Enter the giveaway HERE

I have one little sweet student who just won’t practice.  He is a really great sight reader, and is able to squeak through nearly every piece in his books.  Of course, that is not good enough.  We all know he needs practice.

I tried several different incentives with this little guy, and finally landed on the goofy nametag idea, convinced his silly personality would enjoy it enough to practice.  When that didn’t work, I tried stickers, since the kid is obsessed with those things.  I placed a star sticker on his hand for each day of practice.  (Which was only two, by the way).

He LOVED that!  He gloated to his brother and to his mom.  He waved his hand in the air with pride.  I was sure that I had finally found the answer in a cheap packet of star stickers.  I was, of course, mentally patting myself on the back for my ingenious understanding of his individual personality.  I was envisioning the next week, when his hand would be covered in stars, and we would both be beaming with happiness and pride.

Until he ate the stickers.

Aaargghhh…I’m frustrated.  The only time I’ve ever lost students was because they moved to a new area.  I have now recently had the “pleasant” experience of being “fired.” 

I’m not surprissed this happened, but I am incredibly annoyed.  This particular student’s mother took 2 months to even buy a piano.  For those two months, all I could tell the student was to do the theory homework and try doing some finger exercises on the kitchen table.  Of course, this student never progressed.  When the mother FINALLY bought a piano, she bought a digital piano, which I specifically asked her not to do.  (Side note:  How do YOU feel about digital pianos in your students’ homes?)  This student missed several lessons because the mother was working and the father didn’t want to drive.  Then, the mother asked that I change the lesson time, which I couldn’t do.

Yesterday, she left a message on my phone telling me that she found a teacher who will come to her house at the time she wants, and she is going to try this teacher out for the month of May.  (I’m not sure why she is only trying it out for a month, but there is no way I’m letting this child BACK into my studio after the month of May!)

I am upset because now this student and mother will always think I was not a good teacher since I never had a real chance to actually teach him.  The new piano teacher will think I was not a good teacher, since the student took lessons for about 4 months, but can’t tell you how long to hold a whole note and has no clue how to hold his hands, sit at a piano, or find high and low keys.

It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing I can really do but move on.  Have you had these types of experiences before?  How did you get over it?

Aaarggghh!!!  Do you deal with this?  Sometimes a student will skip a line or measure, and when I ask him to go back and play it, he tells me he already played it.  He INSISTS he played it, even though he most definitely did NOT!  It is one of my biggest pet peeves, and it’s hard not to act like a little child and stick out my tongue at him!

What do you do when students do this?

Oy. I’ve lost a couple adult students. This seems to be inevitable when teaching an adult. I’ve decided I’m going to screen and prepare adult students a little better in the future. Here is what I will say. (Maybe I’ll say it a little nicer than this though).

Make sure this time in your life is a good time to commit to piano lessons. Taking piano lessons is very involved. You have to be able to commit to a weekly lesson. You can’t constantly be cancelling the lesson just because something else comes up! You have to be able to commit to practicing EVERY DAY. You also cannot expect great results in a short amount of time. You are going to start out learning elementary songs like “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” Children will play better than you for a long time. If you want to succeed, you must be willing to stick with piano lessons for YEARS. There is NO instant gratification in the beginnings of piano. That being said, piano can be incredibly rewarding, and it is so worth the years of hard work.

Can you commit to daily practice, weekly lessons, and dinky songs for years? Then, you are ready!

What do you tell adult beginners?

I am amazed and shocked when I talk to a prospective student’s parent to find that they do NOT have a piano in their house! I’ve surprisingly encountered this more than one time. I think I should probably start making sure people have a piano before I even set up an interview. Have you encountered this issue? Or is it just me?

Excuse me for just a minute while I get slightly frustrated.

Our recital is next week, and most of my Thursday students are completely unprepared. They all missed a lesson, due to Thanksgiving, and I am very surprised at how much that has affected their abilities on their pieces. We spent all of yesterday’s lessons just practicing their pieces, rather than fine-tuning them. I’m hoping they can pull them together in time for the recital!

Have you ever had students completely unprepared for a recital?

Isn’t this just so terribly painful?

I have a 9 year old student who cries about something during almost every lesson.  Yesterday, she was crying because she didn’t practice during the week.  Well, I have a hard time feeling sympathy for the girl when she doesn’t do what she’s supposed to do.  But…I can’t have sad kids in lessons or we won’t progress!  So, after telling her that it is her responsibility to practice, I had to figure out a way to make her happy again.  She’s a very silly girl (when she isn’t crying about something ridiculous) so I decided to try a silly tactic.

“Where did your smile go?  Did you leave it at the door?”

No response.

“Did you leave it in the hall?”

Corners of the mouth start to twitch.

“I wonder if it snuck under your piano bench.  Can you check?”

Muffled giggles as she looks under the piano bench.

“I think you found it!  Let me see!”

Smiles all around!  Now we’re ready to work!

…to do the same things that kids are allowed to do? 

If I’m sitting in a private lesson and I’m beginning to get restless, why can’t I stand up to continue the flashcard exercise, rather than sit still in my seat?  Why can’t I spin around and around on the piano bench?  Why can’t I announce that I just don’t care to do the thing my teacher is requesting I do?

*Sigh*

Thank you all so much for the wonderful suggestions about how to deal with siblings who interrupt each other during lessons.  I used several suggestions and it helped- to a degree.  This student is going to be a handful. 

I decided to “lay down the law” at the beginning of the lesson.  I directed my comments to the 7 year old because I figured the 17 year old would understand that the comments were meant for both kids.  Maybe I should have done it the other way around, because the 17 year old was an angel, while the 7 year old made me want to tear my hair out!

I told the 7 year old that while her older sister was having lessons, her job was to stay on the couch.  She could listen to my CD player with headphones or sit quietly.  She could NOT interrupt us.  She listened to the CD for a few minutes while I praised myself for an ingenious idea (even though it was a reader’s idea).  Then she got bored and started playing with my baby, taking toys away from my baby, crawling around, talking etc.

I had to sit her back on the couch and say to her, “You made an agreement with me at the beginning of the lesson.  Remember?”  She was apologetic and repentant and was good for a few more minutes.  Then, while crawling around on the floor (yet again), she found my baby’s books and read them.  It kept her occupied so I was ok.

In the confusing state that was quickly being created right there in my living room, I forgot to use one tip I really wanted to use- giving her finger drills to quietly play in her lap.  I will try that next week.

I told her she MUST bring books (plural) to read next time.  Any further suggestions would be much appreciated!