Simpedia

Robin Keehn, Washington

I have some very strong willed adult students right now. Honestly, I’ve had to be very outspoken with them. Here we might calling it, “Reading them the riot act.” Just this past week I had to make it very clear to one student that this would be our last lesson if she watched ahead on her videos or came back without a marked playlist. Frankly, I don’t know if she’ll be in class next week but I know that if I give ground in one area, I will be fighting an uphill battle for control forever. I just won’t accept anything less than what I require.

I’ve learned that with adults in particular that any sense that I can be manipulated leads to frustration for me. I want to love teaching and look forward to each class. In order to experience that, I have to stick to my requirements and let people go who don’t want to be coached.

Amy Y., New Mexico

Does your student have a smart phone or some electronic device that he carries around with him (or even a laptop that he can set up next to his piano)? There might be some app (or program) that he can use to check off his playlist. Men might be more willing to check things off if it is tied to their electronic devices. But if it’s a claiming territory thing then it doesn’t matter how the list is presented, they will still refuse to do it.

For me personally, I’ve set up a database on line for myself and one of my kids based on Mark Meritt’s idea of Play It Forward so we can use any WiFi devices around the house to keep up with our playlists since, unfortunately, playlists in my house seem to have a habit of growing legs and disappearing.

Laurie Richards, Nebraska

I get the feeling that many adults have a hard time doing something if they don’t understand the purpose. They don’t always have to understand, and sometimes they just need to agree to do it anyway. But I do talk a bit with them about the purpose of the playlist.

I communicate that the playlist is a management tool that becomes more important the further they get in the curriculum. I talk about how we keep adding streams as we go through the levels – the playlist is the management tool that will allow them to keep everything going in the most efficient manner (using the current projects/playlist projects system for organizing practice time from the Teacher Workshop Series “Managing Practice Time”).  If they don’t get into the habit from the beginning, when there’s not as much to keep track of, then it’s really difficult to incorporate. They just have to accept that it’s a requirement, even if they still don’t get it. It’s a tool for both the student and the teacher.

Neil has a great section on communicating the importance of the playlist in the Foundation Session audio. That would be a good thing to become familiar with.

Karen D., Canada

Personally, I did at the beginning, but when my playlist became 2 to 3 pages long, I relied on my memory instead of the sheet in front of me to know that I knew a song. Many times after this I have tried to check things off on my playlists, but this has only generally last a few days for me. Also, as I was traditionally trained as a youth, improvisation was a hurdle for me, so not having to check off a playlist provided freedom for me to strengthen my improvisation skills (which, hooray!, are now fantastic – I even improvise in my mind when I’m not at the piano).

So, for my retired adult students who play every day, I do not check their playlists as often as I do for the children, but I do ask them to play level 1, 2, 3, etc. pieces more often to be sure they are easy for them. If they are not, my adults take notes to rewatch the video, practice earlier pieces, etc. FYI – most of my students are in Level 3, so they are only just starting Reading Rhythm.