One of the greatest obstacles of learning the piano is purchasing the instrument itself. While some other instruments may have a lower starting price point, pianos aren’t known to be the most affordable piece of equipment. Digital keyboards are a great introductory substitute if the few-thousand-dollar price tag is out of your price range, or if you aren’t sure about the commitment.
Not all digital keyboards are equal; while technology brings the distance between digital and acoustic pianos closer each year, there are still key features that you should look out for when purchasing your first digital keyboard.
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Recently I've been wrestling with the thought of how big of a burden it is to guide a child through their, possibly, entire music education. If I don't teach them in the correct way that works for them, they could, God forbid, give up and end up hating music altogether.
My teaching philosophy is simple: help the students learn to love music and help them develop the technical facility and musical understanding necessary to appreciate and love music. Rainbow fingers -- I came across this term one lesson as I was demonstrating to a student the proper finger posture of a pianist. "It looks like a rainbow!" she told me enthusiastically. I've been using the term 'Rainbow Fingers' ever since. When I first started teaching, I wasn't really strict about my students using Rainbow Fingers. I thought that it would eventually fix itself as they grow up. However, as they advanced to the higher levels of piano, it was apparent they would not be able to execute the notes at the required speed with their poor finger posture. I realized I made an enormous mistake letting them get away with playing piano in that manner. By far the biggest problem of any music teacher is getting the student to practice. It is like day and night when the student comes to a lesson after a week of practicing or...not. A lesson can be very fun and filled with new things to learn, or it could be an exact word-for-word repeat of the previous week.
There are many factors contributing to the student's motivation to practice. The biggest factor of all is the lack of experience. Musicians like myself who has gone through years of musical training, look back and wish I spent less time playing games and practicing more. Every minute of practice is so valuable, in hind-sight. But alas, it is impossible to have the students see through our 20-plus-years-later-lens. |
PedagogyThis is a blog on the thoughts of a piano teacher. Archives
March 2021
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