Almost all piano teachers are some combination of disciplinarian and dogmatist, and unfortunately most of them are teaching children.
Why is this? Why do most piano teachers go from page to page in the same old texts, boring and frightening kids with constant, mind numbing repetition?
You may say, “But repetition and discipline are the cornerstone of good musicianship.”
But you would be wrong. You have no idea how many kids are capable of understanding and enjoying music theory, but are turned off to the whole process by the piano teacher’s manner of teaching.
Repetition and discipline are two of the the cornerstones of a PROFESSIONAL musician’s skills, but if applied incorrectly to children, they are utter poison to the child’s interest in the piano. Most piano teachers have no idea what I am talking about because they are so caught up in their “method.”
First you must understand something of the nature of a child’s musical talent. This will help you understand why not all children should be treated as willing cadets headed straight for Carnegie Hall.
Out of 1000 hypothetical piano students, it is my experience that one will perhaps have enough interest to continue with piano throughout their life.
If you take this one hypothetical student, and multiply it by 10,000, you will have 10,000 capable, willing students. Out of that 10,000, one will make it to a top world music conservatory.
Then take that one child in a music conservatory, and multiply it by 10,000. Out of those 10,000 highly motivated and trained genius children, only one will have a viable music career.
And out of 10,000 highly motivated conservatory children, only one will have a real music career as a pianist. And the truth is, they will not be a star, as there are no record companies, no patrons, and no interest on the part of the public. Classical music is dead, forever, except in the hearts of the few who recognize its true value.
Being a concert pianist is a dead career, a dead art eviscerated by the greedy likes of Time-Life, Disney and the very music companies that are supposed to support them, and did in the past.
That one, talented, hypothetical child concert pianist is going to struggle and starve, and that will be America’s reward for their talent.
What all this means is that the piano dogma thrust onto kids today is utterly useless for the average child’s needs. If your child is not headed to Carnegie Hall, is counter-productive to treat them as if they are.
This is the true reason your child wants to quit piano, or will if they are not taught using a method that sparks their interest from the very beginning.
Think of mastering the piano as the mental version of climbing Mount Everest.
The single requirement for climbing Mount Everest is the desire to climb it, and without it you will fail, for this mountain is far higher and more difficult to climb than you were led to believe.
If you want to interest your five year old in mountain climbing, start by taking walks and hikes.
By John Aschenbrenner Copyright 2008 Walden Pond Press All Rights Reserved
See also SO YOU WANT TO BE A PIANO TEACHER
See also A CHILD'S BILL OF RIGHTS FOR PIANO LESSONS
See also FINDING A CHILD'S PIANO COMFORT ZONE
See also COMPARING CONCERT PIANISTS AND BEGINNING CHILD PIANISTS
See also WHY DELAY READING MUSIC
See also FUN PIANO GAME WITH A PAIR OF DICE
See also HOW TO FIND A GOOD PIANO TEACHER
