Most Piano Teachers Push Too Hard
Most piano teachers push too hard, destroying the student's desire to learn about the piano. They use a combination of disciplinarian and dogmatist theory. Unfortunately, most of them are teaching children, who are unsuited to such repetitive teaching methods.
Why do most piano teachers go from page to page in the same old texts? The easiest way to teach is to go from page to page. These pedants bore and frighten kids with constant, mind numbing repetition. They push and push until the child quits.
Be Careful What You Demand
You may say, “But repetition and discipline are the cornerstone of good musicianship.” But you would be wrong, in terms of starting children at the piano. Repetition and discipline are two of the cornerstones of a professional musician’s skills. But if you apply these elements incorrectly to children, they are utter poison to the child’s interest in the piano.
Most piano teachers have no idea what I am talking about because they are so caught up in their “method.” First you must understand something of the nature of a child’s musical talent. This will help you understand why not all children should be treated as willing cadets headed straight for Carnegie Hall.
One In A Thousand
Out of 1000 hypothetical piano students, it is my experience that one will perhaps have enough interest to continue with piano throughout their life. If you take this one hypothetical student, and multiply it by 10,000, you will have 10,000 capable, willing students. Out of that 10,000, one will make it to a top world music conservatory.
Then take that one child in a music conservatory, and multiply it by 10,000. Out of those 10,000 highly motivated and trained genius children, only one will have a viable music career.
There Are No Piano Careers
And out of 10,000 highly motivated conservatory children, only one will have a real music career as a pianist. And the truth is, they will not be a star, as there are no record companies, no patrons, and no interest on the part of the public. Classical music is dead, forever, except in the hearts of the few who recognize its true value.
Climb Mount Everest
That one, talented, hypothetical child concert pianist is going to struggle and starve, and that will be America’s reward for their talent. Think of mastering the piano as the mental version of climbing Mount Everest.
The single requirement for climbing Mount Everest is the desire to climb it. Without that desire you will fail, for this mountain is far higher and more difficult to climb than you were led to believe. If you want to interest your five year old in mountain climbing, start by taking walks and hikes.
