about exciting events that may have happened during the week. Without the chance to tell you their stories they may spend their entire lesson waiting for an opportunity to do so (and that’s all they’ll be thinking about).
Begin your piano lessons with opportunities for students to share one tidbit of information. Start the conversation off with “Tell me one wonderful thing that happened to you this week” as a way to limit what can often become an hour-by-hour, run-down of the life of a six-year-old 🙂
5. The Perception Of Too Many Steps To Success
Some children crave a challenge and take on the opportunity to work towards a goal with zeal. For others, the perception of too many steps to success can be overwhelming and distracting. This can cause them to shut down, not pay attention or simply give up before they even begin to try.
Keep your verbal instructions simple, and to just one or two steps. Ensure that you set many quickly-attainable goals both during lesson time and when looking at “big picture” plans.
6. The Multi-tasking Teacher
I’m the queen of multi-tasking, but when I have an easily-distracted piano student on my bench I force myself to do just one thing at a time. Writing lesson notes while your student plays or setting up a piano game while they complete an assignment page can all be very distracting to some students.
If you know you will be teaching a student who needs your undivided attention ensure your materials are all within arms reach, and that they are set up but out of sight. Find a simple way to communicate lesson notes that doesn’t require a lot of writing during lesson time and avoid being distracted yourself.
7. Unpredictable Reaction To Student Behaviors
Distracted children can also be anxious children who find uncertainty unsettling. Students who are unsure of lesson expectations in terms of behavior often “test the waters” and if your reactions are not the same each time they can fall into a distracted spiral.
Clearly verbalize your expectations (ie “When I’m talking, you are not allowed to play the piano.”) and react in the same fashion every time expectations are not met (closing the keyboard cover if your students insist on playing while you are talking). Predictability is key in keeping your students focused on learning.
8. Hungry, Thirsty, Tired?
Some kids can “power through” a lesson no matter how hungry, tired, or thirsty they may be. Others are completely distracted by even vague sensations of physical discomfort.
Work with the parents of your students to ensure their kids are properly fed, appropriately dressed, hydrated, and “bathroom’ed” before their lesson time.
If this is a time-constraint issue (ie. arriving immediately after soccer practice) work to adjust their lesson times in future years to avoid what could be causing the discomfort. A simple adjustment in schedule can make a world of difference to a child who is keenly aware of sweaty clothes or the need for a snack.
Need to grab the attention of a distracted student with super-exciting piano repertoire? Check out The Adventures of Fearless Fortissimo on Amazon! These books are the Bam, the Zzzwap, and the Kapow for teaching children who crave action to love piano lessons!
Yael Resnick says
I teach several very distractible students. Different strategies work for different children, but here are a few things I do that have helped.
1. Make more eye contact! This is hard when we are both facing the piano, because the student has to turn his or her head toward me. So when I need more than a few seconds of attention, I turn my body completely toward the student and ask them to turn completely to face me (sideways on the bench). Then it’s much less likely that the student will fiddle around on the piano while I’m speaking. We can also “practice” technique in the air this way, or work on rhythm, etc., with more focus. A bonus is that we can smile directly at each other, which helps bonding and trust.
2. For a student who is super fidgety and constantly checking out what else is in the room and commenting on it, and frequently popping up to run around, I set a very short, specific goal and let him know that once he accomplishes that, he can take thirty seconds to run back and forth, or look at something on a shelf, or give his stuffed dog a turn to play. Then it’s back to focusing.
3. For students who get busy talking or fiddling around playing on the piano or talking ABOUT playing instead of actual starting to play, I find that it helps if I use the same words to cue them that it’s time to begin. It’s good for this to be a brief, assertive statement. Some that I use often are:
“Middle C position, ready!”
“Both hands take a nap on middle C.”
“1, 2, 3, 4!” 🙂
Andrea says
Great tips Yael! Thanks for taking the time to share 🙂
Krista Woelk says
I find that the aural cue to start works well for my students… Usually it starts with me setting the tempo by clapping or tapping a measure and then a 2 measure count in of 1,2, 3, 4, 1, 2, ready, play. This way they have time to get ready and find their spot in the music. Sometimes I do it twice because they weren’t quite ready the first time or weren’t sure where I wanted them to start. But it does get us going in the right direction very quickly.
Susan says
Kids truly do get distracted by many things — and often times those things aren’t noticed by us at all. Just a few weeks ago, a teen student began her recital piece and stopped after a few measures, saying, “Can you please make that stop?” I realized she was being distracted by the ticking of my cuckoo clock! It’s just white noise to me, but I think I’ll remember to stop it during her lessons from now on 🙂
Andrea says
It’s true isn’t it Susan?! Sometimes we don’t even notice what might be distracting (last week it was the hummingbird feeder in my back yard for a boy who must be destined to be a future ornithologist… he was *obsessed*… it’s now out of sight 😉 )
María Laura says
I know what you mean…! Once it happened to me that a bird buildt a nest in a flower pot in the balcony, and it’s little sons birds were born in there… I had to wait almost three weeks while the bird fed their sons and they both learnt to fly… it was really cute, but I had no choice to wait for their natural time to be able to fly and leave the nest… over those weeks I had to deal with very distracted students who even took photos with their cells of this “Piano Studio Attraction” ! 🙂
Sandra says
Love it! ….Sometimes these major distractions become legendary for both teacher and student. It might make corn flakes of a lesson (or two) but in the end it is almost a bonding experience. Once I had a cat give birth to her first litter of kittens during back to back lessons of siblings. Kitty was determined to use my son’s sock drawer by getting in from behind. I had to get the spare student to sit on a chair and brace her feet against the drawer so that the cat was forced to do the deed somewhere else. (She chose under my bed, even though I prepared a nice place for her in a closet!). The balance of those two lessons were interupted by two kids running to check on maternity progress. We did get some lesson work in, but the birth of live kittens was way more compelling. In the end there were five kittens born, and we persuaded the inexperienced mommy to move her kittens to the bed in the closet. ….The lesson may have been shot, but in the end it was a bonding experience ….and a lasting memory.
Rita says
Yes!! This hits home….ouch. I see the error of my ways…lol. I have a wonderful 7 year old boy who likes to work in the theory book first….and whenever I decide not to, it’s hard to keep him focused. From now on, I will keep worksheets/funsheets handy to start out with….to take the place if we’re caught up in the workbook. There’s always something we can review.
Andrea says
Hi Rita – hope it helps! It’s taken me 17 years or so to figure out all these “hidden” things that can cause the lack of focus – and sometimes they still baffle me 😉
Loni says
The biggest distraction I deal with is the need to use the bathroom! I’ve asked parents to PLEASE have their children use the restroom before they come, but last week I had a student dance on the bench for 1/2 hour even though I offered multiple times to let him take a break sheesh
Jan says
I insist that all students, adults included, wash hands before touching my pianos. Parents know they have to arrive early enough to make certain this takes place or they lose valuable lesson time. It is amazing how this cuts down on the spread of colds, flu and stomach viruses and my parents greatly appreciate it. Most will remind their children to wash hands as soon as they walk in the door. Twice in the past year, I’ve had a student come down with the flu a few hours after a lesson and neither I nor my other students caught it from them. (My doctor says hand washing is the best protection.) For those who need to potty, most will do it before they wash hands but rarely I’ve heard the sink run beforehand and sent them back for one more handwash….
Jamie says
I don’t require students to wash their hands (unless they’re visibly dirty), but I’m a stickler for using hand sanitizer! Many parents have told me how much they appreciate it, especially when a “bug” is going around!
Kay Hooper says
Some of our students actually have sensory processing disorders, either ADD/ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Some of these children may use all the reserves they can muster to get through a day of school and have none left by the time they get to lessons.Or their medication wears off. Some of them need to move and haven’t been able to during the school day, especially since many schools have reduced recess thanks to the increased emphasis on testing. If a parent is either unaware or doesn’t want to reveal these challenges, you may need to inquire about them.
Children with sensory processing disorders often can not verbalize what the distraction is, but they may be able to request some kind of change. I have noticed this with students who may want a light to be moved or turned off but can’t actually tell you that it is a distraction.
Kids who need to move should be allowed to move. Get them off the bench for rhythm walking, cross crawl or bouncing on a therapy ball. Or use rhythmic movements at the piano. I also have a talking stick which I created out of a backyard stick and some leather twine and beads from the craft store. You can allow the student to say what he/she wants to say while holding the stick, then remove the stick and move on. You can also time the talking stick period so there is a predictable end to it.
In terms of rewards, some do fine with it. One of my students is far more attentive and focused because his reward is to bounce on the therapy ball if he finished his lesson with time to spare. Since we started this reward, he gets right to work when he comes in for his lesson. Before that it was hard to get him to complete his lesson. As always, every student has different needs.
Hope Noar says
I hold their hands if they try to play while I am talking. This works. I also use a lot of humor, so if they are fidgeting, this is my cue to change course or do something fun. The point is to keep things going and not give them time to get bored. We laugh a lot and this keeps the kids happy and on course.
I had two brothers who came in the week of the recital and their duet was not up to par. My reaction: “It seems to me that I had two boys in my studio last week who looked like you, and played this duet flawlessly. Can we bring these boys back?” And the duet was perfect. All you need is a little humor to solve problems.
Carrie Cummins says
I have a kindergartener who is distracted after about 10-15 minutes of playing her pieces. I then bring out the iPad and we play a short game (usually Music for Little Mozarts app). We can then get back to playing the piano for the rest of the 1/2-hour lesson.
Mary says
I have had ADHD students over the years-one was so severely affected, she chomped down on the fall board. I find that repeating their name gets them to focus on me and what I would like them to do. I also quietly close the fall board if they insist on playing nonsense while I am talking. My latest challenge has me using candy as his reward for playing a piece. He is allowed 3 pieces per lesson and only is rewarded with one when he finishes. He is my last lesson of the week-and I am exhausted after that half hour lesson. (could be my age, too!)
Linda Hyland says
So many of my students are in their teens. This presents a totally different kind of distraction! Most of them are so tired and over-extended with activities and by the time they get to actually “sit” at lessons, they mostly would just like to chill out or sleep. LOL. I’m very in tune with this by now. Their distractions are totally within themselves so my job is to just bring them to the table, so to speak. The last 3rd of the school year seems to be when this ramps up with sports and activities. I lighten their load a bit, but am careful not to too much or it just makes them put in less effort at home. But at lessons, I try to change things up a bit to wake up their tired brains…maybe listen to a piece on YouTube, play through some new music, play through some old music, do some note-writing on the whiteboard, etc. And yes, sometimes we have a little longer chats than usual. They often just came from a stressful day and need to talk a bit :).
I’ve had many distracted little ones in all my years of teaching, but find the older ones are the most difficult.