by Sandy Holland

It goes without saying that to teach piano you should be able to play well. However, playing well does not ensure being a good teacher and your practice will only be successful if you become good at enabling your students to play well too!

What is good teaching?
Good teaching has a clear focus, with definite goals based on musical principles.
It should aid current understanding and achievement and also promote future progression.

Teaching strategies should be formulated according to conscious learning objectives for a particular student, whilst being sufficiently flexible to respond to the needs of the student in any particular lesson.

The means of assessing whether or not we have achieved our objectives must be clear to us, for instance we will know if we have succeeded in teaching the correct time value of dotted rhythms in a Kabalevsky piece if the student plays accurately in the next lesson.

Both short-term and long-term goals should be set for each student, for instance this lesson’s objective may be to teach the student how best to practise legato pedalling, whereas the long-term goal might be to pedal a Schumann piece well enough to pass the Grade 5 examination in six months’ time.

Take into account your students’ preferred learning styles
Different students have preferred learning styles and we should know what these are so that we can both teach that student most effectively. The most relevant preferred learning styles for the pianist is:

(i) Kinaesthetic – these students will prefer to learn by ‘finger memory’ of melodic and chord shapes and they will probably be good at this way of memorisation

(ii) Visual – these students will prefer to learn by looking at the shapes that the music makes on the keys and they will probably be good sight readers

(iii) Aural – these students will prefer to learn by remembering how the music sounded. They may like to learn by rote more than by reading music and they will probably be good at memorising

(iv) Combination learners – these students will be able to draw on a range of learning styles.

Be a creative teacher
Begin teaching a piece by focusing on an aspect of it that resonates with the individual student’s preferred learning style.

For example, when beginning Satie’s Gymnopedie III, consistently using the Left Hand finger pattern 5-3-1 for root position chords (like A-C-E) and first inversion chords (like C-E-A), but using fingers 5-2-1 for second inversion chords (like A-D-F) can be of enormous help in achieving accuracy.

Visual learners will be guided by how the patterns look on the keys compared with the notes in the score and kinaesthetic learners will become able to relate the feel of the hand position to the chord sequence to be memorised.

Aural learners will benefit most from remembering the sound of the chords. It is a useful and highly relevant exercise in aural development to encourage the student to hear whether the root (the A in chord A minor) is at the bottom, in the middle or at the top of the chord. Hearing this detail provides a quick accuracy check.

We should also develop students’ learning capacity in the ways that do not come to them so readily. If we know a student is probably going to learn pieces more by rote than by reading the notation, we should be positive about that student’s memorising abilities, whilst also encouraging better music reading by regularly providing easier sight reading opportunities.

In summary, getting to know each student well enough to be attuned to their individual learning styles can be fascinating and rewarding, helping to make lessons more enjoyable and learning easier. Efficient learning maximises every student’s chance to fulfil his or her potential. The most successful piano teachers are those whose students are happy with the teacher / student relationship and are satisfied with their progress as a pianist.

© 2010 Sandy Holland, Arts Enterprise Limited 2010 Sandy Holland is a musician with a mission – to enable good piano teaching and playing! Sandy is based in the UK and is the co-director of E-MusicMaestro.com, pianist, piano teacher, examiner for ABRSM and OCR, university tutor in music education. Over a hundred pieces are covered in unrivalled detail on the E-MusicMaestro website. All have suggested Teaching Strategies that focus on that particular piece, with effective, relevant Practice Tips for students. Access additional articles at http://www.e-musicmaestro.com

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By Rhiannon Schmitt

I’ve overheard teenage musicians mention casually they are considering teaching music to make extra money. I am compelled to butt in, “Do you enjoy teaching?” the answer I interrupt with “Are you patient?” Their response: “Like, I play wicked, teaching will be an easy gig.”

My response: maniacal laughter.

Teens, let us hear the wise old violin teacher preaching a holy sermon from atop a glorious mountain of experience: Teaching music isn’t a luxurious life of sleeping in late, illuminating the unquestioning minds of flocking prodigies through 30-minute jam sessions and writing off all your music gear and fast food meals come tax time. Lord have mercy on our souls.

Simply put, teaching music is weekly customer service, with occasional late night support calls when the instrument falls out of tune or the player is struggling. A teacher is dealing with customers who are exploring new ground, hence requiring lessons in the first place, and is responsible for helping advance them into musicians who no longer require our services.

Sounds easy, except that the most trying aspect of customer service is, oddly enough, the customer. The human collective is a random grab-bag of mixed egos and inhibitions, fears and potential, attitudes and limitations. Even the ideal customer, who listens closely, asks exactly the right questions and retains everything they have ever been taught, cannot master music in an afternoon. (At least we teachers have a semblance of job security).

Music, a vast system of pitch, velocity and rhythm that can take a lifetime to understand, has been further complicated with pedagogy. There are more styles to teach violin than there are ways to cook an egg. Each method claims theirs is the most effective way to master the instrument, they have countless scientific studies to prove it and please enter your credit card number here.

A teacher has to weed through the dogmatic hype and come out with a cohesive teaching concept that jives with their own approach to playing and learning. They also have to understand their instrument inside and out, keeping in mind a clear idea how and when to introduce new concepts as to not overwhelm the student. After carefully formulating a perfect lesson plan, the teacher will then scrap it all and reinvent their method when it inevitably doesn’t fit the student’s learning style.

A good teacher is not locked into one method or way of explaining ideas. Instead they receive feedback from the player and interpret it into a lesson that will make an impact.

What makes the most impact, you ask? Repetition. Repetition. Then you do it again. Detach yourself from how many times you’ve played “Fur Elise” or corrected that particular eighth note. There are pin-sized holes in my eardrums from “Twinkle Twinkle” and I develop an itchy rash prior to our annual Christmas recital, but I’ve found a Zen peace in accepting my fate.

I see each lesson as a new chapter in the life of a musician I am helping along. With experience, lessons have developed their own rhythm and my teaching days swoop past me.

The repetition can get to some people, like the crusty old piano teacher, the one everyone seems to have had as a child, who wielded a nasty ruler for discipling unwanted notes. I knew a guy in high school who whacked his violin students on the head with his bow whenever he, the teacher, became frustrated.

A teacher cannot crack when the student plays the wrong note for the hundredth time, so impatient musicians must carefully consider their suitability as teachers. “Penny whistle teacher needed: Psychopaths with Intermittent Explosive Disorder need not apply.”

Instead of whopping students with a pernambuco stick with hair, my aforementioned colleague could have channeled his infinite aggression into another enjoyable branch in the music industry, such as fending off broken beer bottles at the country bar or smashing double-neck guitars for screaming mobs at GM Place. Last I heard he’s still teaching at the music store, but has invested in a heavy carbon bow and a cocktail of barbiturates.

Once a player has established that teaching is a good direction to take and they have passed all the inkblot exams without incident, he or she needs to lay down a teaching foundation. Selecting a method book to use is one thing, but the teacher needs to develop a mission statement and their goals in teaching.

My mission focuses on two words: Inspiration and Encouragement. My goals include “music as a life experience” and sharing my love for violin among friends. The mission statement and goals serve as a guide whenever I am faced with a decision or problem in my work, it’s sort of an operations manual for my business. And that’s what teaching music really is: a business.

I urge all musicians who plan to make their music more than a hobby to take business classes on marketing and promotion, finances and taxes, and business plans. Learn to promote yourself because no one will know who you are if you just sit at home chatting on MSN. Keep good financial records so you are prepared for tax season. There are far too many exceptional musicians, performers and teachers who are stuck on the dole or playing for the coming and going liquor store clientèle due to poor business practices.

You don’t have to be a marketing whiz or a lawyer, though your mother would prefer such a career change so she can have her basement back. Just learn enough to keep yourself out of trouble with the tax man and to maintain a full compliment of paying, regular students. For more guidance I suggest the book “Making Money Teaching Music” by David and Barbara Newsam, available for a free read through the Okanagan Library system.

It seems to be an oxymoron, but it is possible to make money teaching music! So teenage musicians, nod your head, say “yes Rhiannon,” and do exactly everything I have ordained in the article above, then watch the money pour into your bank account.

Hallelujah!

And try not to spend it all at the music store filling the blank slots in your gear rack.

Amen.

**Rhiannon Schmitt (nee Nachbaur) is a professional violinist and music teacher who has enjoyed creative writing for years. She currently writes columns for two Canadian publications and has been featured in Australia’s “Music Teacher Magazine.”

Rhiannon (age 29, she’s not really old) has worn the hats of businesswoman, performer, events promoter, classical music radio host, school orchestra music arranger and music columnist in rural British Columbia, Canada.

Her business, Fiddleheads Violin School & Shop, has won several distinguished young entrepreneur business awards for her comittment to excellence. Her shop offers beginner to professional level instruments, accessories and supplies. http://www.fiddleheads.ca provides a rich resource of information on her school, violin, products for sale and more.

Rhiannon is also Founding President of the http://www.violinsociety.ca Shuswap Violin Society. She dedicates much of her time to community music projects and helping young musicians.

By Randal Stevens

The internet has become a valuable tool for any business or individual seeking promotional or marketing opportunities, and music teachers are in the perfect position to take advantage of it as well. Whereas you used to have to rely on word of mouth and printed fliers or cards to get your name out there, it is now easier than ever to reach a wide audience interested in your services. Music teachers and composers now have the opportunity to greatly increase their chances of success, provided they know how to take advantage of it.

The first essential way to use the internet for music promotion is to find a listing or directory site for what you want to be listed as. Music teachers should be able to find a free directory to be listed on that will give them search engine exposure and help local students find the music lessons they are offering. Composers should also be able to find sites that they can use to promote their music and offer their services as a freelance composer.

One site that should definitely be used is Craigslist. This classified ads site will let you post a simple message about your services as a music teacher or composer that will be seen by many people in your local area. Craigslist gets a huge amount of traffic, and it is the best way to get a large exposure in your local area for free, but there is also a lot of competition on the site and your ad will only be visible temporarily. In any case, it is still a resource that should always be used.

Another great way to promote yourself online as a music teacher is to start a YouTube channel and post some videos. YouTube is also a very high traffic site, and you can go a long way promoting your services with it, even considering the immense amount of other videos that get uploaded there every day.

Having a video channel where you can post clips about your service as a teacher, such as practice tips, lessons, and other materials, can build you a small following and provide people with visual evidence of your expertise. It will also give you more exposure to people searching the internet for local music teachers or composers who can fulfill their needs.

These are just a few simple suggestions that can get you started with music related internet promotion. In order to really take advantage of the possibilities offered by the web, you should always be trying out new things and thinking about how you can use what is available.

Find directory sites online where music teachers can be listed for free and composers can post information about their music. http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Randal_Stevens

By Tatiana Bandurina

When parents decide that they want their child to pursue music education, they face another tough decision – “Private music lessons or music school? Which is the better option?”

It’s really up to you and your child. Both options are good and each of the two has its advantages and disadvantages, as discussed below.

For private music lessons, teachers can come to your home to teach, thus providing you convenience and “comfort of home”. Private music teachers often combine the main subject with the elementary theory of music, which saves a lot of money in comparison with hiring a music theory teacher. Moreover, private music teachers are more comprehensive in their lessons on music theory which is one of the most important parts of music education. Lastly, private music teachers can hold duets with your kid without extra payment. Music schools charge extra for ensembles.

Talking about music schools, one of its advantages is that they offer services in various subjects, which is not the case with private music lessons. Before going further into the advantages of music schools, let’s know something about educational staff recruitment.

If you’ve set your mind on hiring a private music teacher, how do you select one? On what criteria will you choose a teacher for your child? Parents often go by their own assumptions or friends’ advices; can you rely on this information?

If you or someone in the family is a musician, you can very well go ahead and select a teacher for private music lessons; you and your child will be fine. But most often, parents know nothing about music education. They are easily influenced by advices and lured into hiring just any teacher. The teacher only has to use some sophisticated language in a cleverly disguised tone, and that’s it – you hire him/her for your child’s private music lessons. You may even find a really good and professional teacher, but that’s not all that is required from a teacher; the teacher also needs to understand your child’s psychology and various age-specific factors

In the former Soviet Union, music colleges and institutes taught education and psychology, but only for a year. The future music teachers didn’t look at those lessons again. In the US and Canada, these subjects are simply not there in the curriculum! Music teachers are left to learn from experience and years of practice. Do you want your child to be the study material for the teacher?

Finding a professional teacher for private lessons is a matter of chance. Do you want to take the risk? Let me tell you, if you don’t find the right teacher for your young talent, you will be making a big mistake. If your child loses interest in music and quit, you have no one but yourself to blame. There’s no point in blaming the teacher, your child, or your child’s friend circle. Of course you never intended to do anything like that, but do you know the real mistake? The real mistake is that you didn’t acquire enough information on how to choose a music teacher. You trusted other people.

Tatiana Bandurina develops a new trend in education – Music Education for Parents. For more information on private music lessons, visit http://www.quintecco.com

Designed by music teachers, for music teachers, to help you manage the business aspects of running a private music teaching studio.