Workshop for students with prior experience
Found in: Shared Lessons, Students with Prior Experience
Liz A., New Zealand
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 had previous experience and they are worried that going “back to the beginning” with me would be a “real step backwards”. I talked about the alphabet analogy and explained that they would be learning a new way to learn as well as discovering how to improvise, accompany, and compose, and that I would give them variations on the beginning pieces.
I have suggested that I could run a workshop just for them over 4 hours (2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon) where they can learn the first 4 pieces in the morning and move into some variations and arrangements of these pieces in the afternoon. I am wondering if anyone has any ideas for this workshop and whether they have done workshops with students with previous experience switching from traditional lessons to Simply Music.
Their mother has never learned and she has decided to take private lessons with me which is great!
Leeanne I., Australia
Don’t presume because the children have had prior traditional experience that they will pick up Simply Music quickly. In fact, I find that a lot of these students struggle initially. I don’t think that cramming all that learning into a one-day workshop would work; in fact, they would probably find it really overwhelming. If they were my students, I would start them all in a group together, including the mother.
Cate R., Australia
I agree with Leeanne, starting them all together so that they could help each other out. They have had a culture of learning from the page, so switching them might prove difficult for them. Having access to the student home materials online means that more than ever we have to emphasize not going to the sheet music initially. One hint of struggle and you know that’s where they will head. I would group them together. Mom can drop to private later on if she likes.
First lesson: piano orientation, chords, etc. Dreams Come True, black note improvisation, call and response with you and then with each other, and if they are really clever, move Dreams to D.
Heidi M., Canada
I have also found that people who had previous traditional lessons have been the ones to initially catch on slower than others because they have to unlearn the old way of thinking. They need time to absorb a new way of doing it, so I would not do the workshop in their case. I would just offer that they can sign up for three months to see how it works and that is long enough that they will experience wonderful benefits and will want to continue. They also really need a lot of extra reminders about using the videos and making sure they know how (one of my students “forgot” how at first) because without the score sheets they will feel lost.
Susan M., Canada
I’ve found that there is a lot of learning to do for all new students and I emphasize that the goal is not only to learn the songs, but to build musicianship skills. They might learn quickly, but when you add in the exercises of explaining diagrams, starting from “sentence 2” instead of the beginning, and some improv skills, and the requirements of practice (videos, playlist, etc), I’ve found that the pace can be similar to a new learner.
Mom can definitely learn alongside the kids and I think that would work the best. I would not do the workshop as I wouldn’t feel like I’ve communicated the importance of deep, carefully paced learning.
Carrie L., Michigan
I have found that students with prior experience of less than two years is pretty much relearning and there is no problem to start with Level 1. With students with more experience, unless you have all the arrangements, composition, and other tools to add in, then it sometimes can be tricky to keep them moving ‘fast’ enough while still covering a depth of material.
Gordon Harvey, Australia
First thing I would recommend is not to fret too much. In my experience it nearly always works out, provided you have secured their conscious agreement to trust the process (I like to shake hands on the agreement) and remind them regularly. Refer them to the relationship graph often! You will need to make sure they learn the pieces according to the program, however easy they may otherwise seem – maybe with a little more use of practice pad than usual to ensure they’re not using their ear too much.
You can challenge them if necessary by introducing arrangements earlier than for a beginner, and doing lots of composition and improv projects. For this (especially for these students) I highly recommend Mark Meritt’s Tune Toolkit program.
And make sure they know they can keep playing any pieces they’d like to maintain from their former life. Have them add them to their Playlist. It can be very powerful to actually revisit some of those pieces and help them with musicality aspects (just don’t let them take up too much time). If they are struggling to remember them, try to find playing-based clues to help them. That will occur to them as great evidence of the value of our approach. That said, I’ve found that usually students like these will tend to lose interest in their old pieces and won’t feel the need to keep them alive.