When an adult piano student advances well beyond Primer preliminaries

Peter started piano lessons from scratch about 1 and 1/2 years ago, not reading a note of music at the time, but having gads of enthusiasm about his maiden musical journey. Readers will be reminded of his earliest efforts playing Faber Piano Adventure duets with me. (I chose the Primer edition because it moved slower…

An adult beginning piano student helps to shape his musical journey

When a newbie knocks on my door, not knowing how to read music, but is starving for a connection to the great "Classical" piano masterworks, I have to figure out a way to engage his interest in the earliest phase of learning without losing him along the way. One approach is to go the "method"…

Piano Lessons: The Raw adult beginner

I use the term "raw" to describe adult piano students who don't read music or play by ear. They often come to their first lesson oozing with enthusiasm, but harboring fears associated with success and failure themes. It's the usual environmental humdrum we all know about that puts the business paradigm squarely at odds with…