On Saturday 29th November 2014 I hosted my first student concert. My friend and colleague, Fran Wilson, attended and wrote this lovely article about it on her Teaching Studio’s blog. Her comments on the importance of performing are spot-on!

A while back I wrote a blog outlining my views on the pros and cons of graded piano exams.  I recently came across a blog from the Australian teacher Tim Topham which clearly and persuasively describes the downsides of teaching from one exam to the other.  Quoting another article he describes why this treadmill approach can “leave the player bereft of musical background, understanding and enjoyment”.  You can read his blog here and I think that everything he says equally applies to the UK.

Here is a link to a great TED video which shows how playing an instrument really benefits the brain – at any age.

Many students who begin learning the piano eventually turn their thoughts to graded exams.  Exams can be a great motivator for students of all ages and provide a well -recognised measure of achievement.   However a musical education that focuses solely on the passing of formal examinations does not necessarily provide the all-round musicianship skills that I aim to give my students, so that they can develop a true understanding and enjoyment of music. 

I speak from direct experience.  I started learning the piano at the age of four and was promptly put on an ‘exam treadmill’ – passing my Grade 8 at the age of fourteen.  However there were many aspects of my early musical education that were lacking – I was never taught to play by ear, improvise or compose, and the pieces that I learnt were almost entirely for exam (or festival) requirements.   As a teenager I was only able to play pop songs if I had sheet music in front of me – I was not able to pick these out by ear and harmonise with a few simple chord progressions.  When I returned to music and piano study later in life, there were many gaps that needed to be filled.

I now teach the way I wish I had been taught; I want my students to be able to pick out tunes by ear, understand how they can be harmonised and not always have to rely on sheet music to play songs they love.  I want them to be comfortable improvising at the piano and possibly composing their own pieces too.   I want them to experience a wide variety of repertoire of different styles and periods and not be limited by an exam syllabus in their choice of music to learn.  I also want them to have the opportunity to study for formal examinations – but only if they want to,  and only when they have developed firm musical foundations which will allow them to succeed with confidence.

Pros and Cons

When I started teaching I studied for the Certificate of Piano Teaching run by EPTA-UK (European Piano Teachers’ Association).   This is a highly regarded professional qualification for piano teachers. As part of this course we explored the role of formal graded exams in musical education and their pros and cons which I summarise below:

Pros

• Motivation
• Formal, well-recognised certification
• Measurement of achievement
• Some structure for learning

Cons

• Following a syllabus rather than a curriculum, meaning some skills are developed to the exclusion of others.  (For a comprehensive piano curriculum please follow this link)
• If entered too soon, unnecessary pressure can be felt by pupils who may not have developed secure musical foundations
• The risk that taking exams can lead to a narrow and / or rushed teaching approach where new concepts are introduced too quickly and focus is solely on exam requirements rather than wider musicianship and enjoyment.

For the right pupils, there is a lot to be gained from taking exams.  However in the UK it is too common for music education to be narrowly focused on exams and often students are entered too early.   Many UK method books are sold with the objective of getting the students to grade 1 quickly and can take as little as 18 months to cover – often having only 1 or 2 volumes in the series.   However, I believe that they often introduce new concepts far too quickly with little re-enforcement before moving onto the next.  Further, they often omit wider skills such as composition, improvisation, playing by ear and chord harmonisation.  (These skills are not pre-requisites for passing graded exams which maybe why they are omitted from these approaches).  Therefore, rather than following a strict method I use a wide variety of materials and activities and tailor these to the particular strengths and interests of the individual student.

To sum up….

Talking to teaching colleagues, and in my own experience, too many students are rushed through the exam system only to give up after the first few grades.  I have many adult students who are returning to the piano later in life, having taken a few grades when they were younger.   Then they gave up – either they lost interest in the narrow approach solely focused on exams or they had not established sufficiently secure skills to be able to cope with the intermediate and higher grades.   They always regret this.  I believe that – had they a more well-rounded education of which exams formed only a part (if at all) – then they may have continued throughout their childhood and teenage years.

I want each and every one of my students to continue to play the piano throughout their lives, continuing to develop a real love for music and the endless possibilities that playing the piano can bring.  And whilst many of them do take exams as part of this, I will never sacrifice their all-round musical enjoyment in favour of an exam certificate.

(If you are interested in reading about this subject further, here is a link to a review that I co-wrote with a colleague contrasting two methods currently available in the UK). 

Last week a new adult student came for her first lesson.  She described herself as a ‘complete beginner’ but when we chatted at the start of the lesson she told me that she had started to learn as a child, but had given up after a while.   Her mum played the piano and was keen for her to learn too – but she didn’t push her or insist on it.  My student really regretted this – and told me that she wished she had been pushed more as a child as she would now be able to play.

The spectre of the “pushy” mother is something that many of my students’ parents actively want to avoid.  I often hear comments such as “I just want them to love playing, I don’t want to push them into it…”   And whilst I agree with them, I then remember  the refrains of many of my adult students – “I wish I’d been pushed more”,  “I wish I’d learned to play when I was younger”, “I wish I hadn’t given up”……  

So should children be pushed into the piano?  The mother of four of my students, aged between 3 and 8, is very clear on this.   She is insisting that all four of her children play the piano until they reach Grade 5 – after that, it is their choice.  Her reasoning is this – Grade 5 standard is a very competent level of playing and a solid understanding of music, piano technique and (hopefully) a wide range of repertoire will have been achieved by this stage.    Her motivation?   She herself never had lessons as a child although she always wanted to. She has taught herself over the years and is only now – in her early forties – having formal lessons with me.   Many would describe her as pushy – and she does have to resort to bribery and sanctions at times.   But all her children are showing real promise at the piano and all participate in the family Sunday concerts at which every member plays their latest pieces (from Dogs and Birds to Beethoven Bagatelles!)

I don’t remember being pushed into the piano.  I started playing at the age of three, having lessons from four.  My father, a good amateur pianist himself, was always playing at home so – to me – playing the piano was just something that you did, like going to school and learning to read.   Saying that, my Dad does say that he had to nag me into practice and – from his perspective – there were times when he had to be pushy with me.  But now I don’t remember the arguments or the pushing – I just grew up playing the piano and it has been a fundamental part of my life ever since.

I don’t know the answer.  Like everything there is a balance and – of course – all children are different.  But – if the child is enjoying the piano on more occasions than not, and is making progress and showing an interest –then it is worth a degree of pushing to encourage good habits early on.  There are always times when they won’t feel like doing their practice but with a degree of pushing (or encouragement) they will see that it is something important and something that does require a degree of effort and commitment – like learning to read, play football, swim etc.  Piano lessons are an investment – of time and money – and to make them worthwhile I do think that regular practice is necessary.  And – with most children – sometimes they will need to be pushed to do this practice.  But then – hopefully – the investment will pay-off, the child will grow up with music and the piano as an integral part of their life, and they will never have the same regrets as so many adults seem to nowadays.

Before

October marks the six month anniversary of setting up my Teaching Practice.   I have been incredibly fortunate in that I now have a Practice full of wonderful students, aging from 3 up to – well, I won’t say.   And as I reach this (albeit small) milestone, I reflect on my new life as a Piano teacher and how it differs from my previous life in the corporate world – and, in particular, how glad I am that I made that career change earlier this year.

I have a wonderful mix of students – from my early years’ children of 3 and 4-year olds, through to my adult beginners –and lots in between!    There’s the 5-year old girl who can’t stop giggling every time we play the note ’goose’ (or  ‘gooooooose’ as we have tended to pronounce it); the 4-year old fidgety boy who needs to spend at least 15 seconds rubbing his hands before setting his fingers into a playing position (and then proceeds to play very nicely); the 3-year old (and 1 month!) girl who – I admit – I thought was probably a bit too young to start, but is already, after just a few weeks, reading and playing pieces with 3 notes very fluently as well as demonstrating a strong inner ear and singing voice.  There’s also the 15-year old girl who used to bang through every piece but is now learning how to include phrasing, and contrasting dynamics and really developing a musical ear;  the 9-year old girl who plays with real sensitivity and maturity; and the 5-year old boy who plays as if he was born to play the piano.   Oh, and my adult student who was born to play the Beethoven Bagatelles!

After

Every student is unique; and all have their different strengths.  Some pick up certain concepts very easily – e.g.  notation and interval reading – but may struggle with a good hand position and relaxed posture when playing.  Others struggle with the notation but are still able to improvise and play with some real musical ability.  For example, I have recently taken on a 10-year old girl who has been playing for a couple of years. Her note reading needs a lot of work, but when I showed her the classic ‘four chords’ (on which all popular music is based- see this great YouTube video) – she was able to write her own pieces which showed some real musical talent and a great ear.

In just a few months I have noticed how each of my child students are developing and maturing – not just as musicians but also as part of their natural growing-up.   As me and my students get to know each other, it is great to see them develop not only their ability to sing, listen and play – but also to focus and concentrate in the lessons for longer periods of time.  I often post links on my Facebook page to articles extolling the values of music education to improve all areas of life (academically, emotionally, creatively) and I really do believe that regular music lessons can benefit a student in so many ways.

This time last year I was still working in the corporate world; travelling extensively, permanently jet-lagged and getting ground down by constant demands and office politics.  Friends tell me I looked a lot older then than I do now.  Much about my job was good – I liked the Company I worked for, I made some great friends and I was lucky that it allowed me to see many parts of the world.  However, enough was enough.  Now my life is immeasurably different – I spend 30 or 60 minutes once a week with each of my students.   In the case of my child students I am possibly one of the few adults, other than close family, who has this one-to-one time with them.  And I realise that – if I notice how they grow and develop in just a few short months – then I really want to see how they will continue to do so over the next few years, if I have the privilege to keep working with them.  Fifteen years in the corporate world bought me some great rewards (and handbags).   The next fifteen / twenty (or more!) years in teaching will – I am sure – bring even greater ones – and I can’t wait!