Sandra Zylstra

Zylstra Music Services

Blog

10 May 2015

Things I've Learned....

Here are some things I've learned from teaching piano to students over the years....

Things I’ve Learned…

By: Sandra Zylstra

My first piano student was while I was in high school and have taught 135 plus students over the years.  I’ve learned a few things along the way and would like to share with you some of the things I have learned and little bit about how I structure my lessons.

One of the first things I came to realize several years ago was that all students are not equal.  That is not necessarily good or bad, but as you work with them they will not all achieve, and cannot all achieve the same level of proficiency on each song.  Just as in school some students are “A” students and some are “C” students. They should all be encouraged to do their personal best on the music they learn, but as a teacher you need to know your students abilities well enough to know how far they can go on a particular piece.  One thing I look for in beginning students is if they are accomplishing the basic music term being presented in that unit.  If they are learning about whole notes, make sure they are giving each one of them their full count.  If they are learning about various dynamic markings, you should hear the difference.  Sometimes they may be nervous or not concentrating their first time through, so I always give them a second chance to correct whatever mistakes I point out to them. This allows me to see if it was truly a mistake or if they practiced it wrong.

Another thing I have learned along the way is that most students will not be secure in their note reading skills by just going through the lessons and theory books in a series.  Many students need extra help in reading the notes and finding them on the keyboard.  I use flashcards for recognition and also have them find them on the keyboard and do note reading worksheets.  You can laminate the worksheets so they can be used repeatedly. We also regularly do finger warm-up exercises in different keys and sight-reading almost weekly.

One of the most important things to do with your students is develop a personal relationship with each student can go a long way into motivating the pupil! Find out what they like to do outside of piano lessons, their family life, what types of music do they like, etc…  That personal relationship goes a long way in motivating a student and making them feel comfortable with you.

As part of my lessons I give them points as they pass their songs and extra points for memorizing a piece, and for participating in the yearly spring recital.  They can get smaller prizes (music related of course) on their way to earning a statuette of a composer.  This is a HUGE motivation for the students!  Once they get their statue I give them a small worksheet and sheet to read about their composer.  Then they start the process all over again….

 We do a review week at the end of each level.  They get to pick out a few of the songs they really enjoyed playing and they love to see the progress they have made!  And at recital time each student plays a memory piece and we play a duet.  Even parents and grandparents have participated in the duet portion and the students really seem to enjoy it!

Practice is another piece that has to be addressed.  I find that different avenues work with different students.  Talk with parents and try different things, each home life is managed differently and I find it works best when you work together with the parent.

At times it’s good to put a little box in the corner of the page and tell them a certain number of tally marks for the week, sometimes it’s best to write everything out in a notebook with or with out the days or the week and have the students put tally marks in there, and at other times it’s best to give them a set amount of time to practice.  Trouble spots can be addressed with stars denoting the problem measures or parenthesis around the measures with specific practice instructions.

What are some things you have learned about being a teacher? A student? Or from a parents perspective?