Do you ever wonder what other teachers do in their lessons? I do!
I thought it would be fun to share what a beginner piano lesson looks like in my studio for kids ages 6-9. For this age group, I tend to start with either the Faber Piano Adventures series or the Alfred Premier series. Both methods are pretty similar with plenty of explanation to guide non-musical parents in helping their children at home. They start with off-staff notation on black keys and then move to C major 5-finger positions. I use the Lesson Book, Performance Book, and Theory Book.
Each lesson starts with a brief conversation. I greet the student, ask how their week is going, and then we chat briefly about how school is going, what new book they are reading, how my dog Jasper is today, or anything else they want to tell me!
Then I ask them to play their assigned songs from the week before. Usually students have mastered these simple songs, and they receive a sticker in their book and an “X” on their Piano-opoly board. Often I will choose one of their songs to play the suggested duet accompaniment with, and we play together. (This is a wonderful way to help students prepare for performances - playing through music without stopping - and to practice a steady beat. And, it's fun!)
We then move to the next song in their book and I teach any new concepts as well as how to play the song. We will go through 2-4 songs together, depending on how quickly the student grasps the new information. I want to be confident that they have the information they need to go home and practice the music without me!
At this point, if I notice the student needs more practice on a concept, or simply another piece or two to play at the same “level,” I will pull out the Performance book and teach and assign a song or two from it. My beginners don't play in formal recitals, but we do prepare for informal performances for peers at our quarterly group lessons. They may play a piece from the Performance Book or from their Lesson Book at these meetings. Essentially, I use the Performance Book as another resource to reinforce concepts from the Lesson Book. We may or may not cover all the music in that book.
The last 5 minutes is dedicated to music theory. We talk through the theory concept in the book and I may even have the student begin the exercise to make sure he understands how to do it, and then I assign the corresponding pages to the Lesson Book for their take-home assignment.
That's it! Our 30-minute lessons fly by, the students know what to expect, and we are able to go at a nice pace in this manner. Sometimes I will supplement with a game from my shop or something that I have found online, either because we have covered the music that I want to in the lesson in a shorter amount of time, or I'm finding that the student needs more practice with a concept. Or sometimes, I just want to mix it up and start a lesson off with a game because it's fun!
What do your beginner lessons look like? Let me know in the comments!
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