Give Students What They Want and What They Need

In earlier decades of piano instruction, it was a simple process: the teacher told the student what to practice, and the student did that without question. In my early days I didn't mind that, because I loved the piano, and I was willing to play whatever was put in front of me. Still, I've known many people who said that when they were kids, they liked playing the piano but they didn't like the songs they were given, so they quit. I was lucky not to have that issue early on.

As I continued learning the piano, I gradually started having some of my own musical opinions. When I was maybe 10 or 11 years old, I wanted something other than the traditional music we were using. So I asked my teacher for “something different.” She was a bit flustered by my request, but the next week she gave me piano music from a movie that was popular at the time. I loved the music and I respect that teacher for accommodating me. I think it was an important moment. If she had refused I might have lost some of my enthusiasm.

At one point, in my late teens, I had a classical piano teacher who required me to play songs I didn't like, because he said they were “part of the repertoire.” He was teaching me as if I was aiming to be a concert pianist, which I wasn't. His approach was wrong for me, or maybe he had only one way of teaching. So I left those lessons and started looking for a different style of teacher. I found a jazz teacher and started the journey into chord-based playing. That was a great thing because it broadened my horizons and equipped me for later teaching a greater variety of students.

Now I've been teaching for a long time. I've come to believe that we should always give students some choice in what they're playing, even at an early age.

Piano teacher Beverly Cashin is Lessonface's 2022 Teacher of the Year! Read more about the Teacher of the Year award, and view testimonials from her students.

When a child is very young, they aren't capable of making complex choices, but we can still help them to participate in what we're doing. I'll say things like, “let's review one of your old songs so you don't forget how to play it. Is there a favorite you'd like to play again?” Often their eyes light up, and they name a song that they love. So that's what we work on that week. Sometimes we add a few notes to make it more complex, if they're ready for that.

This element of choice becomes even more important as the student gets older. By the time they're teenagers, often they're picking more of their own songs, while we still pursue the good foundational skills with whatever materials support that.

Adult students often have clear ideas of what they want to play, and we need to be able to accommodate their wishes. With adults the challenge is sometimes finding music at the appropriate level for that student. They may want to play a song that is far beyond their current level. Then we have to expand our resources to find the right materials for them, or know how to modify the materials that we can find. The ability to create our own sheet music can solve a lot of these issues, especially with pieces that are in the public domain. We can make simplified versions of common pieces that students want to play.

So, that's how we take care of giving students what they want. How do we take care of giving them what they need?

I feel that one function of teaching piano is to get people to do the things they'd rather not do! People don't generally like to count the rhythm, or do note practice, or take the time to be precise with fingering. But without those skills the development will be hampered, and they won't become competent players.

Some people will say “we just want it to be fun.” Well, that reasoning can be applied to activities that are purely recreational. But playing music is a discipline, and without working through the obstacles, you don't make good progress.

Let's think of it this way: if you go to football practice, the coach doesn't say “OK let's do 20 push-ups – but only if you think it's fun.” Or when the symphony orchestra is rehearsing for a performance, the conductor doesn't say “let's rehearse tomorrow at 2 - unless you don't feel like it.” (I'm laughing as I write this.)

The point is: getting good at something takes effort, and there are usually parts of it you don't enjoy. So you need the strength of personality to keep pushing through those parts so you can get to the pot of gold on the other side. The pot of gold in this case is the thrill that comes from mastering a piece on the piano. The joy that comes from perseverance is greater then the pleasure that comes from only doing the parts that are fun.

A clip from a performance by Beverly Cashin of John Field's "Nocturnes".

So how do we get our students to accept these realities? We have to help them develop some toughness so they can succeed at playing music. At the same time, we have to keep it light and nurturing. We can't yell at our students they way football coaches and conductors sometimes do!

I think the key is to present the technical aspects in the right quantity, with the right amount of challenge. If the challenge is too much, they may want to give up. We want technical challenges that are within their reach, so they can master it and be proud and feel strong.

So for example, in counting the rhythm, I want to make sure it's a rhythm they can master with a certain amount of effort. In learning the notes, I want to have a moderate amount of practice that won't cause boredom or fatigue. In fingering, I want to have pieces at a level where they can accomplish accuracy in a relatively short amount of time. So overall, we keep encouraging and plugging away with moderately challenging pieces, until accuracy is achieved. Then the student knows they got it right, and they know they're progressing.

Since we're covering those basics, we can then branch out into other pieces they want to play, even if those pieces are more than they can master right now. But we can loosen up our requirements for accuracy, because we know we're building those skills with the more basic materials. They can play that piece they love well enough to make them happy, even if it's not perfect.

So, we cover the basic skills with materials that are well within reach for the students. Then, we let them pick songs they want, and we find a version that they can play reasonably well. That's good enough! One day they'll be able to master it, since we're heading in that direction.

If we as teachers keep our eyes open and our ears peeled, we'll know when we're finding the right balance with our students. Playing for progress and playing for enjoyment increases the chances that the student will continue their involvement with piano study.

---

Beverly Cashin is Lessonface's Teacher of the Year for 2022! Having taught thousands of lessons and classes to hundreds of students on Lessonface since she joined in 2017, Beverly is without a doubt a phenomenal, inspiring instructor and guide to the piano. You can take lessons with Beverly, too. View her lesson availability and rates, as well as upcoming group classes, on her profile page.