Piano Diana Blog: What Do Kids Like?

Reflection

As I approach our Fall Recital coming up in the next few weeks, I like to reflect on my role as a piano teacher. Taking the time to examine my approach to lessons in a fast, changing world is good for the soul. Most importantly, I like to take a look at my students growing as musicians and are they having fun in piano class!

Through the internet, I am able to glean rich advice from other piano teachers. Here are a few questions to ask yourself if you're desiring a change in your piano studio approach.

What do kids like?
How does this work?
Will students like this?
How can I use this to teach?
Why do kids like this?
How would changing this part of things change the process?
Why is this not fun?
Why does this work?

Creativity

I learned from other bloggers that creativity is not creating something new. Creativity is recombining elements that already exist in a new way.

I would say that improvising is for independent thinkers. Many of my piano students enjoy making a song fancier and some kids love to jazz up a song! These are the young people who like to memorize music, practice daily and are totally immersed in music reading and learning the language of music.

They are confident to practice. They are reading notes rapidly and choosing songs with strong melodies.

So, what do you want to change in your studio?

Side Note

Oh, my goodness! Creating our scarecrow Fred was a hilarious event, filled with great memories. We just used all the free materials we could find and soon we were standing Fred up in our yard.

If you're looking for another creative format inside your piano studio, how about making a Baroque wig? For the Fall, some of my students have participated in playing Bach's Minuets while wearing a composer wig!