What are highly personalized lessons like?
Students of all ages take weekly lessons (except during holidays and breaks).
Because lessons are tailored so specifically to each student, no two are the same - but, depending on the age of the student, they are likely to share a similar structure.
How lessons are structured
Younger Students
(approximately preschool - 1st grade)
Lessons with my youngest students are 30 minutes long and focus heavily on exploring all aspects of music: keeping a steady beat, understanding form, developing aural skills, volume, tempo, basic rhythms, high versus low sounds, etc.
We spend a great deal of time off the bench playing games, using percussion instruments, working with manipulatives, moving with our whole bodies, improvising, etc.
There is also a strong focus on navigating the piano, recognizing key names, understanding intervals, comprehending finger numbers, strengthening fingers, and learning playing techniques. We work heavily with rote pieces so that students can have immediate success and then gradually incorporate reading music on the page.
A lesson with a young student might include revisiting rote songs, getting off the bench and onto the floor, keeping a steady beat with maracas, playing a piano key recognition game, using a tablet to reinforce rhythmic patterns, listening to a piano recording while coloring, and learning a new song.
Middle Students
(approximately 1st - 7th grade)
Lessons with my mid-aged students start at 30 minutes (and may expand to 45 or 60 minutes) and are all about taking what excites them most and using that to ignite - and keep -their interest in playing the piano.
We discuss their goals and what we can do to achieve them. We listen to music together to determine what styles and songs they enjoy and might want to play. If no arrangement of a requested song exists at their level, I will create one for them.
There is also a focus on technique, learning scales and chords, understanding note values and playing rhythmic patterns, discovering effective practice approaches, recognizing notes in the treble and bass clef, reading music on the staff, and beginning music theory.
A lesson with a middle student might include playing a note-reading game, improvising the Blues in C, practicing last week's scales and learning the accompanying chords, playing the music they've been working on, listening to a song they want to learn, and introducing new music.
Older Students
(approximately 7th grade and beyond)
Lessons with my older students are typically 45 minutes long and may expand to an hour.
As with my mid-aged students, lessons with older students focus greatly on shaping lessons around their interests to enrich their relationship with music and the piano.
Older students often have specific pieces they're interested in playing and, whenever possible, we do just that! We listen to a lot of music to find pieces that grab them as well explore new styles to expand their skills and repertoire. No matter the piece, at this stage, technique, interpretation, and constructive practice are center stage.
In addition to piano, I want to help older students understand, and deepen their connection to, music in general. We spend lots of time on music theory, composition, sight-reading, improvisation, and refining their aural skills.
A lesson with an older student might include figuring out the chords to a pop song, a scale and chordal exploration of a particular key, playing and discussing their current pieces, reviewing a recent composition, and deciding which practice techniques to incorporate for next week.
Lesson Components
Although lessons are highly individualized, here are some examples of components that we might utilize:
Rhythms
* recognizing patterns
* composing with flashcards
* tons of games
* using percussion instruments
Note Reading
* identifying melodic direction
* speed challenges
* using apps
* spelling words with notes
Ear Training
* poison melody game
* name that tune
* learning a pop song by ear
* note differentiation
Improvisation & Composition
* playing from a lead sheet
* creating musical soundscapes
* rewriting a song's ending
* publishing a piece
Technique
* playing with tone color
* articulation
* incorporation dynamics
* fingerings and positioning
Theory
* identifying intervals
* learning chord patterns
* playing in all keys
* understanding the circle of 5ths
Method Series
We use the Piano Safari series most often. I appreciate its focus on rote learning, emphasis on intervallic reading, and greatly enjoy its repertoire in later books.
Additional series that I utilize include SuperSonics Piano, Faber's Piano Adventures, and Alfred's Basic Piano Library. I also supplement heavily with independent sheet music, books of pop, jazz, Broadway, and Disney arrangements, and - of course - original arrangements and compositions.
(If a student comes to lessons and has already been working from a particular series, we continue with that series - at least until the end of the book they're working from!)