Anyone can learn how to play the piano. While you may make faster progress at certain age ranges and abilities, the joy gained is not indicative to the rate that you progress. The time and verve spent practicing the skill is however, indicative at the rate that you progress. Learning an instrument requires self discipline to practice regularly. Not only are you learning a language but your body is developing motor skills and both of these proficiencies need time to develop.
My teaching is based on a process approach to learning music. How you get to the end matters and greatly effects the process and habits formed for repertoire to follow. But how to sequence repertoire and skills is only part of the equation to succeed. The emotional piece is a huge impact on whether or not the brain is ready for learning. Students need to feel safe and confident when accomplishing fundamentals on a new musical instrument. Making mistakes is part of the process – if you don’t feel safe in making mistakes, it is a large hindrance to the process of learning. Being a learner in itself a vulnerable role with teachers having a great deal of power and influence on the student. The practice of motivating students by fear and humiliation is wrong and still quite prevalent in many private music studios today unfortunately.
Our goal as music educators is to create life long music makers.
Keys to Expression 