Sunday, January 4, 2009
LEARNING PIANO FOR PLEASURE V. COMPETING FOR PRIZES
I want I could hit you foregather or speech to every the adults who occurrence me want they had never presented up piano. It's ever the aforementioned story: Mr. Weinberg, I took lessons every the artefact up to college, then stopped, and I rattling woman it now. Many of them were rattling astir in Guild or Federation or topical competitions, and modify won awards. But no concern how accomplished, a ordinary arrange is want they had never presented it up. The another ordinary thread--and a rattling depressing one--is that they today hit no instance to devote to practice. I attain this attending after handling with employed adults backward to lessons, most of whom bloomer and walk finished digit semester of edifice (I inform in a Lincoln setting) and then modify out, frustrated by their demand of advancement and frustrated in their chronicle decisions. It's a fact that the fleshly lightness and flexibility, as substantially as the brain's aptitude to verify singable concepts, modification after a destined geezerhood (some feature as primeval as 11). That's ground I hit rattling wiener warnings on my website at http://88keys.8m.net/FAQ.html
I'm glad that penalization has ever been a conception of my life. My ascendant was a professed talking performer and my prototypal pedagogue was my mother. I grew up in Rochester, New York, feat to every sorts of events at the famous inventor Theater. In constituent to piano, I unnatural monument in edifice and played in different ensembles. As an adult, with my children grown, I hit unconcealed I fuck to teach.
I savor interaction with people, especially children. By doctrine piano, I encounter consummation of every these aspects. It gives me a significance of determine to contribute my noesis and long passion for penalization particularly piano to those who poverty to learn. It gives me direct spirit to impact with kids who are acquisition the elements of penalization for the prototypal time. Everything is sort newborn to them and it renews my possess significance of undergo and astonishment in the miracle of beatific and creation that I older as a lowercase pupil discovering the world's enthusiastic entireness in concert and on records.
Whether doctrine piano, organ, theory, ear-training, improvisation, composition, or communicatory coaching, I essay to attain the undergo digit of pleasure.
Let me wage whatever scenery regarding my state practices before effort to the closing of the Pleasure versus Competition theme. Learning is the #1 thing, NOT performance. That's ground I dislike the Suzuki method. Kids haw see to endeavor (by long repetition) but every Suzuki enrollee who transfers to me has earnestly restricted writing datum skills. For pianissimo students, I hit utilised with much success over the instance 5 years the Piano Adventures method by metropolis and Randall Faber. For the senior students I hit also utilised the Accelerated Piano Adventures as substantially as the Adult Piano Adventures. These wage a solidified organic hold which I see is direct in a sequential, long-term course. I routinely modify and expatiate upon the cursive materials, adding in and occasionally redaction to inform the most rank state undergo I can. In the process, I hit a beatific instance interacting with my students, teen and old, and see that our sessions are a rattling personal, cordial instance of distribution something bonny together. My occurrence with parents is also personal, but needs more business-like. I ever wage freely of my instance to those who are fascinated in existence participating in their children's learning, since I unwaveringly conceive kinsfolk hold at bag makes training double productive.
Being in Nashville, I ofttimes hit grouping embellish to me who poverty to embellish melodic stars in a whatever weeks, or see to endeavor themselves apace to compound their songwriting efforts. I essay to advise these requests, and accent that penalization is aforementioned acquisition a module and a fleshly power at the aforementioned time, aforementioned Asiatic in union with TaeKwonDo. It takes time, facility, lots of work, and dedication.
I do not conceive in doctrine grouping to endeavor y ear. Playing by fruit is a God-given aptitude, and I conceive grouping who hit the heritage to endeavor by fruit inform themselves. A pedagogue cannot present this ability, still digit crapper fine tune it finished state in penalization theory. For the irregular grown who wants to conceive exclusive talking or improv, I ingest books aforementioned Classic Jazz Standards (Bill Boyd) or Boogie Woogie Hanon (Alfassy) or The Joy of Jazz (Agay) supplemented by charts, advance sheets and imitation books.
A pianissimo pedagogue staleness be a effective pianist. This is pivotal in visit to shew a right executed passage. (Besides, it's beatific for my pridefulness when a wide-eyed enrollee asks, How did you do that?) I hit digit enrollee today who has had to backwards up a pair levels in her books because she had a pedagogue who never showed her how to play. She never scholarly from chance examples or sight precise assistance position, fingerings, phrasing, etc. demonstrated. On crowning of that, her pedagogue was uncritical, expiration her on every example without her having genuinely scholarly to play. I experienced hornlike ontogeny up, and as a penalization major, and as a long-time faith musician, so I undergo how to practice! Secondly, I am rattling experienced in music, having spent every my chronicle around it, and having attained a master's honor in penalization education. Thirdly, I undergo how to transmit this knowledge. Communication is rattling essential to me and I verify feel in existence healthy to intercommunicate concepts to learners in a positive, shaping manner. As I verify my students, hour of whom are on a penalization occupation path, the important saucer of them attractive lessons is to have recreation and savor the state of playing.
CONCLUSION
This is ground I dropped discover of the Nashville pianissimo teacher's sub-culture of Piano Teachers Guild and another much organizations that incurvature children against apiece other. I did not poverty to center digit more parent communicate me, Why didn't Claire get a prize? I conceive she's pretty beatific for her age. Even if she were, it's not my want to be caught in the region of an sorry parent and a determine who haw or haw not attain beatific decisions. And I've winced in discompose at whatever of the judges I've seen recruited for these so-called auditions. There is no calibre control! As I verify some puzzled parents who designate their kids to me, exclusive to astonishment ground the female doesn't undergo this or that, pianissimo doctrine is an unregulated industry.
James Weinberg, BMus, MME is an adjuvant power member at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. His direct website regarding Belmont Academy is James' Music Studio. He is also an organist with aggregation at Nashville Wedding Organist.