Have You Thought About Your Child's Musical Learning Style?

Children are unique learners, and should be treated with kindness and respect when approaching their particular learning style.  

Some students come in ready to start their lesson, ready to set their books on the piano, finding their hand position to begin playing.  These are my more reserved and introverted students, who feel the most comfortable expressing themselves through music.  

Other students come in, with a sheet of paper in hand, explaining that they couldn't wait to share the music they composed that week.  Could they please, please, please play their music before we start the lesson?!  These are my students who not only love learning about how to read and play music, but they are most fulfilled when given the freedom and encouragement to create something from nothing.  

In yet another way, there are those students who thrive first from making a personal connection with the teacher before moving on to music.  They enjoy sharing about the rough day they had at school, or the upcoming performance they have been rehearsing for, or even the hard test they had to take.  These are my students who want to know that they are valued as a person and understood, before they can focus their attention on mastering their music.

Additionally, there are students who come in from the very first lesson, asking every kind of question about music they can think of.  They are eager to learn, they practice constantly without being asked, because they live and breathe music.  These students are unique not only in their desire for music, but in their ability to comprehend it very quickly. 

My other students come in eager to learn the music, but they don't allow themselves the time and space to make mistakes.  They want to sit down and play a piece of music perfectly, the first time,  and become frustrated with themselves for actually needing to practice.  They sometimes want to give up because practicing seems overwhelming and too hard.  But with enough encouragement, and focused practice time, these are my students who produce masterful pieces, and a great deal of it is done from pure memory.

Should I Force My Child To Have Piano Lessons?

In the past, I've worked with children who were brought in for piano lessons, but they had absolutely no desire to take piano lessons.  Maybe dad promised a certain reward for sticking it out.  Or maybe mom was pushing her own desire for piano lessons and living vicariously through her child.  This is a set up for failure for the child, placing him or her in a situation where they have no desire to be successful, because this is mom or dad's passion, not theirs.

In these types of situations, I will work with the child for a time to see if he/she truly want to be there.  If the child continues to resist, then there are one of two possibilities taking place:  the child is just not ready at this time, or it is not a good fit between child and teacher.  When this occurs, I gently bring the parents in and explore these options.  In most cases, they will end up discontinuing piano lessons.  I would rather have a child try another teacher that may be a better fit, or stop lessons during this season of his/her little life.  As a teacher, the last thing I ever want to do is to force music on a child and potentially squash all desire to ever learn music ever again.

To put it simply, forcing a child to take piano lessons may be preventing them from excelling in something they truly desire to pursue and grow in.

Every child comes with a certain personality, and it would be unfair to say that one learning style is superior to another.  The accountant has a different gift than the math teacher.  Both have mathematical talent, but each one uses his or her gift in a completely different way.  

I invite you to contact me at 626.533.7712 or by email to set up a FREE consultation for you and your child to see if my teaching style is a good match for your child's musical learning style.