Our youngest daughter just started Grade One this year. She’s officially “not a baby” anymore… and it certainly felt different dropping her off at her first day of school (last year, Trevor and I choked back tears as she looked at us with big, nervous eyes. This year, she shouted a happy “Bye!” as she charged through the front door).
And with this new “grown up phase” comes changes in how we relate to her. She no longer needs us put on her shoes, or to get her dressed in the morning, or to pack her backpack… yet I’ve still found myself doing these things for her when asked. Force of habit.
While it feels good to treat her like my little bitty baby, I realized that I’m not doing her any favors, and so I forced myself to encourage her to do these things on her own. And with each task she independently completed I could see her confidence blossom.
Inevitably… my experiences with Halle led to a piano teaching post. So today we’re sharing a list of the 6 things you should stop doing for your piano students. Not because doing them is detrimental (and you’ll likely find yourself occasionally slipping back into old habits… and that’s okay!) but because NOT doing them for your students gives them the opportunity to practice being independent learners which is, after all, our end goal as teachers.
6 Things You Should Stop Doing For Your Piano Students.
Independent learners are confident students who know how to seek out the answers to their questions by using their books and materials as resources. They readily accept challenges and have the self-assurance to work ahead on their own. Sounds like a dream student, yes? Well, if you try to do some of things below less frequently, you may end up with a studio of dream students.
1. Organizing their materials
In order for your piano students to learn to use their books and materials as a learning aid, they need to know how their resources work and where to find them. This means that, aside from initially providing an organizational system, (like our Blinged Out Binders) they are the ones who are fully in charge of their materials.
Try to minimize a) placing materials into their binders for them (if they do it themselves, they then know where to find it at home) b) opening their books for them to the correct page (if they open their books in lessons then they know how to do it again at home) and c) packing up their bags for them at the end of a lesson (if they learn to pack up they gain a sense of ownership over their own materials and are more likely to look after, and remember them).
2. Answering questions with a direct answer
The next time your piano students ask “Where do my hands go?” or “What note is this?” or “Was that right?”, avoid giving them the answer. Instead, respond in a way that guides them to finding the answer on their own.
For example, in response to “Where do my hands go?” you could say “Where on your page could you look to find the starting note and finger number?” This helps your students learn to rely on their resources rather than on you – something that has a positive impact on effective home practice.
3. Writing on their music… some of the time
Initially it’s always faster to simply write down reminders and notes on your students’ sheet music yourself, but in the long run, having students who feel empowered enough to write their own reminders means they’ll a) actually pay attention to those reminders and b) create their own systems which will be more meaningful and effective to them as individuals. One of the best things I ever learned to do was to simply hand over the pencil and ask “What could you write to remind yourself about that?”
4. Talking to Mom or Dad “over their heads”
Obviously you want to have regular contact with piano parents, but sometimes it can be really valuable for reminders, updates and “look what we did today” messages to come directly from your students instead of you. As a parent, hearing “Mom! Today I learned about 6/8 time!” carries more meaning than if you were to mention it in passing. This helps parents to see their children being active participants in their learning and helps children learn to communicate their accomplishments verbally. It also helps to avoid the dreaded “I dunno.” answer when Mom or Dad asks, “How was your lesson?” Check out our “What’s Inside My Musical Mind” post for an idea on how to encourage this kind of communication.
5. Laying out lesson routines
For the first few months of lessons, you obviously want to be the person in charge of routines (either using a visual calendar or by guiding your students verbally through the various parts of the lesson). However, after the first few months it is really valuable to have your students feel like they have some input into lesson routines. Allow your students to arrange the visual calendar or to verbally tell you the order of activities in which they want to proceed. Often children are more aware of their learning needs than we initially assume. Playing piano games first may seem counterintuitive to what you would normally do – but for some children this actually provides a really good segue into the lessons after a busy day of school. Give it a try and adjust how much freedom you allow your students in this area.
6. Deciding when a piece is “complete”
Initially this may seem an odd thing to “hand over” to your students. However, when provided with criteria against which they can measure their current pieces, your students will learn to make observations on their progress. You create the criteria for what constitutes a “completed piece” and then together you can collaboratively make a decision about whether a piece is ready to be placed “on review” or if it needs another week or two. If you notice that your students are hastily wanting to move on past their pieces, then perhaps an adjustment in repertoire is required.
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Learning To Let Go For The Sake Of Learning
Creating independent learners is a skill that we can teach right along with the skill of playing the piano. Our end goal as piano teachers is to have students who are aware of their own learning process, know how to seek out needed information or assistance, are motivated to challenge themselves with new experiences, and can self-assess their own progress.
By removing yourself from the six items listed above, you also remove yourself from the position of being a “learning assistant” and instead become a mentor who skillfully guides your students through the process of learning how to learn.
Jeanne says
This is genius. I am a second grade teacher and a piano teacher and my job-share partner and I do this at school too! Part of learning life skills such as organizing your school supplies, your music supplies, your soccer or gymnastics stuff, etc., is OWNING that they are YOURS. Kids do better when they own it. While coordinating groups of college students who volunteer at our elementary school, I saw which students had ever actually organized for themselves. Parents and teachers need to teach this early on. Thank you for pointing out the details of how to do this with our piano students!
Andrea says
Hi Jeanne – thanks so much for your comments! Yes, such important “life skills” can be taught during piano lessons 🙂
Stephanie says
DITTO JEANNE!! I agree, only I teach 1st grade and of course, piano 🙂 .
Lynda says
I really enjoyed those six tips. I am putting those into place right. I have a few students who take the initiative to mark reminders themselves. I can see these being very helpful.
Andrea says
Hi Lynda – it is really helpful. We actually blogged more in depth on this topic here: https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2016/05/04/hand-over-the-pencil-how-a-piano-student-introduced-me-to-doodle-study/
PAT DYMACEK says
Hi Andea! You hit so many nails on so many heads! Some of your points are hard to implement, but so worth it. Sometimes, it may be a matter of “training” the student and the parent…and the teacher! Thanks for all of the great information that you and Trevor share so generously!
Andrea says
Hi Pat – glad you enjoyed the post! Yes, think of this as a long-term project. You won’t want to “pull the rug out” all in one swift go, but rather start thinking along these lines and get both students and parents used to it gradually 🙂
Eileen Brown Park says
this may be the BEST posting you’ve EVER compiled … THANK YOU DOWS !!!
Andrea says
Well isn’t that a nice compliment! Thanks for reading Eileen 🙂
kathyG says
I agree with everyone so far: great reminders for us all. And the perfect time to set them into our tiny little teacher brains (I don’t know about anyone else, but my brain feels tiny and woefully unready for the new teaching year). Thank you so much.
Andrea says
Hi Kathy – yes, the start of a new teaching year (after everyone has settled in somewhat) is a great time to start setting up new routines for our students and for ourselves 🙂
Kathryn says
Wonderful! Some of my students already take control of some of these things (MY bag with MY music) and yet can’t find the page they are working on. I’ve been thinking of using tiny page-marker stickies or paperclips on the right page as an organizational help instead of just writing it in their assignment sheet. My own daughter was always slower to let go of my hand and I usually had to “push” for her independence–Guess I should keep that in mind with my students!
Andrea says
Those small “post-it note flags” are great for this! As are our practice pegs… have you found those yet? https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2016/01/03/fun-with-practice-pegs-a-too-cute-piano-practice-motivator/
Natalie Whittington says
I love #2. My go-to phrase is…what does your gut tell you? But I also say…use your detective skills and look for clues:)
#1 is my ultimate downfall. As a neat-freak, I just can’t help myself. Is there group therapy for Compulsive Piano Binder Organizers Anonymous?
Drema says
Well said, Andrea!
And also having parents on board for helping their kids becoming independent learners is so helpful. This is unrelated to the actual lesson itself, but the other day, as we were shuffling with lesson schedules, one of the parents of an older student suggested how about her child bus to piano lesson if both parents need to work and can’t bring her earlier at the time available. I thought, yes, what a great way to allow the child to be responsible in getting to lessons! They have to plan the route out and make sure they get here on time but it also means that they are taking more charge of their own learning and not relying on the parents as much!
Heidi Neal says
I see some habits I definitely need to change! I love #3 and erasable colored pencils have become a good friend in my studio since I “Hand over the Pencil” a lot. If they make a mistake when I ask them to color certain intervals or chords, etc. they can fix it easily. heidispianonotes.blogspot.com
Andrea says
Glad you found it an interesting read, Heidi! Erasable colored pencils is something I haven’t used before – going to try it!
Rebecca says
I enjoy reading your posts and am always looking for new pointers. After teaching 36 years, it’s encouraging to read something and know I’m already doing it! Thanks for the encouragement! #alwayslookingtogrow
Amy Comparetto says
Love this! I’ve found myself doing #6 a lot lately, and I’ve been shocked at how often my students tell me they think they should work on something another week. In addition to giving them the opportunity to make their own choice, it takes the pressure off of me — I don’t have to feel like the bad guy because I re-assigned a piece.
Andrea says
Hi Amy – it’s interesting to see how kids can monitor their own progress when given the chance, isn’t it? And yes, always good to be a “team” working towards an end goal instead of teacher vs. student 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
Linda Hyland says
Thank you! I agree completely! Like anything in life, you learn something best when you do it yourself. I have also done a switcheroo lesson now and then with students where they are the teacher giving ME the lesson. We usually do this 2 wks. in a row and they are told ahead of time to prepare to teach me a new scale and start a new piece (usually one in their own book). Then we go accordingly and they write in their notebook, stop me when I need correction. I ask them questions and make mistakes so they can help. I think it gives them a new perspective and understanding. And it’s fun!
Andrea says
So much fun! Thanks for sharing, Linda 🙂
Angela says
Andrea,
These are some great ideas and I want to implement them as I can! I did an exploration activity tonight where the student came up with her own answer rather than me telling her. I’ll keep looking for ways to make my students more independent!
Delwyn says
Hi Andrea,
Love your great ideas! As a teacher myself I agree with all your points, especially turning back their questions to help them find the answer themselves. I also think it is really important that students learn to count for themselves from as early on as possible.
I have had students come to me from other situations where the teacher has done this for them. Counting for themselves helps them learn to determine the beat themselves when there is no one else around to provide it.
You folks do a terrific job and congratulations on getting your Wunderkeys book out. I’m working on my own course and it seems to take forever… one day I’ll get there. 🙂 I’ve only recently started blogging and amazed at how much it has helped me process some of what I actually do in my lessons.
Andrea says
Thanks so much for your comment, Delwyn!
Michael Korman says
There is a lot of good advice here. It is important to encourage students to develop a sense of ownership of their own learning. If the whole thing is just *your* project, why would you expect them to be interested?
Many of these points will challenge students, who are expecting the teacher to completely take charge. And this is completely reasonable, given their prior experiences with adult-led education. I would be interested in reading more about how you deal with any anxiety or uncertainty that results from this.
Chima says
I teach & take music classes, this 6point you’ve made I’m taking with me into my classes. Thank you for this points.