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Sue C., Australia

Teachers also have peaks, plateaus and valleys. Please feel the encouragement of all the other teachers. I remember having lots of valleys when I first started teaching SM.

I have one coach who said that her son can play on his computer the length of time he practises (should this be twice the time?). Maybe this is a suggestion for the coaches. He is really good!

If they love competitions, could you have each child play a song i.e. Dreams Come True, and the others give a score or tokens. This could be done for each song or variation, etc. At the end of the lesson there is a winner. No prize necessary, but it could be continued next week so tell them that the one who practises will of course get the best score.

The scoring could also be done by best expression, best rhythm, most improved etc. If this works, keep it going as long as necessary and make sure at the end, all are winners. You may do something like this for a short time just to add interest.

Robin Keehn, Washington

Hi Kym,

I think that you need to be working with parents/coaches so that they have a realistic picture of how this long term relationship works. When I do the Introductory Session, I make sure I talk about the peaks, valleys and plateaus and that they understand that learning to play the piano requires a long term relationship. They may absolutely love Simply Music and have a great time but I can guarantee that they will experience valleys and plateaus. They need to decide if they are committed to giving their child music as a lifelong companion and stand for their child when he/she hits a hard spot. I also tell people that I require a coach in the lesson so that they can see the value of what is being taught. I want them there so when their child hits a valley or plateau they know that there is nothing wrong with their student, the method or the teacher.

That all happens at the Introductory Session. If people aren’t sure they can make the commitment to be a coach or come to lessons, I tell them they aren’t ready and that I’m happy to have them enroll when they can make that commitment.

On a weekly basis, after the first week of lessons, I ask them how they are feeling about piano. They give me a thumbs up (love it), thumbs down (unhappy), or somewhere in between (plateau). I like this visual because everyone in the room can see students bounce around on that continuum and see that it is normal and that it changes.

I talk to parents about requirements. I really need them to require that their child practices but what I might say is that I need them to commit to protecting their child’s practice time. Parent’s relate to protecting their child and protecting their practice time is well received. If they are committed to their child having music as a lifelong companion, then they need to do this.

Another thought about requirements…requirements are not bad things, and they don’t have to feel hard or mean. Requirements just make things work. For example, I can ask you to open a door but you cannot touch the doorknob. You cannot do it. The door has a requirement–that you turn the knob. It isn’t mean or hard, it just requires that you turn the knob. You have requirements of your children. You require that they get dressed before they go to school. You require that they brush their teeth. There is no emotion attached because there is no room for negotiation.

It is the same with requiring that my students practice, come with a complete playlist, watch the videos, don’t go ahead on the videos, etc. It isn’t hard, it isn’t mean, it just makes things work. I have wonderful students who don’t push me, don’t challenge me, and don’t test me. It allows me to focus on teaching, not on figuring out how to manage them.

So, I recommend that you have a very direct conversation with parents based on these things. Find out what their commitment is. Find out if they are coachable. If they cannot commit and are not coachable, then tell them they just aren’t ready and that they should come back when they are ready. That way, the door is open and they can come back.

If you can remain unattached to the outcome, you can be calm and no one will experience an upset during the conversation.

Darla H., Kansas

As Robin says, getting the parents on board is crucial. I remember when I first started teaching SM, I had this vision that SM is such a terrific method that all the kids would always love it and always want to practice. But, the reality is that no matter how wonderful the method, how fun the music, how terrific the group, etc, it takes discipline to master playing. And children are not yet grown-ups and have not mastered self-discipline yet. So, there are going to be times when they hit a valley because it would just be so much more fun to do something that doesn’t require discipline. When parents are brought on board from the very beginning (at the FIS, or even their initial phone call), it makes such a big difference. When parents make piano time part of their child’s daily schedule, no matter how the child feels that day, it just becomes accepted.

Kym, you mentioned the “dip seems to be a bit too long.” I have found that valleys can last a very LONG time, and that’s normal. The peaks, plateaus and valleys can last for short, medium or long periods of time, and all of it’s normal. It may feel discouraging if you’re not prepared for it, but if you teach for very long, you will see a whole variety.

I have a student who’s been with me for 5 1/2 years and has just finished level 9. He has been in a valley 95% of the time since his 2nd or 3rd year. However, he’s one of my best students. He is home-schooled and taking piano lessons is his “music education,” so in his family it is not a choice. He accepts that, practices every week, learns his songs, participates well in lessons, etc. But, if he had his choice, he’d quit. Do I wish he wasn’t in a valley all the time? Of course. But, I don’t let it get me down any more. His parents believe that one day he’ll be thankful for having the musical skills he’s developing, and I believe that we’re giving him a very good opportunity at having music as a life-long companion.

Kym N., California

It’s really great to belong to such a great community that really understand the challenges I want to overcome.

Yes, it’s a learning process for teachers to combat the valleys and come out of it every time to climb to a new peak. For me, learning to be clear and straightforward with all these requirements set for the parents and students and have them listening to me like “no kidding” are something I need to work on. I will get better over time.

I also like Robin’s door and doorknob analogy very much. If they don’t want to open the door to piano playing, they are not ready for piano lessons. If they want to open the door to piano playing, they have to turn to doorknob, i.e. to practice, which should be very clear to the family.

The other thing is, I also feel that I have the responsibility to find ways to promote their interests in learning the piano so that they want to open the door. It’s a lot to learn how to make lessons really fun for them and playing the piano rewarding to them. So, thanks Robin, Sue, and Darla for your great suggestions and sharing.

Laurie Richards, Nebraska

Hi Kym,

You’ve gotten a lot of wonderful insight here. Having the parents on board is SO important. It really does just take time to reach a comfort level with what and how you communicate. I know I have grown so much in that area with Neil’s guidance.

I want to add another thought, related to keeping kids engaged during the lesson, since you mentioned them losing focus. There are some simple, practical things you can do in the lesson that might help. Here are some ideas:

1. Communicate your expectations for class behavior very clearly. For example, if you haven’t expressly told your students what to do while someone else is at the piano, there will often be at least one who is off in their own world, waiting their ‘turn’. I’ve learned to have a direct conversation with them, explaining that they are not merely waiting. When they sit down, I expect them to know what to do, and they will not know if they are ‘orbiting another planet’ when not on the bench; I am not teaching everyone individually. Often they simply don’t realize this.

   In order to help them stay engaged, I may say that I’m going to ask for a comment from each one after someone plays. Or instruct them to watch very closely to see if the student playing has used the correct fingers, or something along those lines. You can make it fun, e.g. when teaching Sleeping in L2, it’s very common for students to forget to play the RH thumb with the top melody note at the beginning. I will appoint one or two other students to be the “thumb police” and watch for it.

2. For arrangements, engage them big time! I always have students repeatedly say instructions aloud – so they have a specific phrase to take home and remember. Every time another kid sits down to go through it, “Everybody, what’s the RH position?” (e.g. “1 on C, everything but finger 4″). After the student plays that, “Ok everyone, what’s next?” (“top 2 up a white note”). Repeat with every single student. They stay engaged, and they remember it better once they get home.
3. Ask the kids “Who thinks their mom/dad can do this?” (with a small simple, section of an arrangement/song, or chord). It’s magic, I tell you. They get SO excited and physically drag their parents to the piano. Then I tell the parent, “Don’t worry, if you don’t know what to do, (kid’s name) will help you”. They love telling the parent what to do, it gives them extra practice speaking instructions, and they stay engaged.
4. Play tic-tac-toe with a new section of a song or arrangement. They go thru round robin, each one plays the same section, controlling the events. If they make any mistakes, teachers gets an X on the tic tac toe board. Each time any student plays it perfectly, they get an O. Helps them control the events because they really want to beat the teacher. Plus they love games.

Have fun, Kym, and be encouraged that it truly does simply take time to reach a level of comfort with all these conversations and ideas. We’ve all been in your shoes and appreciate the whole learning curve!