Teaching First Year Piano Students

To begin thinking directionally, have the student play skips and steps on the keyboard. Explain to the student that a skip skips a finger and skips a letter in the musical alphabet. A step plays the next finger and is the next letter in the musical alphabet.

Directional Reading

Reading by shapes and contours is a helpful mechanic in reading notes. Relationships such as up, down, same, repetition, equal distribution in the tonic chord, or unequal distribution in the dominate seventh chord should be seen. Explain to the student the three movements possible on the staff: up, down or the same. Also, there are three types of distances possible on the staff: steps (seconds), skips (thirds or larger intervals), or repeats.

Use interval terminology from the beginning. The goal is to teach the student to think and reason directionally from a given note.

Drills can be taught easily without keyboard sheet music. The student can close his eyes while hearing the directions. Experiences such as playing 5-finger positions and chords prepares students for reading notation. It is helpful to create written drills which work with the concept of direction only, writing pairs of notes in any given direction, up, down or repeat.

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Music Education College Major

For the pianist who wants to be a piano teacher in either a university or public school setting, only two general types of degrees have proper credentials: the Bachelor of Music degree and the Bachelor of Music Education degree.

The student earning a Bachelor of Music with a major in piano with the goal of teaching on the university level will also need to pursue graduate studies. With the glut of pianists competing for jobs in the teaching field, a masters is absolutely essential to stand even a slight chance of winning a university position. The exceptions are those individuals who exhibit extraordinary professional achievements, such as concert performers, recording artists, prize winners, etc. Increasingly, an earned doctorate for the performer, usually the Doctor of Musical Arts degree, is becoming mandatory for successfully competing for the better positions on the university teaching scene. The young pianist is strongly advised to not only attain degrees, but achieve as much professional concert experience as possible.

The Bachelor of Music Education degree with a heavy piano concentration is a must for those who want to make teaching music in the public schools their career. A person obtaining a Bachelor of Music Education degree will have to teach other musical subjects and know other instruments besides the piano. Although the student might want to ultimately pursue a master's degree, this is usually not mandatory for at least landing a first job, as it is in the university market.

Students electing to specialize in music education more heavily than in piano performance can obtain a Bachelor of Music degree stressing this area. Even though this type of program will not have as large a concentration of actual keyboard applied study as the straight Bachelor of Music in piano, it is useful to those intending to go on to the graduate level.

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Pre-College Piano Development

One of the most valuable pre-college experiences is the senior high school recital which can serve as preparation for both the college entrance audition and the ultimate graduation recital. A typical program might include one or two of the easier preludes and fugues from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, a Haydn or Mozart sonata, a group of nineteenth-century works of the level of the Chopin waltzes and nocturnes or Schumann's Fantasy Pieces opus 12, and possibly closing with an impressionistic or twentieth-century group of the difficulty of Debussy's Pour le Piano, Copland's Cat and the Mouse, or Bartok's Allegro Barbaro. Even at this level, though, an effort should be made on the teacher's part to expose the student to as wide a range of musical periods and styles as possible.

A common error in the pre-college training is the assigning of pieces that are overly difficult both technically and musically. The experienced teacher will develop the student's playing gradually so that proper attention may be given to all areas of musicianship.

The prospective piano major should not only have acquired a degree of competency in performance, but should also be well-grounded in technique (scales, chords, arpeggios, etc.), have a thorough knowledge of theory, and have some knowledge of the literature. Supplied with an adequate pre-college background, the student will be well prepared to meet the demands of the college music department as a piano major.

At California State University at Los Angeles, for example, the Bachelor of Music degree is a rigorous curriculum for students who wish to prepare for a professional career in music or for those who wish to reach a professional caliber of music attainment. Within the Bachelor of Music degree program, students may pursue specialized study in vocal, instrumental, or keyboard performance; composition; jazz studies; and music education.

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When is a Child Ready for Piano Lessons

Not every young child will be ready to begin piano instruction. The maturity level of young children varies greatly. Girls generally are better coordinated and exhibit better dexterity than boys at an early age. Before rushing headlong into piano lessons, parents should ask themselves questions concerning their child's readiness level:

1. Does he show an interest in learning to play the piano? Perhaps he tries to pick out melodies on the piano, or perhaps he sings well. He may also just enjoy listening to music.

2. Is his attention span long enough to practice at least fifteen minutes at a time?

3. Does he have fairly good coordination of his small muscles? If a parent has taught him to draw letters, numbers, or to write his name, is he able to handle a pencil fairly well? A parent who has taught a child any of these things probably will be willing to help him practice.

4. Does he take instruction well from the person who will be helping him at home? This could be a parent or an older sister or brother.

5. Does the child receive a great deal of satisfaction from learning new things? Is he eager to learn?

If a significant number of these prerequisites are missing, it is recommended that piano lessons be started later when conditions are more conducive for learning. The readiness age will vary with each individual child.

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Teaching Plans and Outlines

Here are some suggested first steps for beginner piano students:

1. Playing by imitation
2. Melodic analysis of song for form (AABA, for example)
3. Five finger hand positions of right and left hands
4. Tonic and dominant-seventh chords
5. Rhythm exercises
6. Sight reading
7. Transposition
8. Theory
9. Technique
10. Home Practice
11. Creative work
12. Block and broken chords
    
13. Analysis, melodic and harmonic
14. Playing the song and observation of cadences
15. Melodies for the left hand
16. Technical development through varieties of fingering
17. Increasing finger independence
18. Piano pieces without words

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Adding Chords to a Melody

Adding chords to a given melody is a great type of creative work to learn keyboard among beginner piano students. In supplying an accompaniment to a given melody, the student first studies the melody thoroughly until it can be played fluently, and until the child can think the tones away from the keyboard. Then he experiments at the piano with the I and V7 chords until an acceptable accompaniment is evolved. Each child decides for himself the way he thinks the chords may best be used. Then, the student plays his arrangements to the piano teacher and comes to an agreement as to the most effective accompaniment. That may be transcribed to his composition book.

Another creative project might be to have the student complete an unfinished composition. This gives him the opportunity to make up some music. Give the student the first half of a little song, and have him finish it. First have him complete the melody. The part which is given is like a musical question, and the student completes the answer. Then he must complete the accompaniment with chords which sound well with his part of the melody. When it is all done, it will be fun to sing and play some pieces which he has helped to compose.

His attention should be called to the balance and proportion of the two phrases. He should observe the feeling of "question" in the first phrase and of "answer" in the second. Children enjoy the game of musical "question and answer" in which the child or teacher invents the question and the other invents the answer.

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Piano Student Performance Review

Review pieces should be used to build a repertoire. Each student should master five or six pieces that can be played with confidence and polish, preferably memorized. This repertoire may change frequently, with newer pieces replacing older ones. Such pieces could be played at home when company comes or relatives visit. When it's time for a recital performance, the piano teacher and the student can choose the best from among present or former repertoire pieces.

According to Julie Gunvalson who teaches piano lessons Agoura Hills CA, there must always be a purpose for review. Tell the student what needs to be improved. Accuracy of rhythm, notes, fingering, dynamics, phrasing, and pedaling are elements that often need extra work, especially when preparing for piano performance.

A typical student will work one, two or somethings three weeks before finishing a piece of music. During that time, most practice effort is devoted to the basics -- correct notes, rhythm, fingering, dynamics, etc. Although you give an award seal or star when a piece is completed, there are often things that the student could have done better. Review is an opportunity to improve and work on the fine points of performance.

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