I took some of my students to the National Guild Auditions in our area earlier this summer. The judge was very nice and encouraging, both to my students and to me. He commented that teaching piano is a lot like drilling for oil. You dig and find nothing, try a new area, find nothing, then finally you strike the "big one."
Our students really are like that. I have some who genuinely like a large variety of genres and will happily play just about anything. However, these students are rare.
Once I had another students whose parents spoke to me because their child loves piano but seems to have just really been fizzling out lately. They had a few ideas about why (it wasn't the student's issue, of course) but I ordered the student some new books and asked them to reevaluate in a while. The student took off with the new books because I had gotten some that were full of songs that the student enjoyed playing. The parents came back later and said that the new books perked the student's interest, and the student was back on track. That was very encouraging.
So, please, if you've tried method books, classical, and others and just seem to be getting nowhere, take heart! There are many piano teachers just where you are. Just keep doing your level best, and it may surprise you which students take off.
I hope this blog can be a helpful tool for those seeking to try "drilling for oil" in a new genre or a new book.
No comments:
Post a Comment