Oct.13... What is most important in learning piano

(this text hadn't been 'proof read and I ask you to excuse my mistakes since English is my second language)
Today we had a wonderful and sunny day in Texas, quiet and peaceful. I have a very interesting set of students this year. Some of them are ‘veterans’ – they take lessons for quite a while. And some of them beginners… And you know, what is the most amazing part about it? Some ‘freshmen’ sometimes play music pieces that some ‘veterans’ can’t.

This is one of the most interesting and intriguing phenomenon in learning music and especially piano! We all got used that first a student learn arithmetic and then algebra, and only after that he/she will be able to advance to logarithms.

But in music one just had started lessons and – boom! – plays advanced pieces of Shostakovich, and, on another hand, another one learning piano for several years and still struggling with very simple pieces. Of cause, we have the guidelines and there is a set of piano pieces that is recommended for certain levels, but… Even within such guidelines there is a huge amplitude between very complicated and very simple pieces.

This is why many of us are fixated on the rules of what a person should be able to play and when. I hear this kind of questions from Russian speaking mothers and sometimes from English speaking parents ( in the USA we have here more freedom and sometimes anarchy in following guidelines in music educatio ).

What is my opinion about all of this? I think that the personal interest of a student and his enjoyment in learning is supposed to be a lading power of music education.

You see, I don’t know, when, where and how one would need the knowledge about algorithms, but I know for sure that music will be one’s companion for the rest of one’s life. Ability to play music instrument – is a skill that you can enjoy for the rest of your life.

And with this regard here we have a question: in whose best interest we make a child cry over the piano? In whose best interest we want a student to play something even more advanced that the guidelines even require? Is it in best interest of a child – or in the best interest of an ambitious parent or teacher?

Sometimes I keep thinking about a girl that I knew many years ago. She was a winner of all piano competitions in our school, city and even a region! She was our school’s pride and joy. Time passed, and I recently learned that she didn’t become a musician. She had chosen another career after understanding that she… hates to play piano.

People have different inborn coordination. For some to stand on one foot on a stretched rope is not such a big deal. For others it is impossible task.

Piano lessons for centuries is like a circus, when people with bad coordination and average fine motor skills were pushed out of music education or had to spend endless hours practicing. I think, it is just not right!
Music is a part of our lives and our goal is to help every child to grow love to music making. And I mean music making for personal pleasure and joy first of all – not to impress, amaze and entertain someone else. This is why I think that guidelines have to be student friendly – not vice versa. I think, it is always better ‘to take it easy’ then to make a student to play something for the sake of competition and to hate this for the rest of his/her life.

This is my opinion.
But I would be interested to hear yours!

I have a friend from childhood. We went to primary school together. Then she went to an Art secondary school and highschool. She was in a violin class. But her great talent was with her voice. She has a very beautiful voice.
Still, her parents insisted that she had to be good with violin. She was, but she wanted canto. And in highschool, few years before graduating, if I recall well, she changed the violin class and went to canto.
She didn't go to the Conservatory, but she kept her skills. She has always sung - with her voice - in her church's choir and that's what brought her a great joy.

Knowing her experience I want a different thing for our children. I want them to do what they like and we will help them follow their skills. If music is just a hobby, fine. If it's more than a hobby, fine. If they want more another instrument, and not piano, fine. They will be helped to do whatever they need for themselves, not for us. It's their life, their decision.

One more thing, related to formal musical education.
Here, in Romania, a student in an art school will have to focus more on his musical education, and less on the scientific subjects (math, chemistry, physics, biology etc.). And if that students discovers in time that he wants to follow a different path implying good knowledge of the scientific subjects then he will have a hard time to be admited later in a school, highschool or even faculty.

All in all, I agree with what you wrote, Hellene.

Andrea

Hi, Andrea!
Very fascinating story!
It seems like in Romania you have the same structure of music education. We also have little to do with science in our art schools. I know couple of people, who changed the career after graduating. They went to become engineers!
In fact, when we had our music college reunion after 25 years of graduation, I was surprised to learn that a lot of my classmates are not musicians at all: they are real estate agents, engineers, sales managers – you name it! It seems like profession of music teacher is getting less popular now days.

Private lessons are expensive here too.
But what I've seen also is that the number of classes for learning guitar, for instance, as an extracurricular activity, is growing. And they have a fair price, I guess.

I don't know the number of music teachers and students in schools or in private settings in Romania.
Still, the interest for music may be growing. I base my opinion after seeing advertisements with music classes for little children, either for familiarizing them with instruments or musical notes etc., either for learning a foreign language (English).
As you mentioned in your articles, I would also say that being a music teacher is a difficult choice, it's the same with any teaching position in art in Romania. If you're passionate about it, you might have a hard time living in my country. Some people left and found better positions in other countries.

We have a great International Festival "George Enescu" . It's a way in which the interest for (good) music, so to speak, is revived each year. They also have an Internatioal Competition for Piano, Violin, Cello and Composition for people born after 1978.

Andrea