adults
Teaching older students with prior experience
I currently have 21 students ranging from the age of 6 to 67 with varying degrees of existing piano playing ability. In particular, I have a 65-year-old lady who has had extensive traditional experience and composes her own music. In spite of this, she insisted…
More on Teaching Adults with Traditional Experience
Teachers, what do you suggest for adults who learned years ago (traditional) and want to resurrect their playing? I want to help them get going, but if they don’t want to learn SM what then? For me, its Simply Music or nothing. I only offer…
Adult Students Marking the Playlist
I am wondering about how other teachers find getting adults to tick the playlist. Especially men look at me with that “Not going to happen, lady” look in their eye. I am finding that retired women seem happy enough to do it, and some personality…
Impacting Attrition Rates & Longevity
I am wondering if anyone has any data on attrition rates for SM: meaning – what percentage of students discontinue lessons and when that is most likely to occur? I am working on my schedule for this Spring and trying to think about how best…
Foundation Session for Children
I am feeling happy about a new way I ran my latest Foundation Session. It is a class of 5, 5-7 year olds. I was looking for a way to engage the kids more and also to keep myself moving through the material. I found…
The Relationship Conversation for Adults
The relationship conversation as currently outlined is very clearly directed to a parent/child situation. I’m curious what anyone out there does to modify it when presenting the Foundation Session to a group of only adults, especially a group of older/senior adults. Simply leaving out references…
Advertising and Teaching Adults
I love teaching seniors – half of my students are age 50 and above with the eldest being 82. Just as with children, adults vary tremendously in the rate and progress at which they proceed through the simply music curricula. I have successfully taught groups…
Adults who don’t like the Blues
I have an issue with an adult student in her sixties who is objecting more and more to playing the Blues. We are up to Billy at the Footy and she tells me she is just not going to learn it because it sounds horrible.…
Adult Student Moving Too Fast?
I have a very challenging student and would like some ideas. This student is an adult. I guess partly why she is hard for me is that I am very new teacher. I have only been licensed since like September. She is definitely a challenge. She has…