Teaching Inspiration

My most inspiring teacher encouraged to play challenging pieces that I never thought I’d be capable of doing so. She pushed me to do the best I can, and listened to me when I felt pieces were too challenging or didn’t fit my style. At the beginning of each year, we’d sit down and map out what I want to accomplish in the next 12 months, and that gave me a great sense of direction and what I need to do to be successful. I recall for two consecutive summers, I was taking piano, flute and two theory exams because I felt I was capable of doing so. Every few months we’d prepare a piece that I would play at a recital, which gave me a great sense of pride and motivated me to try even more challenging pieces for the next recital.

My least inspiring teacher was one who made me cry every lesson. I still recall the anxiety I felt sitting in his waiting room while the student before me finished their lesson, and all I heard was yelling. While he was an extremely talented and accomplished pianist, he wasn’t a great teacher. That said, I learned what pitfalls to avoid in my own teaching through him. I was a very shy child and hated performing, but rather than taking small steps such as recitals, he signed me up for a big competition before I was ready. I almost quit because it was such a horrific experience. There is a fine line of challenging and pushing a student too hard, so in my own teaching, I always turn to the parents and listen to the student of what they’re capable of.

Some positive elements I hope I am already emulating in my teachings is that piano playing can be fun and enjoyable. There may be challenges throughout the journey, but there are milestones that should be celebrated. One thing I like to do to inspire my students is to make them “teacher” for a piece. We’d swap seats and I’d play a piece with some mistakes they’re making, and have them identify what could be improved. They’re often able to pick up exactly what the mistakes are. I also enjoy using animals to mimic what they’re doing on the piano. Are they stomping like elephants with their left hand chords? If so, I’d draw a feather underneath that measure to remind them to be light with their touch.

Based on my own learning experience, I try to avoid pitfalls like repeating the same method of explanation over and over again if it doesn’t make sense. I try to find different ways to explain the concept if it doesn’t make sense or if the student doesn’t retain the information after a few lessons.