Teacher Is More Important Than the Book

by john aschenbrenner August 4, 2023

Teacher Is More Important than the Book

The teacher is more important than the book. If you don’t think so, you’re in a for a rude surprise. All that matters is the teacher's manner. Kids quit the piano in droves, usually after the first year. Perhaps you’re in that position now, listening to your child’s entreaties.

“Mom! It’s boring, it goes so slow, it’s the same thing over and over.”

I notice that internet searches for “quit piano” rise dramatically after the school year ends. This coincides exactly with the point at which kids start pleading with Mom to quit. There is one reason, in general, why this happens. If you don't match the child's level of interest to the curriculum, the teacher has failed.

Conventional Teachers Demand Accomplishment

A child who is not engaged and interested is almost impossible to teach. Most piano teachers make the mistake of pushing ahead, full steam, regardless of how the child reacts. There’s an alternative approach. Find out exactly what the child can stand, and stay within those boundaries until the child has grown enough with the instrument to be more adventurous.

But most piano teachers won’t listen to such advice. They feel obligated to present curriculum at the traditional rate, to accomplish what they think is a reasonable standard of achievement.

Piano Is Easy

Printable PDF Download

The Old School Ignores The Child’s Reaction

The problem is that this old-school approach completely ignores the child’s reaction. For example, a teacher may think that a child should be able to play a certain piece by a certain point in the lessons. Such achievement seems a reasonable goal to the teacher. Your child, however, is an individual, and learning the piano is an exceptionally personal experience.

Try a song on our online piano:

TWINKLE TWINKLE

| 1 1 5 5 | 6 6 5 * | 4 4 3 3 | 2 2 1 * |

Not One Size Fits All

Unless the piano teacher is willing to bend to some degree in order to interest the child, many if not most candidates simply fold up and quit. The teacher is too hard to please.

Who is to say that your child shouldn’t have the chance to explore the piano at a rate that interests them? Would you rather have them race at a rate that satisfies the teacher’s pride of accomplishment? The teacher’s objective should be to interest every child to some degree in the piano, rather than looking for someone to replace Vladimir Horowitz.

It’s not the kid’s piano book that will make a success of piano lessons for your child, it is the teacher who will open the door in a way that can delight and interest your child.