Episode Highlights:

Sometimes it seems like no progress is being made in lessons.

Keep an audio record of your child’s piano playing to compare musical maturity

Let them listen: to critique their own performance and to realize how they have improved over the course of time

Intermingle easier pieces

Students face a new challenging piece as soon as they complete the current one.  This can be frustrating.

Allow students to play an easier piece before jumping to the next challenge if they are feeling pressured or frustrated.

In my studio, students are assigned a “for sure” piece and a “bonus” piece. This gives them a second piece of equal difficulty to the assigned piece they may choose to study or not. As a teacher, I enjoy giving my students this ownership and freedom.

My students also have “tag” songs.  They select their favorite piece in each completed unit of their method book to put a sticky note tag on it.  These pieces become review pieces and serve as a great confidence boost.

Supplemental books can also help students master concepts and skills while allowing them to play genres or styles they enjoy.

Be Patient

Remember you are learning a new language.  Build fluency with a few concepts then add more.

Practicing new pieces and new skills can be awkward (See Episode 001). Help your child stay motivated by sprinkling in easier pieces to balance things out.

Plateaus are still musical.  It’s okay to just enjoy the music where you are – that’s the whole point of studying piano, right?!