WALLACE, PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY TIME, AND MISTER THREE-A-RINO: these are the comic names given by a piano student today as the real names for C, D and E.
You can see that he was in a good mood, for he trusted enough to give a comic answer and risk the teacher’s scorn. Except that I don’t do scorn.
We were involved in our weekly piano finger gymnastic festival, attempting to learn Beethoven and Indiana Jones, when he became fatigued with my repetitions, comic as they were, and we needed to play a game.
I decided on a note naming game. That is, I play a key and he has to give me information about it (white, black, group of 2, group of three, location, name, etc.) Usually I become Professor Dumbrowsky (obvious apologies to the Dumbrowsky’s of Portland) and start a game-show atmosphere.
I began to probe his knowledge of chords. The trick of naming notes is best solved by learning where the chords of the same names are located.
His interest remained high, and we continued to study chords, listening to them, finding them, and playing with them.
Finally we came back to the names of notes, which he now knew much better because our chord games had helped him identify the roots of those chords (the root is the key furthest to the left.)
Then as he named the notes, I contradicted and said, “No, Joe, that one is named Wallace.” The child of course was delighted that I adopted his names, but now insisted on the correct names.
The entire time was passed with a smile on the child’s face.
The lesson? You’ll have a better piano lesson if you can find a way to enter the child’s mindset, and then work within it.
Children run to the door for my lessons because they are certain that I am warm, friendly, and never pressure them very far beyond their comfort zone.
The result of such treatment is a willing collaborator and partner in the search for fun at the piano.
POSTSCRIPT: A month later, this same kid will only read music, that is all he wants to do. He is patient as long as I give hime something harder to read!
By John Aschenbrenner Copyright 2008 Walden Pond Press All Rights Reserved
See also WHY DELAY READING MUSIC
See also ARE KIDS PIANO RECITALS HARMFUL?
See also LATE BLOOMERS AT CHILDHOOD PIANO
