overcoming challenges

The importance of

Practice

Encouraging students to practise regularly and practise correctly was a common challenge that appeared time and again in our survey. Loyola Browne, who has been a piano teacher for five years in Dundalk, Republic of Ireland, says:

Take the time to help students plan their practice schedule. Set attainable goals each week.

Loyola Browne
Private teacher

Giving students the tools to practice, showing them rather than telling them, has to become part of your lessons if you want it done well when students are away from you. Constructive practice is essential, along with defining what ‘good’ practice looks like.

Joan Penny, an Australia-based private piano teacher, explains that goals of varying distances into the future helps students maintain focus and find their workload more manageable:

Set small weekly goals, plus end of term and annual goals.

Joan Penny
Private teacher

Practice shouldn’t merely be a case of repetition, but about the quality of skills that are being reiterated.

Practice needs to be an enjoyable part of the daily routine for students, not something that feels like a dry, obligatory precursor to lessons. Nurturing practice as an intrinsic skill, with students gaining joy from practice itself, is the end goal.

Inspiring confidence &

Motivating students

Many of our teachers commented on the challenges of keeping a routine interesting. Motivational tips often involved varying repertoire, rewards and finding the right level of challenge for learners.

Sheila Collins, a private teacher in the UK, explains that students have to enjoy what they’re playing to feel invested:

Get students to help choose appealing music. Regularly set a new, easier piece to learn to mix up with challenging ones.

Sheila Collins
Private teacher

Students experience more sustained focus when the level of challenge is just right. A mixture of difficult pieces to encourage long-term aspiration counterbalanced by / in tandem with easier ones for short-term gratification, should capture and hold their imagination. This is something Lucinda Adams, who has over 40 years of piano teaching experience, also agreed with:

Use material which is of their choosing (with guidance) so there is some musical challenge to progress their skills, yet plenty of enjoyment.

Lucinda Adams
Private teacher

One of the strategies employed by teachers in the survey was to break down music into sections.

It’s important to keep the fun alive in lessons by nurturing rapport and making a real effort to get to know students. Catherine Savory says motivation gets a lot easier when you do this:

Find out what motivates the pupil… what are their other interests? Keep lessons fun and productive.

Catherine Savory
Private teacher

Many teachers use a rewards or progress chart with stickers for younger learners, and positive feedback in notebooks or online for older ones. Amanda Ray, who teaches across schools in Torquay, Devon, suggests:

Practise using memory, choosing fun songs, and looking for clues in the music.

Amanda Ray
Private teacher

By making lessons into problem-solving puzzles that test students, their concentration and engagement should increase, and their confidence will soon follow.

Parental

Engagement

While parents are often keen to invest in their childrens’ music lessons, many teachers see negative patterns caused by the lack of engagement from parents. Due to busy lives and a lack of musical knowledge, sometimes parents don’t play enough of a role in positively reinforcing what is taught in lessons – our teachers had some interesting strategies to combat these behaviours. 

Speaking to students and parents together is a great start. Angie Tse recommends outlining expectations right at the start of working together:

State your principles of teaching clearly and provide a consultation to parents and pupils before taking them on.

Angie Tse
Private teacher

Reminding parents that music is part of the curriculum and could help with further education applications can be a powerful tool too, says Shalini Vohra:

Cover a repertoire outside of the exam syllabus. Of course the exam itself is a big motivating factor for many as they want the recognition for college admissions.

Shalini Vohra
Private teacher

Parents taking an active interest in practice makes such a difference, with some teachers actually asking them to sit in on some lessons. Amanda Ray explains that once parents understand a bit more about what happens in lessons, children will be encouraged to play in a range of settings:

Get students used to playing for family members, in concerts, festivals and grades.

Amanda Ray
Private teacher

In today’s world, children feel a lot of pressure from their school life, as well as their extracurricular commitments. Our teachers explained that overscheduled children are often torn between piano practice and other interests. If parents are able to prioritise music lessons, students will follow their example. 

Delivering Personalised

Teaching

One of the patterns we noticed in these responses was the desire for teachers to continue their own development – which is a credit to the piano teaching community. Teachers want to find the time and resources to learn new delivery styles themselves and for recognised CPD opportunities.

Brian Larter, based in South Africa, explained the importance of keeping your teaching styles fluid to the specific individual:

Be flexible and adapt to the needs of the students. However, when it comes to learning correctly and methodically, be firm. Make things like scales interesting by teaching fun ways to learn and practice them.

Brian Larter
Private teacher

Keeping lessons fresh is always going to be challenging, but if achieved you will add considerable value to the students and those investing in their music education alike.

Embracing technology to aid with teaching was something our teachers had mixed opinions on, with more experienced teachers sometimes finding digital resources tricky to use. But others embrace them, finding a range of creative uses for them. Daniel Joseph a private teacher in South India recommends:

Show[ing] students YouTube videos for encouragement and inspiration.

Daniel Joseph
Private teacher

Teachers all agreed time was a barrier to learning new approaches. Many wished they had the benefit of more time with students to get to know them better, too. In part, this is because adapting content to individual learning needs and abilities can’t happen instantly.

Singapore-based piano teacher, Lu Pei Fang, explained that including moments focussed on the background of pieces can help provide a personalised experience:

Include lots of storytelling, piano demonstrations and encouragement.

Lu Pei Fang
Private teacher