5-Minute Piano Lessons

Creativity is sometimes inhibited by reading and obeying sheet music

I had a big and unhappy realization this week during teaching. An adult student had to be encouraged to do something other than what was specified by their sheet music (poorly written sheet music, I would hasten to add) and my sole child student asked me, “Aren’t these pedaling marks sorta an option?” Now my child is a very precocious 10 year old but I would have thought my adult student wouldn’t feel compelled to simply follow orders. Turns out I had it backwards.

My “realization” was:

Many piano student work hard to get good at
“Monkey-See-Monkey-Do” music reading. (more…)

The piano world is waking up to CHORDS and their value

Years ago only professional musicians even knew fakebooks (books with just melody lines, lyrics, and chord symbols) existed. The few fakebooks available to such folk were very expensive and highly illegal (as the unknown authors simply ignored copyright and used that new technology of the photocopy machine to produce the things.) The regular pianist or piano student was taught that the supreme virtue was to read every note and every instruction on the piece of printed music. Making it up was, of course, “faking it” and therefore somehow less than capable.

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Predicting the Future is Usually Dicey but I Do See the Trends

I’ve been teaching piano now full-time since October of 1987. I began as most teachers do – traveling to my students’ homes. Later, I found space to teach at a local piano dealership. A few years ago I decided to limit my practice to adult and teen-aged students. This year I’m focusing my attention to the Internet. I give you this history to convince you that I might just be able to see “the handwriting on the wall” regarding piano education. (more…)

YOU and YOUR Goals are the Very Essence of My Approach to Piano Instruction

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about teaching piano to adult students it’s that they’re interested in different things and thus require different materials and different styles of teaching. Consider a few students from my current crop:

1. A student who loves classical music and wants to play it well.

2. A student who already knows classical but wants to learn pop and rock well.

3. a student who knows nothing about piano except she wants to play it.

4. The student that prefers the many sounds and features of her electronic keyboard to that of a simple piano.

Obviously (at least to me) one size does NOT fit all. (more…)

A few basic instructions can make learning this music much more efficient

I presented in my previous post the basics of ragtime piano and said that understanding those basics was important to being able to play this music well.  I’m now going to use the concepts I presented earlier to help you teach your hands the “tricks” that make up ragtime. (more…)

Ever Wonder Why So Little Attention is Given to Older Piano Learners?

This week I was reminded of the essential difference between the teacher focusing on young (5 -10 year-old) piano students and the piano instructor, such as myself, who specializes in teaching “the older learner.” Unfortunately, what I actually refer to is the different that OUGHT to be there but too frequently is NOT, resulting in unhappy and poorly functioning instruction.
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How to NOT be Frustrated with piano playing and practicing

There isn’t a bigger enemy to the piano student and pianist than frustration – and nothing is easier to defeat, if you wish it. All you have to do is change your mind. The key element, I believe, is keeping things in perspective. What is playing piano to you, dear reader? Life and death? Your family’s life and death? Your survival? The key to your happiness? Naw, of course not. For almost all piano students, playing piano is a source of enrichment, fascination, enjoyment, etc. In short, it’s their favorite HOBBY!

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The Psychology Behind a Common Problem of Adult Piano Students

As almost all adult piano students know, “nervousness” remains a constant problem. I thought I’d share with you the exact psychology that underlies adult lesson nervousness in the hopes that some of you will find a new tool to help you enjoy your lessons more. I know it frustrates you – my personal piano students tell me about it several times a week. (more…)

More Explanation of the Psychology of Nervousness and Possible Solutions

There is more you should understand about the psychology of your nervousness at your piano lesson. I’ve been teaching adult piano lessons for over two decades and during that time, I’ve seen countless examples of the following “cycle of fear”  in adult students: (more…)

A Further “Cure” for this Common Problem of Adult Piano Students

Every adult piano student knows that nervousness during the piano lesson leads to a lack of enjoyment for lessons. I’d even wager that many pianists reading this little essay are here looking into online adult piano lessons because “live lessons” with a piano teacher is just scarier than they can stand. Allow me to present another in my series of possible “cures” for the nervousness so many student feel before, during, and after their piano lessons. (more…)

What YOU can Do to Create Faster, Better, and More Enjoyable Lessons

Once you’ve found a good piano teacher, someone you trust, someone who understands you and your needs, then almost all the rest depends on YOU. The piano student is mainly in charge during a series of piano lessons, for the simple reason that most of your learning occurs during your regular piano practice. Sure, your instructor can tell you what to practice and how to best practice it, but only you can follow those directions. Learning to play piano is something you do without the teacher present. Thus, anything that helps you do that would also make your lessons faster, better, and more enjoyable – right? (more…)

Those Who Have Had Piano Lessons Before Will Find This Interesting

The essays in this series provide my personal viewpoints. I’m going to repeat my reasoning for this at the beginning of each essay in the the series.

My experience as a piano teacher has brought me into contact with many folks who have had past piano lessons. Too often, such lessons were NOT a joy and too often the piano student ended up blaming themselves for this unpleasantness. Such piano students often do not take further piano training, even though they still want to play the piano. Even when they do, they bring much “baggage” to their new piano lessons which hinders their progress. I hope to change some minds and thus help more people learn to play piano for their own enjoyment and that of others. (more…)

Those Who Have Had Piano Lessons Before Will Find This Interesting

The essays in this series provide my personal viewpoints. I’m going to repeat my reasoning for this at the beginning of each essay in the the series.

My experience as a piano teacher has brought me into contact with many folks who have had past piano lessons. Too often, such lessons were NOT a joy and too often the piano student ended up blaming themselves for this unpleasantness. Such piano students often do not take further piano training, even though they still want to play the piano. Even when they do, they bring much “baggage” to their new piano lessons which hinders their progress. I hope to change some minds and thus help more people learn to play piano for their own enjoyment and that of others. (more…)

Those Who Have Had Piano Lessons Before Will Find This Interesting

The essays in this series provide my personal viewpoints. I’m going to repeat my reasoning for this at the beginning of each essay in the the series.

My experience as a piano teacher has brought me into contact with many folks who have had past piano lessons. Too often, such lessons were NOT a joy and too often the piano student ended up blaming themselves for this unpleasantness. Such piano students often do not take further piano training, even though they still want to play the piano. Even when they do, they bring much “baggage” to their new piano lessons which hinders their progress. I hope to change some minds and thus help more people learn to play piano for their own enjoyment and that of others. (more…)

Those Who Have Had Piano Lessons Before Will Find This Interesting

The essays in this series provide my personal viewpoints. I’m going to repeat my reasoning for this at the beginning of each essay in the the series.

My experience as a piano teacher has brought me into contact with many folks who have had past piano lessons. Too often, such lessons were NOT a joy and too often the piano student ended up blaming themselves for this unpleasantness. Such piano students often do not take further piano training, even though they still want to play the piano. Even when they do, they bring much “baggage” to their new piano lessons which hinders their progress. I hope to change some minds and thus help more people learn to play piano for their own enjoyment and that of others.. (more…)

Get a Greater “Return on Investment” of Money, Time, Effort, and Hope

In the last essay in this series, we set out to discover how we could get more value from our piano lessons. I used a business term “ROI – Return on Investment” to take the discussion out of the emotionally charged world of music My first points were defining the role of the piano teacher in order to maximize the value to you, the adult piano student, of that worthy individual. (more…)

Two Keys that the Adult Piano Student Taking Lessons Can Totally Control

One major key to success when taking adult piano lessons is opening your mouth! Yep, an open mouth with words coming out of it is more important than what you do with your hands and fingers, at least as far as having successful piano lessons. The reason is simple: if your piano teacher doesn’t know what’s happening with you, your teacher doesn’t know how to help you learn to play the piano properly. (more…)

How Adults Piano Students Can be Less Nervous When Playing for Their Piano Teacher

One very large barrier during adult piano lessons is the fear of playing for your piano teacher. I well recall losing a good adult student to this during a Christmas break. This gentleman phoned me right after New Years to announce that he wouldn’t be returning to piano lessons, “They just make me too upset and nervous.” In a similar manner, adult students often try to cancel any lesson following a week where their practice was a bit lacking. (more…)

Too many piano students do poorly due to ineffective piano teaching

Over the years of piano teaching adults (and children, early in my career) I have heard hundreds of “piano horror stories.” A “piano horror story” is a tale in which an eager young piano student tries to learn to make happy music on the piano but gets much less than they might have due to bad piano teachers and/or bad piano teaching methods. Naturally, the students coming to me still asking for lessons would be those aspiring pianists who DIDN’T succeed, but if you think this makes my points any less valid, ask yourself this: How many people do you know who play the piano? How many people do you know who had piano lessons when younger or wanted to play the piano?

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How to NOT be Frustrated with piano playing and practicing

There isn’t a bigger enemy to the piano student and pianist than frustration – and nothing is easier to defeat, if you wish it. All you have to do is change your mind. The key element, I believe, is keeping things in perspective. What is playing piano to you, dear reader? Life and death? Your family’s life and death? Your survival? The key to your happiness? Naw, of course not. For almost all piano students, playing piano is a source of enrichment, fascination, enjoyment, etc. In short, it’s their favorite HOBBY! (more…)

How to Avoid the Stress of the Piano Recitals Yet Get ALL the Benefits

Having interviewed a couple thousand prospective adult students over the last two decades and then given most of these folks private piano and keyboard lessons, I can state with certainty that fear of piano recitals is pretty much a given for adult piano students. The majority simply hate the idea and are quite relieved when I explain I don’t “do” recitals. I also take pains to explain why and how all the benefits that recitals supposedly bring can be achieved in a MUCH less stressful and less un-natural manner. (more…)

How to Feel Calmer and More At Ease During Your Piano Lesson

Piano students usually begin lessons with several mistaken ideas of what is important. Having these ideas, and wishing to be good students, they then focus their attention on the wrong aspects of practicing piano and performing piano. This makes for problems in playing and, most importantly, makes it hard to enjoy the process of learning to play during the weekly piano lesson. (more…)

Why this Question has Little Real Meaning for Most Adult Piano Students

Since, 2006 I’ve posted weekly to a Blog for Piano Students, both those taking lessons from a live teacher and those learning online. I received the following question to one of my posts and my reply is worth the reading, especially for those students in countries that offer some formal exams and qualifications: (more…)

Many Piano Students Hate Them but Used Properly Metronomes are Great Tools

The metronome, that thing that sits on many pianos, is the subject of a love/hate relationship for many piano students. Most adults who took piano lessons in their youth likely had some experiences with the metronome, often bad experiences. In this essay, I hope to offer advice that will make the metronome your favorite tool for improving both your piano practice and piano performance. (more…)

What Good Does It Do to Play at Full Speed if Your Music is Full of Wrong Notes?

Of course, all pianists are going to make mistakes as they work on their pieces. It’s what an adult piano student does AFTER making the mistake that is crucial to progress. Naturally, every piano student’s  ideal is to create accuracy in their playing. This means hitting the proper keys with the best, most effective fingering and giving those notes their proper lengths.

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Understanding More About Your Hands Will Improve Your Music Making

It’s your HANDS that play the piano. Music and the love for it and the desire to play the piano all live inside YOU, the awareness, but it’s the fingers that push the piano keys and all the desire in the world won’t get them to doing that properly without proper training. (more…)

Further Understanding About How Your Hands Learn the Piano

Ever find that your hands are just not where you left them or that you push your thumb down and find you’ve played the wrong note? For both pianists and those taking piano lessons, having to ask that question is as silly as asking them, “Are you breathing when you play the piano?” (more…)

The Piano Student’s Left Hand is a Constant Source of Frustration

Pianists left hands are harder to read and harder to play than their right hands and anything that helps would be welcome. Here’s what I have found to work during my adult piano lessons. (more…)

When You Sit Down at the Piano, Know Your Purpose and Act Accordingly!

Recently, some of my piano students have shown a lack of enthusiasm about their piano study. Naturally, I wanted to get them back on track and interested and cheerful again so I gave them the “third degree” about their piano activities at home. What I found is applicable to every pianist and piano student, whether taking lessons online or with a piano instructor. (more…)

Proper Piano Practice Accomplishes More Music with Less Effort

Do you want to practice piano more efficiently, that is, spend LESS time learning MORE music? Now I have the attention of every piano student in the world I’d like to repeat to you something I say and say and say to my own piano students. Unfortunately, some resist and resist. One day, however, they actually try it, it works, and suddenly their practice is dramatically better. They enjoy time practicing piano MORE because they fail LESS. (more…)

Piano Students Often Use a Crutch that Keeps Them Crippled

Would you like to play piano more confidently? Do you yearn to express your emotions as you play? Do you aspire to be more than just some person who follows the sheet music adequately? (more…)

Piano Students Get More Done IF They Focus on the Correct Aspects of Practicing

What should piano practice focus on more – the music or the motions – and why should you care? As always, I am attempting to instruct readers on how to get the most piano music for the least time and frustration! Thus, this is an essay on EFFICIENCY in piano practice. (more…)

When Taking Piano Lessons Not All Scales are Worth Your Time and Effort

I explained in a previous essay that the number of possible scales in all the world is just huge. Each piano student will need to decide early whether they are concerned with Western piano music or some more exotic musical system, such as the Japanese, Indonesian, Indian, etc. If you ARE focused on these, then you will need more detailed information than I will be able to provide. The main reason is that our pianos are tailored to western scales and our piano music itself could be said to be bias in favor of these. (more…)

Better Piano Practicing Means Better Piano Playing

Far too many piano students somehow believe that the AMOUNT of time spent practicing is the key to success. However, an hour of poor, inefficient piano practice is NOT solved by adding on another hour of the same bad routine. Instead, every piano student should stay focused on getting the most music from the least amount of effort. “Efficiency” should be the goal, not just passing time at the piano. I’ve written many essays about practice, since that’s what piano students do as they learn new pieces and new piano techniques. What could be more relevant? (more…)

Answering These Questions Can Lead to More Practicing Success

Question One: How much time must I practice?

Answer: Long enough to succeed – however you define “success.”

For some hobbyists, “success” consists of sitting down and playing pieces for fun, regardless of how well or poorly those pieces are played. Other students, especially those taking piano lessons live or online, define “success” as mastering their music for that week. Thus, each piano student and pianist’s idea of success is likely to be different.It doesn’t matter HOW you define it, but it does matter that you know WHAT your defintion is – so you can know when you’ve succeeded.

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