Piano Matters Archives

Using Technology to Support Piano Lessons

Cynthia Marie VanLandingham
Author of
Piano Bears Musical Storybooks

Over the past few years, new technology has arrived that has revolutionized the way that many of us listen to music. Instead of carrying around compact disks or (perish the thought) vinyl LPs, music fans now often listen to mp3 files that they have loaded onto their laptop computers, I-pods, and even cell phones.

This technology is also a powerful tool that can add a new dimension to piano lessons and make them more rewarding, productive, and fun for students and their families.

We all know that sports coaches have used technology for many years. Coaches have videotaped and analyzed football plays, used high-speed cameras to help gymnasts learn new routines, and have even filmed golfers to help them overcome that nasty slide. Piano teachers can use the new audio technology in similar ways.

In my studio, students can use digital pianos to record the songs they are playing. We can then play the songs back and review whether they hit all the right notes, used a consistent tempo, and captured the emotion in the piece. This often allows students to quickly identify how they can improve their playing, and makes instructions like, "make sure to keep the tempo and count the rhythm through this difficult section" come to life.

It also provides a powerful incentive for students to do their best and to use their creativity to express their music in an artistic way. They can hear each recording and decide whether to try it again to play it better. This encourages students to persevere and master difficult pieces, and gives them something to look forward to - a refined product and a little bit of fame. Often, students come to the studio saying "I've learned my new song and I'm ready to record it!"

Once students record their songs, I can convert them to an mp3 file that we post to the studio website on their personal webpage listed at www.TallyPiano.com/students.htm.  Plus, I also publish their piano recordings on my studio podcast at iTunes where they can download them free for their iPods at My Tally Piano Music Club  After downloading the iTunes Software to their computers, this allows students to subscribe to my studio podcast and share their music with their families and friends.

Podcasting is particularly great for grandparents and other relatives who live far away from the students and who generally only get a chance to hear them play during visits or recitals. Students and their families enjoy downloading their songs to their home computers and mp3 players and playing them on their I-pods and car stereos.

Students enrolled at TallyPiano & Keyboard Studios have an opportunity for Membership in the My Tally Piano Music Club, which features this technology to help them achieve their best in piano while having more fun! For information about our unique piano programs for children please call 850-386-2425 or email cindy@tallypiano.com

Visit Kids Piano Page for examples of children achieving innovative piano goals that take advantage of today's technology.
Here is a Little Music to Cheer Your Day!

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The Right Lessons for Your Child

Cynthia Marie VanLandingham
Author of
Piano Bears Musical Storybooks

Piano lessons are a great activity for children.  They encourage creative thinking, develop math and reading skills, and improve students’ overall educational progress, as well as building a fun life-long skill.  As a result, over six million children in the United States take piano lessons!  One of the choices that parents have when their child is beginning piano lessons is whether to enroll their son or daughter in a private or group lesson.  Parents often have misperceptions, or at least several questions, in making this choice.

QUESTION:
  What is the difference between private and group lessons?

ANSWER:
  Individual lessons are usually thirty minutes in length, with the piano teacher working one-on-one with a student.  Individual lessons provide a high degree of personal attention for a student.  Group lessons are generally 45-minutes to an hour in length, and consist of between two and four students working with their piano teacher.  During group lessons, each student plays their own piano or keyboard and receives both individual and group instruction.  Students are introduced to new skills in the group every week and are then given individual playing assignments.  They practice these assignments using earphones and the teacher rotates among the students to check on their progress and provide additional instruction.

QUESTION:
  Don’t children learn more in a private lesson?

ANSWER:
  Not necessarily, and it depends very much on the student.  Some children thrive with individual instruction and progress faster than their teacher can introduce new music to them.  They even go on to learn other pieces and purchase additional music on their own.  The challenge here is simply getting the student to incorporate the teacher's instructions on technique, etc. into their playing.  Each week these independent learners come to class to show their teacher all the songs they have learned to play this week!   Wouldn't it be great if all students were such independent learners?   Can teachers and parents help students to become independent learners?  Absolutely!  With Group Piano Lessons.

Group piano lessons build confidence and help children develop independent learning skills.  Why?  Because private lessons for so many students create a dependence on the teacher that students have a hard time overcoming, as many children grow to believe they cannot learn on their own without their piano teacher repeatedly showing them every new thing.  Group lessons create a fun and supportive environment where students learn to take ownership of their progress and have confidence in their abilities.  Group lessons are a great way for children to learn, and many children learn much faster in a group setting than in individual lessons.  Students in group lessons enjoy learning both from the teacher’s instruction and from other students.  It helps kids to know that other students in piano have the same challenges in piano as they do.

I encourage most new students who are seven years of age or older to start out in small-group lessons.  However, I have found that private lessons typically work best for two groups of students.  First, they can provide a solid learning foundation to very young students (ages 5 to 7) who need one-on-one instruction to help get started.  When children get a little older and have the basics, they usually can transfer to a group lesson.  Second, private lessons are appropriate for late intermediate to advanced students who are looking to apply music theory and advanced playing techniques requiring intense instruction and dedicated home study.

QUESTION:
  Can’t group lessons be intimidating for students due to peer pressure and competition?

ANSWER:
  While some parents may initially be concerned that group lessons create peer pressure and competition, the lessons actually help students feel more independent and confident in piano.  Students play the pieces they’ve just had instruction on before they leave the lesson, which helps them feel secure about playing the songs at home.  As students often play their songs for each other during lessons, it helps avoid the performance anxiety that students taking individual lessons can feel before recitals.  Plus, students generally find that working together with other students increases creativity and fun!  Over time, experience has shown that most children learn more in small group lessons because these lessons encourage independence and build confidence, which is a strong foundation for success not only in piano lessons but in the other areas of student’s lives.

To learn the best way to share the gift of music with children visit Amazon.com with this link Piano Bears Musical Storybooks for Children My exciting Piano Bears Musical Storybooks for children ages 5 to 11 feature the loveable characters, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud.  In these beautifully illustrated stories children follow along with Albeart to Mrs. Treble Beary's piano studio in Musical Acres Forest.  Here they learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand and appreciate! Piano students laugh and giggle while reading "Little Bear's Musical Garden" and "Little Bear's Piano Goals."

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