Motivation: The Method and the Art

As a general rule, I require of my students discipline, repetitive practice, and just to hunker down and "get the job done." This works well for the self-motivated kids, but......

Some kids are self-motivated, some aren't. (Goodness, aren't adults like that, too? Why are we surprised when we see kids being like this?) And some days, even the self-motivated ones get burned out.  I have started to learn that it's my job as the teacher at this point to motivate them again, or even to kindle that flame for the first time. As Socrates said, "Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel." 

The fact is, teaching would be easy if all kids were born self-motivated. But I have to remember that it is not realistic to expect all kids to be delivered in cookie-cutter shapes.  They are all different, and we know this.  Isn't it my job to expand their minds, get them to explore the boundaries of their interests (and if I do my job well, those boundaries won't exist!), and to give them the tools to becoming who they want to be, deep down inside?

But how do you motivate someone? We've seen it done - coaches have this ability, as well as teachers, parents, wives....the list goes on.  

Rule #1: You have to be motivated yourself. As a piano teacher, if they see me love playing Bach, they might start to ask themselves, "She loves it; could I?"

Rule #2: There's no formula - it involves some personality reading, some talking things through, and getting them to think outside the box of their own heads. Essentially, teach them to be objective.  (What's that? Be objective? Isn't that a National Standard? Or rather, an age-old principle of higher thought....).  

I was discussing with a particular student yesterday about subjects like math, where it's hard to see the "real-life" application past fractions and simple math.  I'll be honest and tell you that when I was a math student, I never received a good answer to that question I'm sure every math teacher dreads hearing: "When will I actually use this, like in real life?" Similarly, my students have asked me, "What's the point of me playing [insert classical composer] if I know I'm not going to become a professional pianist?"  My student yesterday was talking about math, in particular, and it struck me to ask her a few questions about the point of learning in general:

I ask, "Do you think learning math makes you more dumb?"  She offers a faint reply, "No."

"Even if you're never really good at it, do you think it benefits you in any way?" 

She shrugs and says, "Yes, it makes me smarter, I guess..."

"Won't being smarter and more well-rounded make you better at anything you do in life?" 

She finally looks up at me, eyes wide, and says,"Yes!"

And I think she really got it. It was definitely one of those "moments." And with music, it's

the same -- learning Bach will not only develop your brain, but it will also make you better understand today's music, make you a better listener of music, and overall a more interesting person and better citizen and contribution to the human race! (Ok, I got dramatic there, but it really is true!).  We need to communicate to kids that all  learning is beneficial, and you can't pick and choose what is valuable to learn. It's all valuable, you may just have to look a little harder sometimes to find it. And here's a secret: the things that you have to work for are sometimes the very things you end up loving the most. 

A similar way of thinking is the comment I've heard all too often: "You can't expect kids to work as hard for piano, because it's not like they are getting a grade for it or anything." So we want our kids to only work for excellence when they are getting a grade for it? Great message to send to them -- only 

work if you are rewarded by someone else. And even worse, we are telling them that learning is only enjoyable when there is an outside reward -- whatever happened to the excitement of learning? The pure joy that comes when you do conquer a difficult measure you've been toiling over for days?  Call me an idealist, but I'm not wavering on this one. 

Teaching the whole child through music lessons.

As a music education student, I often heard phrases like, "Strive to reach every student," "Educate the whole child," and, "'Diversity in the classroom' is not a bad thing."  However, I've noticed that in the realm of private lessons (piano for me, but applies to any instrument), we assume that because it's a one-on-one situation, the student is automatically being "reached."  I would argue that even though the private lesson is a more personal setting than the classroom, the danger of losing the attention of the student is just as great. 

One area of this topic that I find to be an issue is how to teach what we might call "serious" students vs., for lack of a better word, "temporary" students.  Let's face it, probably only about 10% of our private students will continue to pursue music past high school.  It's tempting as a teacher to get more frustrated with the students that aren't in it for the long haul, but really, is it realistic to expect this out of all of our students?  Of course not.  The real struggle is in this: how to avoid lowering the standards for those students who will not grow up to pursue music. 

I have already established that it is unrealistic for me to expect all of my students to want to be professional pianists/music instructors.  However, now we must ask ourselves: what is reasonable to expect out of them?  One thing is certain: time spent in private lessons should result in meaningful progress.  Most people would like to be able to at least enjoy playing the piano for the rest of their life.  Reading music, learning how to improvise, and getting to at least an intermediate level of playing would be requirements satisfy this desire.  Inconsistent practice would lead away from this goal, would it not?  I would argue that it's just as important to push the "temporary" student to practice just as much as the "serious" one, as long as they are taking lessons, reminding them that in order to make meaningful progress, practice must take place.  Using this logic, if a student and his/her parents feel that they've gotten all they can out of piano lessons, then I will not hold it against them if they choose to move on.  Until they stop, though, I won't stop pushing and demanding progress through practice -- for their sake!  Nobody enjoys something they aren't making progress with. 

The point I'm trying to make is this: if we, as music educators of K-12 students, only teach the students who will end up being professional musicians one day, we will be losing the battle against eradicating music from schools and everyday life in general.  That tells the world that music is not a subject everyone needs, but just a specialized art meant for only the "musically inclined" (one of those damaging phrases that makes people think music can't be learned).   Isn't our goal to develop better minds by musically educating people?  Here's what Science Daily says about music and the research that's been done on kids who've been musically trained: "[The findings] show that not only do the brains of musically-trained children respond to music in a different way to those of the untrained children, but also that the training improves their memory as well." (2006)  It also has been shown to improve other things such as language development, motor and sensory skills, and a myriad of other things. (Univ. of Concordia, 2013)

That proves that musical training is worth it just because of the overall benefits it has on the brain.  If some of those brains go on to teach or make music for a living, wonderful!  However, the world still needs better music appreciators, supporters, listeners, and people who just make music for fun.  And according to the above research, the world will get smarter people if they are musical people.  It is a part of educating the whole person; music is something bigger than just music.  It's not an end in itself.  For me, it's about getting kids to blossom into their amazing, God-given potential as diverse, well-rounded, sophisticated people.  I happen to specialize in music, so that's how I'll contribute to the process.  

Now, for the serious students, there are teachers out there that are meant to be teachers of those kinds of kids.  And that's wonderful -- they need that kind of attention and focus if they want to succeed in music as a living later in life.  I think that as teachers, we need to decide what kinds of teachers we'll be.  As parents, it's important to ask yourself when choosing a teacher, "What is this teacher's philosophy, and will it match what we would like to get out of taking piano?"  I have decided that I want to be the kind of teacher that can reach everyone; I strive to be good enough to challenge the serious student and creative enough to challenge the less serious one. 

I remember in college we also had to write our "Philosophy of Education."  I think it was about 2 pages long...I think that by the end of my life, my Philosophy of Education will be volumes long!  I hope I never stop challenging myself to keep re-molding that philosophy...I would think all teachers of any kind would feel the same as me.  Have a great night!

The simple things...

Teaching in the classroom this year has taught me a myriad of things about the way we learn, and possibly why we don't learn.

The thing is, my theory is that most humans are capable of learning most concepts, but it's just a matter of having them explained to you in a way that is accessible.  Concepts are just regular old thoughts, but they seem foreign to us because they are either overcomplicated, or all too often, just badly presented.  Let me use music as an example...

Imagine yourself in your third-grade music classroom watching your teacher explain that the "line notes" of the treble clef are "Every Good Boy Does Fine," and that the space notes spell "FACE."  Raise your hand, boys and girls, if you thought these were just random phrases your teacher wanted you to mindlessly memorize along with "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally," "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue," and so on...

Did you ever stop, as a kid, to realize that those phrases you learned were simply spelling...uh...the ALPHABET?  (Refresher course: there are line and space notes, so starting on the bottom line "E," you go line-space-line-space, and say the alphabet through "G."  When you get to "G," start over at "A" and keep going.)  I discovered as I was teaching the treble clef notes that many kids thought that the letters of the musical alphabet were randomly placed and had more to do with the phrasing of the mnemonic devices than with the order of the alphabet.  SO many of my kids have had these revelations like, "OH!  It's just the alphabet!" and I have even heard, "Finally, someone's teaching me how to read music!"

The point is, kids are capable of understanding most things we may throw their way.  We just have to find a way that makes it make sense.  Maybe it's academia that taught us to overcomplicate things in the first place.  Who ever said that learning had to be difficult to be meaningful?  I would argue that the learning environment that is the most inspiring is often the simplest.  Often, when kids don't know they're learning, they are learning the most.  My job as a teacher is to, as Plato said, "ignite a flame," not fill them up with cluttered ideas that never intersect, only filling up their minds and making them replicas of our educational curriculum, and not letting them become who they need to be.

And finally, as adults, we can learn from this as well -- we are capable of learning most things, if we put our minds to it.  Never be intimidated by the world's "fluff," because most of the time people over-complicate things to sound impressive, and not because they actually want you to understand a concept.  If you want to learn how to sing harmony, and someone has told you, "Oh, you have to have a good ear for that," hear none of it!  It's a skill like any other -- it can be learned.  I've seen it done.  If you want to learn how to crochet, then learn how it works!  I have found that most things are a system that can be broken down into a logical process or pattern.

So I'll get off my platform.  It's just that lately I've had these revelations about the capabilities of the human mind, and how much we underestimate our own potential.  Be inspired!  Go learn!  Reach your potential!

Or,  you can get some sleep...as I'm about to do. :)

Tips on Memorization and Practicing

This is more of a practical post -- I offered a short session for parents last week on how to help their kids practice/memorize more efficiently, and wanted to give anyone who missed it a chance to catch up.

First, we discussed what I called "The 9 Essentials of Practicing Piano":

1. Always look at the assignment book. Half the time, this is the reason progress is not made!
2. Respect your child's practice time. Give them an uninterrupted length of time to practice.
3. Create a positive practice environment. Make sure that there is adequate lighting, that the surroundings are neat, etc. As you know, kids (and adults, if you're like me!) need help focusing as much as possible!
4. Set a specific time to practice each day. If you don't make it a part of your routine, you'll push it out of the day all together.
5. Learn in sections. If your child is getting overwhelmed, suggest that he/she break it up into smaller sections at a time. Success is gradual, not instant.
6. Encourage them to take it slowly. I would rather hear a student play something "too slow" but with correct notes and timing MUCH more than something "up to speed" but full of starts and stops. If you hear this happening, encourage your child to take it slower!
7. We usually practice "hands separately" until we're ready to put our "hands together." Avoid letting your child play both hands' parts at the same time too soon, or it will result in frustration.
8. Stop them from repeating mistakes over and over. If you hear your child repeating mistakes, it's time for you to help him/her devise a new strategy. Suggest that they break it down into sections further. Go back and play it hands separately. Locate the problem. Repeating mistakes only reinforces them, making them even harder to overcome.
9. Make sure they're still having fun. Tell your son/daughter to play something enjoyable after working hard on a new piece. A sure way to lose interest in piano is never to have fun with it.

Next, we discussed memorization and how to overcome fear of playing without the music. I hope you find this helpful:

What you should know about memorization...

1. Good sight-readers tend to be bad memorizers, and vice versa. In other words, visually-oriented students will have it tough when trying to memorize, while auditory/kinesthetic types will tend to have it easier.
2. Set out from Day 1 to memorize -- you haven't fully learned a piece until you've memorized it, in many people's opinions. The goal is to internalize the music so you can be totally comfortable during performance.
3. "Fingering" refers to what fingers you use to play the notes (the kids know this) -- if they don't pay attention to it and use different fingering every time, memorization will take much longer.
4. If you are a kinesthetic (hands-on) learner, don't fall into the trap of relying on "muscle-memory" to memorize a piece of music. Try to visualize the music in your mind as you're playing it -- this is really the best way to keep track of where you are in the song.
5. Try playing without the music every now and then as you're learning a song. That said, make sure you look back at it to make sure you're memorizing the right thing!
6. For more really great memorizing tips, go to www.colorinmypiano.com - "12 Tips for Memorizing Piano Music."

That was pretty much all we discussed...my goal is to try to inform parents, especially if they don't know how to play themselves, how to help their kids practice.

I will write again soon...

Practicing...

Lately, I've been trying, myself, to practice more at the piano, rather than always crowing at my students to practice without doing it myself. It's been off-and-on successful -- I've learned a few new pieces (like the Debussy below) in the past few months. Still, I'm nowhere near where I need to be! The problem is our inconsistency, as we all know too well. It's a lifelong issue: we have to learn to make things we weren't born doing (e.g. making our beds or practicing piano) come as naturally as it is for hunger to remind us to eat, or pain remind to us that we are hurt.

In my "Parent/Student Information Packet," I make this statement:

"Consistency in both attendance and practicing are essential. Students should practice every day for an appropriate amount of time (e.g. beginners should practice 15-20 minutes a day). As the student’s skill level increases, so will the expected practice time."

It's funny, I don't get in what a beginner should some of the time -- how can I expect all these busy little children to, with all their volleyball and cheerleading and dance classes? Granted, they have parents to remind them to practice; but still, parents are busy, too. What reminds us to do the things we want to do? Well, it comes naturally...

So the question is, can we make practicing piano, or any other such "learned" habit, a natural part of our existence? I think the answer is in setting our priorities straight in our cluttered minds. I heard once that, "A brain remembers what it thinks is important." Maybe we have control over what our brains consider to be important -- if we do something consistently every day, I think that over time our brains will naturally become accustomed to the routine and it will be more and more natural.

Ultimately, it's really what we enjoy that we remember. The best kind of practicing is when you actually enjoy it, not when you are simply doing it out of duty. I remember when I was in about the eighth grade, something "clicked" with me and I became almost addicted to practicing piano. I think it was that the success I'd wanted to see from constistently practicing finally surfaced, and there was no other motivator like it. Success was the vessel for expression, too -- piano practicing became an outlet for me, a place to go when I felt awkward or shy, a way to express myself or relate to people when I couldn't really do it verbally or in social situations. Now, I'm not an awkward middle school girl, but I am a woman in my twenties that has found that the stability of practicing piano, or any other kind of routine like that, is almost therapeutic in nature. We don't know it, but we crave routine, predictability -- things we can trust will happen day in and day out. When I miss a practice session, I don't feel guilty as much as I feel I've missed out on a little of the spirituality that is in a routine...

"And all work is empty save when there is love; and when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God."

-Kahlil Gibran, from "The Prophet"

Debussy and Emotional Well-Being...

Tonight I was playing one of my favorites, the Prelude from Debussy's "Suite Bergamasque." The harmonies and rising and falling of the passages reminded me why I love playing music so much: not only can I respond to the music, but it can respond to me. My hands are telling the piano what to express, and in the best of circumstances, the piano carries it out with perfect understanding.

When I'm not emotionally "in tune," however, I find that it is reflected in my piano playing. If I am distracted, it goes without saying that my playing will sound distracted. I think I've discovered that throughout my life, I've used the piano as sort of an indicator of what's going on internally. It's a healthy way for me to disengage from life in a productive way -- instead of ignoring my emotions, it allows them to be gently exposed, leaving my body just a little less cluttered from the world.

Meanwhile, you've got to listen to Debussy's Suite Bergamasque. Most people only hear Clair de Lune, which is the suite's last movement, but the first two movements are gorgeous and have their own character, and will give greater depth to your understanding of the more familiar Clair de Lune...anyway. Have a good night.

Summer Lessons: to do or not to do?

I am teaching summer lessons this year, and I am finding that, like most things, there are challenges and rewards. The rewards, so far, have been 1) the lack of school-related stress interfering with piano practice, 2) attitudes are much more relaxed in general, and 3) it's just more...fun! Music should be something people enjoy, and maybe summer lessons can provide a bit of "healing" from associating piano with the mundanity of the rest of the year. However, the drawbacks, other than "summer sluggishness," are mostly associated with crazy vacation scheduling, summer camps, etc.

At http://pianoeducation.org, John Zeigler wrote an article to piano teachers encouraging them to offer summer piano lessons. He suggested a few things that I found interesting:

• Communicate with the parents and students that it has negative effects to stop for such a long time during the summer -- they lose a lot of skills that will have to be regained during the already busy fall semester.
• Use the summer to bring in any ignored aspects of piano education, such as music history, theory, and (heaven forbid!) songs the students might actually want to learn! :)
• Prepare for any upcoming competitions, such as recitals, auditions, etc. This will motivate the students to come to lessons, if they are the type that are motivated under pressure.
• Have a summer concert! I like this idea. Especially since many of my students will be learning songs they have picked out themselves this summer.
• Have a summer "clinic" -- I have considered this, because even students that have stopped taking lessons for the summer might be willing to give up a day.
• Even give a few free "music appreciation" classes! Involve adult students and advertise around town.

Just thought these were some interesting ideas...hope you find them useful!