prior experience

I have a potential student that has had around two years of traditional lessons, some of which has been spread out over several years, so may not be the strongest of two years. She just finished her freshman year of high school. Mom tells me…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• accompaniment, adapting the curriculum, prior experience, reading, sticking to the program, teenagers, teens, traditional experience, trust the method, when to introduce reading

I have just completed my initial training and am very excited about teaching students using this fantastic method! I have had an introductory session and the foundation session talk with two girls (12 and 10) and their mother which went really well. The girls have…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• Gordon Harvey, prior experience, starting SM with traditional students, traditional experience, Workshops

I’d like some advice about my 7-year-old student who previously had about one year of lesson (traditional) in China and can already play some lovely classical pieces (reading). I explained why we do not read notes, and she and her parents accept this as far…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• accompaniment, chords, communication, diagrams, difficulty with diagrams, dosage, patterns, prior experience, teaching away from the piano

I have a piano student who has already been introduced to sight reading from a former teacher. Is there any reason they can’t learn the song via pattern playing first, then switch over to the sheet music instead of waiting until level 4 or 5?…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• Laurie Richards, patterns, playing-based tools, previous experience, prior experience, reading notes, reading rhythm, Robin Keehn, sight reading, using sheet music, when to introduce reading

I’m a brand new Simply Music teacher and already have a dilemma (although a fun one). A middle-aged woman who plays by ear and has a huge repertoire under her belt is looking for lessons that will help to expand her playing abilities and style.…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• adult students, curriculum, playing by ear, prior experience, Robin Keehn

I met someone who would like for me to teach her 6-year-old daughter, and she really likes the SM method now that she heard about it. But she already (a couple of weeks ago) had enrolled her daughter in a brief 6-week “group” piano class…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• prior experience, reading, traditional

I’m potentially facing first experience of students with drastically different levels of experience and ability in the same class together and I’d like to ask for some advice from teachers who’ve been through this before. I realize that I could get many different responses to…

• Last updated 10 years ago
• advanced student, learning rate, prior experience, Robin Keehn

I just recently acquired a student who has had 3 years of traditional piano lessons. I will be this young lady’s 5th teacher. She had one month of Suzuki lessons, but her mother said she hated the method and pulled her out immediately. My new…

• Last updated 12 years ago
• integrated theory, prior experience, theory

I find I have to remind myself to breathe as my first lesson looms ever nearer. With more information from the dad about my very first 2 students, I am getting more nervous by the minute. He has told me that he has had Traditional…

• Last updated 12 years ago
• accompaniment, arrangements, coaches, comp and improv, Dreams Come True, learning a new way of learning, prior experience, private lessons, traditional experience

Yesterday, an amazing 16 year old boy looking for a piano teacher came by my studio to talk with me. Although he had traditional lessons in the past, he has been his own teacher for the last several years but feels the need for some…

• Last updated 5 years ago
• accompaniment, advanced students, Gordon Harvey, jazz, prior experience, reading, technique, traditional lessons