Adult Students
Combining private students into a group
I am considering putting two (currently private) adult students into one small group of two. They are at the same level (almost finished F1) and progressing at around the same rate but have very different strengths. One loves to improvise but also tends to rush…
The emotional impact of music
I wanted to share a teaching experience I had a few weeks ago. One of my adult students, Julie, is a delightful person and so excited about learning piano and LOVES Simply Music. A few weeks ago her classmates couldn’t make it to class so…
Teaching and marketing to adult students
I wanted to share my experience in teaching Simply Music to adults. When I began about five and a half years ago, the majority of my students were children. For various reasons – over time – many of those children left. I realized that my…
Adult student resistant to comp & improv
Any advice for an adult student who is extremely resistant to comp and improv? She hates improv every time I bring it up and stomps her feet. She does it reluctantly, though. She is also showing resistance to arrangements and is practically hitting a wall…
Adult student can’t remember variations
I have an older middle-aged student who is having memory trouble with the variations. He keeps trying to write clues for himself and I’ve stopped him multiple times and told him to trust the method, and that it’s a memory builder. I’m good at seeing…
Adult student reluctant to improvise
I have a student in her 50s who has rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. She had to miss her last lesson as she had a sore wrist. She told me today at her lesson that her physiotherapist told her to give up piano. She doesn’t want…
Student sings off-key
I have an adult student who loves to sign but who sings very off-key. She knows it, and she asked me if I teach how to sing. I don’t. I’ve taken some singing lessons, but that’s about it. And while I’m not the best singer,…
Adult student needs help with worship band
I have a prospective student who has been playing piano at church since she was 12, and she’s in her fifties now. She said several times that she was “groomed” for playing hymns at church, and she reads music, but she doesn’t play with freedom…
Older student having trouble with diagrams
I have an older (70ish) student who plays pretty well, but stumbles over what the diagrams mean. I’ve reviewed them countless times and of course, told her to watch the videos. When she’s playing at her lesson, she looks at her hands most of the…
Student in a valley
One of my students hit a valley this week and I am struggling to know how to navigate it with him. It is a very personal connection as my student is also my husband! He has been taking for about five years from me, and…
