The Primer Piano Learning Environment and being Creative

As so many teachers know, there's no foolproof method or material that will encompass the needs of all beginning piano students. And for some mentors who've grown frustrated with what's available on the commercial market, they've responded by creating and self-marketing their own approach. Yet, regardless of what primer package ensues with a personal autograph…

Deviating from the Piano Method Book to custom fit the child

In the course of page turning through The Music Tree, Time to Begin, I'm in agreement pedagogically with the early exposure of twin black note playing, enlisting alternating hands, using fingers 2 or 3. This route also provides a sound vehicle for teaching fundamental note values: quarters and half notes, with a pre-notational designation of…

Piano lessons should be tailor-made for each student (Videos)

I've come to the conclusion that no full-proof piano method, or method book can be applied across the board to beginning students or those at any level of study. Each pupil is so unique that an individualized growth and development plan is needed. By example, I faced a dilemma when a new adult student who…

Irina Gorin, creator of Tales of a Musical Journey, shares her thoughts about braving a new piano teaching universe

From Irina Gorin: “An expert is a person who makes all mistakes possible in a very specific field and learns from those mistakes. So I could probably consider myself getting close to being an expert in teaching children. But I hope there are many more mistakes and learning experiences ahead." This riveting quote set in…

The Formative Years of Piano Study and the basic building-blocks of learning (Videos)

Just as a child needs a wholesome diet from birth through adolescence to insure healthy growth and development, a beginning piano student requires the equivalent in musical nourishment. Cocoa Puff pieces that squeeze out whole grain servings of the classics will not in the long term cut the cake. (And I don't rule out compositions…

My Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook favorites, and why it’s best to play the real deal (Video)

I was thinking about an adult student I currently teach in the Bay area who thumbed through her Faber Older Beginner Adult Accelerated Piano Adventures Method Book, and was instantly drawn to "Musette,"one of the many pieces contained in Anna Magdalena's Notebook. Transcribed to "G Position" by Randall Faber and reduced to a fraction of…

Individualizing Piano Study: How to avoid Method Book dependency

Over decades of teaching, I've come to the conclusion that each student needs a custom designed long-term lesson plan. Method books only go so far. Often they stratify the learning process, keeping students in an interminably drawn out, regressive C Major universe. For the most part, flats and sharps with Letter Name identifications are regarded…