Alice has been taking piano lessons for 9 months. I've grown a little concerned lately that her loving, funny, and kind-hearted teacher has been too lenient on the theory side of things. I've never done this mother-of-a-piano-student thing before and I have no idea what to expect from a 6-year-old on the piano, so I decided to get a second opinion. I took Alice in for a free piano lesson at the Champaign School of Music. Did you know that they offer a free lesson?! We brought the books she was currently working in and the instructor just taught from those.
His approach was clearly more technical than Alice had ever heard. A couple times, he asked her to do something and she just stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language. Which he was, apparently, because she still couldn't tell a half note from a whole note. She was used to calling them "short" and "long" notes. He wasn't the warmest of teachers, but he was friendly and professional. He stopped her and corrected her appropriately. After 30 minutes with this man, Alice was finally playing the piece properly and able to perfectly sightread the rhythm of a new piece with relative ease. I was ecstatic!
I asked her what she thought about the experience and she said she didn't like it. She didn't ever want to go back.
*sigh* I wasn't entirely surprised at her assessment, since she's a relationship person and craves that loving, funny, kind-hearted type of interaction from everyone.
So, here's the sticky bit. I kind of feel like letting her lessons continue as they are would be fun in the short term, but harmful in the long term. At the same time, I'm debating how much I want to strong-arm the issue. Her practice sessions already involve plenty of tears, believe me. Gotta think about this a little more. I welcome your thoughts/input on the matter.
What do you remember from your childhood music instruction? What did you gain from it? Do you think it was worth it? Did your parents press the issue? How did you feel about that?
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What are you hopping to accomplish at the end of piano lessons? Do you want her to simply be proficient at playing or are you hoping that she will want to have some type of career in music,or the possibility of? Is her teacher incapable of teaching theory, or is she just waiting, or is she expecting you to do theory at home. My kids teacher does theory with them during lessons but when I was in lessons my teach expected metro do thoery on my own time. Personally I'd probably currently leave her with the teacher she loves although I might ask her to focus a little more on the theory side, but that is mainly because my goal is being proficient enough to play the hymns and love music. As for practice can you reward her with something she is interested in? I was having trouble with E complaining so I got a huge stack of Pokemon cards (he is super into those right now) and said every day you practice without complaining and I don't have to remind you you can pick one. He now wakes up early in the morning to practice on his own.
ReplyDeleteI think I agree with Glenda. For a six year old for sure, way more important to learn a little bit and enjoy doing it. There will be plenty of opportunities for her in the future to move up the teacher ladder, but that is probably only going to happen if she enjoys it and wants to do it. This is speaking as a kid who had plenty of piano lessons, but never had to make anyone else practice... no advice on that front.
ReplyDeleteWell I just read Battle of the Tiger Mom and that book has tainted my thoughts a bit on music and agency. As a kid I had all kinds of teachers, mostly due to our family's moves. In hindsight, I don't think the fun teachers did much for me. They did keep me from quitting altogether, but I don't know that my piano improved in the years I had the easier teachers. The thing that got me to practice was actually when I was in a position where I was needed as a piano player. When I realized I didn't have the skills then I wanted a teacher who could help me improve. I didn't start piano though until fourth grade.
ReplyDeletePreston and Parker are currently doing piano lesson. Mike is their teacher--- I am the practice Sargent! A year ago, we started Preston on piano lessons-- it was horrible. He did not want to practice and he just made up his own songs. Now, he is moving quickly through the songs and so excited that he accomplished them correctly. I think I would keep Alice with the fun teacher, try some theory at home, or don't worry about it. Or have an open conversations with Alice about this--- you could compare the two lessons. Let Alice choose what is most important for her. One practicing tip, I would give is to choose a number of times you want them to play the song, not a certain time period. Preston practices his song 10 times each day and Parker only does 5 times each day. They get new songs about twice a week. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
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