Kid's Piano Talent May Not Be Obvious

by john aschenbrenner August 6, 2023

A kid's piano talent may not be obvious, and may be hidden by the age of the child. Your job as teacher is to put the child in touch with that talent.

Most piano teachers have no idea why kids succeed at the piano. They think the child's success is caused by their "method."

But the fact is that some kids show obvious talent immediately. Others hide it, until you, the teacher, can unearth it. For the parent, hiring a piano teacher is actually a strange leap of faith.

This is because the parent is assuming that the person they've hired will excite interest, not drive kids to hate the instrument. But be aware of the facts before you make that leap.

Statistics Tell You What The Kid Wants

9 out of 10 kids who start conventional piano lessons quit. And they quit within a year. Why? Because the teachers are un-creative, preferring to go lazily from page to page in a standard text.

But this is not how you unearth hidden piano talent in children. Do these pedants ever ask the kid, "Well, Bobby, what song would you like to play? I'll teach it to you."

Do these pedants ever ask the kid, "What do you think of this chord? Let's put some chords together and make up a song." But this would take serious effort. In the jaded eye of the piano teacher, such effort will almost never pay off.

Piano Is Easy

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Strange Thoughts Of The Conventional Teacher

The average piano teacher is a business person, and they have some rather strange thoughts on how kids learn the piano. Here are a few: "The old way produced great virtuosi, and because you have failed, you don't deserve to play." "You have no talent, and because you have no talent, you have failed. My method requires extreme talent."

"There's only one way, and that is the old way. That is how I was taught, therefore, that is how I will teach you."

"My method produces results if you work very hard. You are lazy."

"There is a tradition which must be followed. Anything else is heresy."

Engage First, Then Educate

Kids respond to attention, and going from page to page in a book is not attention. Rather, teachers need to engage the child on the child's own level. Once you have engaged the child, they are ready to learn anything, and will cooperate fully.

Don't forget they have been ordered about at school all day, and will appreciate a happy adult showing them fun things about music. Engage the child with music. That never fails.