Overall, piano has been going amazing! All of my students have those few things they struggle with, but I think that's normal. In fact, I'm certain it's normal. I've been talking to my piano teacher (who actually got married and moved, so she's my old piano teacher now) and my cousin about the problem areas, as well as just trying to explain everything in such a way that my students (particularly the younger ones) will understand.
Which leads me to the first thing I've learned so far:
Talk to other piano teachers
Seriously - it is so helpful. Especially if you're just beginning and have no idea where to start. My old piano teacher and my cousin have been so helpful. Seek out more experienced piano teachers and learn from them!
If that option isn't available to you (for whatever reason), the next best thing would be looking at some piano things online. There are two websites in particular that I've gathered a lot of my information from: Color in My Piano and Teach Piano Today.
Don't overwhelm your students
This is probably mostly my 'new teacher-y ishness,' but I find myself going on about a certain thing and leaving my students wondering something along the lines of "What in the world is she talking about??" There's so much interesting stuff in the world of piano - but don't overwhelm your students.
Also, if they aren't understanding the concept the first time you explain it, don't keep on repeating basically the same thing. Try different ways of explaining it. I've found that it often helps to show the student rather than simply tell. It's a little harder to come up with how to show a certain concept, but it makes it stick better.
Have a recital
This is kinda a kick at myself for not doing this yet - but I think it was a good decision. I chose to skip out on a Christmas recital and instead go for just a spring recital this year. We're going to have it in late May.
Recitals are incredibly important. One of the main reasons to learn piano is so you can perform. Even if you don't get to be a famous pianist (few people do and I wouldn't expect that of any of my students - or myself) you need to know how to preform in front of others.
This also will help in other areas of life and school. The nervousness might not go away (I've done about eighteen - plus countless other times where I've played something for grandparents or other friends - and I still get nervous) but it will diminish over time. Trust me! Recitals have helped me with giving presentations in front of other people, as well as just generally conquering nervousness when I have to talk to an adult I barely know. (I can be really shy.)
Keep it fun and stay uplifting
This is so important. My favorite teachers have been the ones with games and who encourage me - especially if I feel like I'm doing an awful job on a song. For my students, specifically, I'm using a motivational system where they can earn stickers to gain prices. It's working very well (especially for the younger ones)!
And that's where the games come in. I've played several with my students, and they're usually a hit. Some that I have done involve rolling dice with whole notes, quarter notes, etc. on them and seeing how many rolls it takes to get a four count measure (or three count...),
There are also these candy corn games that are great for matching up notes! This Busted! game was a pretty big hit, especially with my boy students. I also have several games/ideas I want to try but haven't gotten around to get (like this button glove and this game). Hopefully soon!!
That ends this piano update! If you're interested, check out the other post I did on piano last November... Our quote for this week is from Beethoven (he wrote Fur Elise):
To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.Thanks for reading!!
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