Why have a website?

This might sound like a stupid entry for a blog, but I had a conversation with a piano teacher who was wondering just what use a website is for a piano teacher. After all, the reasoning went, we're teaching PIANO - not technology.

That type of thinking misses the point. Technology isn't a reason to exist, or a career, or a hobby (at least in this instance) - it is a tool. A tool primarily for communication.

So here are some (admittedly quick and off-the-top-of-my-head) benefits of a website for a piano teacher:

1. Marketing - use it as an online brochure. "Hey, I exist, and I teach piano in (your locale here)." You do have to do some search engine stuff - or you can pay an outfit to do that for you (I wouldn't).... or you can just put it on your business card. The card acts as an intro, and then the site gives more detailed information.
   
2. Studio policies - put your studio policies online (mine are here. They aren't very formal, but they are functional.)
3. Take payments for piano lessons online - using Paypal. It's decently inexpensive, and CAN make it easier for your parents. Yes, there's a charge (the expense runs about 3% - but that's tax deductible if your are running your studio like a business.) See my payment page here for an example.
4. Sniff out cool online music training sites and share them with your students - ear-training, music quizzes, etc. are ALL available online.
5. Share music with your students. I have a version of Chopsticks I use that does NOT use standard notation. It's great for new kids who don't read yet.
   

Is it a lesson... or a rehearsal?

A bit of background:
As a singer I performed with the Chattanooga Boys Choir for 7 years (directed by Stephen J Ortlip) , the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Singers for 4 years (directed by Glenn Draper), was an instrumental grad assistant for Carolina Alive (directed by Richard Conant), and have performed with numerous other groups (vocal, pop, rock bands, big bands, etc etc etc ad nauseum).

Oh, and I played tuba in high school band (almost majored in it, in fact, but decided I could make more money as a pianist. I was right.)

I've had 4 piano teachers, each of whom taught in dramatically different ways. One of those teachers - let's call him Mr. Smith - was terrible at teaching, though an excellent pianist. The other three were excellent teachers.

So? The point is that I've had significant experience in performing groups where you "rehearse", you don't practice. So what's the difference, and what in chocolate milk's name does this have to do with teaching piano?

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"Lesson", all too often, brings forth images of the poor pitiful student playing away at the keyboard, while the teacher hangs over them unapprovingly with a pointy stick, ready to jab the student at any mistake. The student pounds away at piece after piece after piece, while the teacher gives constant feedback: "This was wrong, this was wrong....".

While extreme, I think many teachers think of a piano lesson in this galaxy (if not neighborhood!) - where the student is there to soak up fountains of learning poured forth by the almighty teacher. In some situations this would work, but I posit that a different approach can work a world of wonders: Treat the lesson like a rehearsal.

So, what's the difference between a lesson and rehearsal? In a lesson, you are one to one, and often it has the aforementioned floodgates of knowledge - sponge type of dynamic. A rehearsal, though, has much more give and take. There is often a focus on a particular passage, rather than a runthrough - accompanied by practicing techniques to overcome limitations and mis-playings.

For example, in your typical choir rehearsal with a good director, the choir may not do a complete runthrough of a piece for several rehearsals - instead focusing on particular passages that have or may prove problematical. The director can demonstrate why this place is a problem, how to fix it - or even several ways to fix it - and then ask the choir to transfer the learning to another piece. (i.e. when you see a passage with the same issues somewhere else, apply the same solution)

How to apply in the piano lesson context? When is student is going through a piece (and has practiced it, and it's a decently intelligent day!), try rehearsing the piece in bits. Don't just do a runthrough - take the piece a chunk at a time and look at the problems, come up with solutions, and (THIS IS IMPORTANT) practice the solutions right there.

Take a problem spot, and slice-n-dice it vertically or horizontally. Work on a chunk. Make a duet out of it so the student's brain has some bandwidth open up. Focus and widen on the problem spot. (Future posts on planned describing these techniques in more detail. Keep an eye out!)

The student can see some immediate results, PLUS they learn how to practice, which is a double bonus for any teacher.

So don't just teach a lesson. Run a rehearsal.

What part of the body is playing the Piano?

I think its a common misconception that the fingers play the piano. We speak of our fingers getting tangled up, the fingering is wrong in this passage.

In actual fact, though, the fingers aren't what's playing the piano. The BRAIN is.

{yes, I'm being a bit overblown here. Hang on for a minute.}

Think about it - if I'm having trouble fingering a particular passage, it generally isn't because my fingers CAN'T play it correctly. It's actually because my brain hasn't been given enough time to get the fingers in place in time. If I slow the tempo down enough, I can play it.

So what?

This fact should change your approach to practicing. Practicing is NOT about repetition, getting through a piece, etc. It's really about training your brain. Troublesome spots (consistently troublesome, not the "brain blip" kind where you mess up because you were distracted) are an indication that your brain hasn't been adequately trained to play that particular passage. This should cause you to stop and think about what you need to do to get the training "upstairs".

..... which will be the sucject of the next post.