After decades of teaching, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s a rhythm to learning that affects musical progress and a student’s sustained interest in taking piano lessons.
On the teacher’s side: He/she invests time in lesson preparation and choice of repertoire, individualizing a developmental plan for each student based on age, level, and musical background.
For the student: He/she is expected to attend weekly lessons, practice the music assigned and gain from a musical and pedagogical interaction with his teacher.
The common goal: To have the student realize his full musical potential and thereby enjoy the fruits of his labor over time.
“Over time” are the clincher words.
What happens over time can literally make or break lessons and their continuity.
Here’s why.
Many piano teachers take on new, fledgling students, also known as “beginners” during the summer.
While parents of the younger set, in the 7 to 8-year old range are wide-eyed about a new activity to add to a bunch of others including swimming, day camp, horseback riding and tennis, they don’t usually factor in vacation periods that will intrude upon a steady stream of piano lessons, making them a trickle, at best.
To grow in any endeavor, consistent exposure is a given.
Parents know that schools require regular attendance, and curricula may be geared to cover subject matter units in quarters or by semesters making learning cumulative. Homework assignments are supposedly devised to afford additional practice of material covered in the classroom.
The same applies to piano, though it sometimes feels like music lessons are undertaken on another planet in a different time zone. Perhaps being weightless in cyberspace filters down to weekly lessons that are taken far too lightly.
Some parents insist that music instruction will help junior test better at school or will directly improve his grades, so they insist that giving him catch-as-catch-can exposure to piano will meet the desired goal. (I have one high school student already bound for college whom I’ve hardly seen during the past year)
The truth is that students quickly lose interest in piano when they check in and out at the drop of a hat.
Drop-out rates increase in ratio to poor attendance.
Compare to high school drop-out statistics and school attendance.
If you add in sporadic practicing that is part and parcel of sparsely attended lessons, you have a student who is in the LOST column before he advances to playing hands together.
Teacher resolutions and Time sensitive summers
Because of an essential educational principle that is based upon baby-step, layered learning, I always recommend that students, especially beginners NOT embark upon summer lessons unless two months are cleared for continuous instruction. (0kay so let one week be sacrificed to a Disneyland romp)
For others who are more advanced and would like to continue lessons into July and August, I make it clear that time and money will be better spent if lessons and practicing are consistent.
During the year:
This is when dips in attendance and/or feeble practicing contribute to the most serious decline in a student’s musical interest, along with an associated drop-out rate. (School homework assignments and extracurricular activities are the deal breakers)
In such circumstances teachers will often select “magic bullet” pieces as a last ditch effort to ignite enthusiasm and keep lessons moving forward. The “moving forward” part ties directly to a “learning rhythm” that keeps the student and teacher mutually engaged.
My best “bullet” pieces for younger students include:
“The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
Mary Poppins, “Supercalifragilisticexpialocious”
Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory: “Oompa Loompa doompadee doo”
“Star Wars”
Selections from “Annie” and “Sound of Music”
etc.
But giving the “treat” pieces amidst minuets and sonatinas is NOT enough to sustain interest in piano lessons, unless the student has scheduled steady practicing into his daily life.
Without regular, thoughtful playing exposures, the enticement of a new flavor-of-the-month piece will be short-lived because it takes the same baby-step, learning approach, regardless of what selection the teacher has chosen. Boredom and a lack of student interest creep in when ANY piece overstays its welcome and stagnates with a preponderance of repeatedly played wrong notes and faulty fingering.
Weekly floundering from feeble practicing, not to mention on/off attendance are a prescription for a student exit whether initiated by the parent or teacher.
In summary, unless lessons and thoughtful practicing are consistent, a student will not likely thrive in the piano learning environment.
http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/how-long-should-a-piano-student-stay-with-a-piece/
http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/07/02/summer-piano-lessons-and-progress/
http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/piano-teachers-students-and-reluctant-farewells/
