So your pupil arrives for their piano lesson. They sit and play what they have been working on, receive constructive feedback, work on some important techniques with you and leave with some new challenges for the week ahead, confident in their progress, right? If only it were that easy…
photo credit: Alexander Ward (licence)
I am pleased to say that almost all my weekly piano and keyboard pupils practise between their lessons. However, there are always some exceptions.
What makes a good piano pupil? How can you improve your chances of success? Here are five key qualities to develop…
It’s true: not all pupils are equal. Some seem to develop new skills and pass through the curriculum quickly and easily, others struggle and hit roadblocks regularly. Whilst a degree of ‘natural talent’ has a part to play, there are other significant factors.
So what do good piano pupils look like? Continue reading
Should you cut your nails short to play the piano? Can you practise and play well with long nails? The answer is perhaps not as simple as some would have you believe…
Without wishing to sound sexist, this blog post definitely relates more to my female piano and keyboard pupils than the males! I have yet to teach a boy or man who was unhappy about cutting his fingernails to play more easily. The ladies and girls are a different matter. Continue reading
When I start a new pupil, whether they have requested piano or keyboard lessons, I always talk to them about this choice. Often it’s something they haven’t even thought about. Sometimes it’s a parent who decides and they have a fixed idea about what they want, which is fine. But it’s always good to ask the question… Continue reading
Different people expect different things from their music teacher, but what’s really important? Is it the qualifications they hold? Or the skill with which they teach? Is it the price of lessons? Or does their professional appearance and tidy studio matter, too? During a recent ‘tidying up’ session I got to thinking…
Recently I realised that my Teaching Room was looking a bit of a mess. Of course, we “creative” types like to have things strewn around the room and sometimes it gets a bit out of hand! Continue reading
I’m going to address a more sensitive matter this week: have you ever wanted to tell someone about their personal hygiene problem? But then you felt you just couldn’t find a way to do it? Me too – and it stinks…
I have a ‘client’ who visits my house on a weekly basis. It would be wrong to identify this person online, so I’m keeping quiet about whether they are child or adult, pupil or parent, male or female and whether they come for a lesson in piano, keyboard, ‘cello, Maths or English.
But…there’s no denying it… they smell very strongly of wee. Continue reading
Looking for a sure-fire method to boost your keyboard practice? No problem! Read on…
Along with teaching piano, I have several pupils learning to play keyboard. By ‘keyboard’ I mean electronic or ‘chord’ keyboard: the type where you play a melody in the right hand, chord shapes in the left and the keyboard takes care of the rest with drums, accompaniment parts, multiple instrument voices, extra harmonies, etc. Most of my pupils use Yamaha keyboards such as the PSR-E343 which I strongly recommend for beginners on a budget. Continue reading
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