I met a very successful doctor at a party who said to me, when he discovered I teach piano, "I don't believe in MAKING my children do things." I responded, "I do." We did not have much more to say to each other after that. I did understand what he meant, although I do not think he understood what I meant. A lot of children are overscheduled, and sometimes their schedule is a result of their parents' choices and desires and not those of the child . Forcing a child in to an activity in which they have no interest or makes them feel uncomfortable is not a good idea, maybe even cruel in some cases. (To be clear, I am not talking about homework and household chores. It is never too early to learn to contribute at home by doing your part.) But if the activity is something in which the child has expressed interest or chose from some options a parent presented, then the parent really needs to support the idea that if you want to learn something or get better at something, you need to spend time doing it. Children are children, not adults. With very few exceptions, they do not understand time management. They do not understand the impact of their choices on the rest of their life. They do not understand that taking music lessons while they are young may be the only chance they have to do so in their lifetime. Taking 15-30 minutes out of their day for 4-5 days a week may seem terrible to a child at the time, but it is the adult in their life that needs to set the expectation for regular practice. And to make sure they have time to practice. Should I MAKE my child practice? YES. IF the child originally had some choice in starting the activity/lesson. IF the time required to practice is reasonable for their age. IF the child also has time to just relax, because we all need that. AND NO. We are not talking Beethoven's childhood stories. His father wanted him to be a child prodigy like Mozart. Beethoven was talented, but not a prodigy. Reportedly, his father would lock him in the basement or beat him because he was not practicing enough. Every music student who is not going professional will eventually discontinue lessons. Just be careful not to give in to the first sign of flagging interest. I would make deals with my own children as they matured. "If you still want to discontinue when you get to this level, we will make a decision then. We will keep practicing until then." Ironically, one of my children, who was a teenager when he discontinued violin lessons, told me a few months afterwards "I miss taking lessons." AAARRGH!

Keyboards, that is. Or more specifically, keyboards versus acoustic pianos. "What should I buy when I take piano lessons?" I have been asked many times. Twenty years ago, I would have replied to that question, "get an acoustic piano, a used one is better than any electronic keyboard." Now, if asked this question, I start asking questions. Where do you live? Are you a beginner or intermediate student? What is your long term goal or level of commitment? What kind of music do you want to learn to play and understand? Here are some ideas based on my observation of how students fared on keyboards versus acoustic pianos, and what to look for in each once you decide which to purchase. KEYBOARDS/ELECTRIC PIANOS For beginners of any age, very young students, or people living in limited space, such as an apartment, a keyboard is fine for beginning to early intermediate lessons. It used to be the only option was a 61-key keyboard, without touch sensitivity, which is NOT good for anyone who really wants to learn to play. Go ahead and find an 88-key, touch-sensitive, semi-weighted or fully -weighted keyboard. Why 88-key? This helps students develop the physical awareness of not only where the keys are, but where the different octaves are. Students who learn on a 61-key keyboard are confused for a long time about where the lowest, middle and highest keys are on a full size keyboard. Why touch sensitive and semi or fully-weighted? Dynamics and voicing are an important part of playing the piano expressively. Learning to control finger pressure depends on the feedback you get from fingers pushing the keys and getting the resulting softer and stronger sounds. That is not possible without some kind of weight resistance and touch sensitivity. Students also need finger strength, which is not possible to develop on unweighted keyboards. Listen for a good basic piano sound. Do not be distracted by "bells and whistles" such as how many sounds are included, or built-in metronomes and recorders. It is fun on a keyboard to switch over to the harpsichord when playing Bach, or an electric piano sound for jazz, but beyond that, the extras are just more things to break down. You want to be satisfied with the sound of your piano as you learn music, so focus on that. Having a damper pedal attachment is helpful. They never work the same as a "real" damper pedal, but it makes the transition to an acoustic piano easier if you have at least practiced on the attachment. DO NOT SPEND AS MUCH ON A KEYBOARD AS YOU WOULD ON AN USED OR NEW ACOUSTIC PIANO! No matter how expensive, the electric keyboard is probably going to wear out in two to five years. By then, you will probably want to purchase an acoustic piano in order to advance. Exception: if you are mainly interested in jazz or popular music, or need something portable, then buy a professional level keyboard after you progress to a late intermediate stage. ACOUSTIC PIANOS If you have a piano already, or know you are ready to commit, or money and space is not an issue, starting on a "real" piano is a great choice. Students at the intermediate level in "Classical" music who are ready to progress to advanced level should be practicing on an acoustic piano. Students who want to participate in Music Festivals, Auditions or Competitions need to be practicing on acoustic pianos. Students will not have the finger strength or control to do their best before a judge, if they are practicing on a keyboard. Used or New? Used is fine as long as it sounds good and responds well. Some things can be fixed on used pianos (squeaky pedals), and others cannot (a "tinny" sound). I decided I needed to buy a new piano when my Yamaha started "popping" strings. I had my tuner replace four of them, but he warned me that more would pop, and they did. If buying new: listen, again, for a good sound, and do not be distracted by the cabinet. If the cabinet (outside of the piano) is ornate, then you can be sure the production cost went in to that part of the piano, rather than the inside. Sometimes that nice piece of ornate furniture will break (I have had legs come off of some pianos). For students, classrooms, and my own practicing, I like "workhorse" pianos such as Cable-Nelsons, Baldwin Hamiltons, and the midsize Yamahas, all uprights. The Steinway Boston upright tends to be more expensive, but I have enjoyed the sound and feel of them. Grands are great if you have room for them, and of course recitals are more satisfying when presented on a grand. For practicing purposes, however, I would rather have a good upright than a cheap grand. Keyboards can be great starter instruments, but I have seen fine students lose interest in music lessons because the keyboard was no longer helping them advance. Keep an ear open to the student's level of enthusiasm and the advice of the teacher for when it might be time to switch to an acoustic instrument. What should you buy? It depends on you and your needs. But, be sure to play or have someone play on the instruments you are considering. You are more likely to practice and advance if you are happy with the sound of your instrument.

It is a FINGER! And pianists must learn to use it that way! As a college student, I had to unlearn years of bad habits in using my thumb. Why? I was using it like a thumb, the way it naturally works, and I was thumping keys when I should have been pushing them like the rest of my fingers were doing. Until I got to college, no one had worked with me on correcting this issue. For a while, I was obsessed with it, and as I listened to other pianists, I found I could tell, without looking, when they were using their thumb. Don't let this happen to you (or your students)! What to do? As I start students on their 5 -finger warmups (covering every major key over a period of several months) we work on cupping the hand so there is an arch at the knuckles connecting the fingers to the hand. As they accomplish that position and learn to push into the keys from a 90 degree angle from their middle knuckles through their finger tips, we start to work on raising the thumb. The thumb cannot approach the keys from a 90 degree angle without disrupting the wrist movement, but neither is it most under control when it lies on the keys at 180 degrees. Keeping a high arch with the other fingers and pulling the tip of the thumb up close to where the tips of the other fingers are lying on the keys will raise the thumb slighty (about 30 degrees) and allow the pianist to use it like the other fingers in a pushing motion rather than a slapping/thumping motion. This will also help avoid the wrist motion some beginner or poorly- trained pianists use where the wrist pushes down fast and hard (almost a slamming motion) to get the thumb to play a key. Raising and controlling the thumb means scales can now be played with a more even tone and wrist motion. Unintended accents will decrease in your pieces. In piano, all ten fingers count! Remember the thumb is a finger. Use all your fingers well!

Years ago, I read an interesting article about the Hopi and their music. Music, historically and universally has had a close connection to the religion of the culture in which it exists. This was true among the Hopi. The medicine man was often also the tribe composer/lead musician, and a spiritual leader. He would meditate and songs would come to him in his meditation. The Hopi belief, according to this article, was that all songs and music already exists, and through meditation they are revealed to us. The composer is in effect, not composing, just relaying what already exists to others. What an interesting idea! While out walking, I have had a musical phrase "pop" in to my head when I was least expecting it. I am not the only one who has found inspiration while walking. Beethoven took longs walks, in the woods, and one result of those walks was his creation of the Pastoral Symphony, his most programatic symphony. I have also received ideas just before falling asleep, or (sorry Pastors) during a sermon. I find I do have to write my idea down as soon as I can, because just as it came to me quickly out of nowhere, it will disappear with the same speed! Improvisation is another way to find inspiration. As an organist, I need to "fill time" while providing background music for communion, etc. I open a hymnal and play a hymn with orginal improvisational interludes or variations on the hymn tunes. Many of my published organ pieces came out of this process. With young students, who, just because of their age, have less experience with music, I have had them use a Classical composer's piece as a springboard to writing their own piece. For instance, while learning Eflin Dance by Grieg, the student and I discuss what makes the piece sound "Elfinish." We then experiment with sounds (key, melody, rhythm, articulation, dynamics) write a few ideas down, and their assignment is to chose the idea they like best, and experiment with what should come next. One of the pitfalls in working with the young student is the tendency they have to find new ideas by only playing them on the keyboard. Because most young students tend to think within the five finger range of their hands, if they are allowed to try to get ideas just by playing on the piano, the ideas tend to be limited and frankly, monotonous. If that is happening, I will play what they have written down so far, then say "what do you hear coming next?" WITHOUT letting them touch the instrument. Often they will sing something to me that is much more interesting than if I had let them try just playing their idea. After we decide that is the best idea, then we write the idea down, and the process continues. Inspiration can come in a variety of ways, and at surprising times. We need to be ready when it does come! Stuck? Try the Hopi way!

In my last post, I discussed playing by ear versus playing by test. This post is the difference between learning by ear or by rote. There are programs where you use neither of these techniques to learn, and some who claim to use one, but is actually using the other. Learning by ear requires training the student to hear a melody, rhythm or chord pattern, and then be able to play it back with reasonable accuracy. Many instrument training courses now come with a CD, so the student has an idea what the piece should sound like as they begin learning. I usually ask my students to only listen to a piece when they first start playing it. Oftentimes, these recordings are played at a very quick tempo, or the focus was not on mood or musicality when the piece was recorded. While I encourage reading skills, it is possible to teach someone by ear alone, playing a phrase from the teacher instrument and having the student play back on their instrument. Playing by ear, playing back music without written out notes is an important skill for a jazz musician, or anyone who needs to improvise when they perform. Some courses claim to be ear-based programs, but in practice they are taught by rote. The student does listen to a CD to get an idea how the piece sounds, but instead of just using their ears and musical memory to learn, the teacher shows the student how to play the piece in short phrases. Students use their eyes to learn, as they watch you play, instead of their ears. Because you are not taking time to read notes or train the ears for each phrase, the student and teacher focus on technique. The Suzuki method focuses on technique from the first lesson, so there is a lot of rote playing in this method. What is the best way to learn? Ask ten different teachers and you will get ten different answers. Jazz musicians must have an excellent musical memory, be able to play by ear, and know their theory. Professional classical musicians must have excellent technical skills and be able to read music (although there have been famous blind classical musicians). I usually start students, especially young students, with some rote playing of familiar tunes and some basic technique, then ease in to note reading. No two students are exactly the same. Teaching styles need to adjust to the students learning style and their goals and interests.

Over my thirty years of teaching, I have had parents approach me and say, usually with pride, "my child plays by ear." When the child sits down to play for me, I find out he/she is NOT playing by ear, but by test. What is the difference? When you play by ear, you should be able to go to the instrument, and on your first try, be able to play either exactly or reasonably close to accurately what you have just heard or memorized. Mozart reputedly could do this from a young age. This requires a good musical memory, and the ability to recognize pitch and patterns without trying them out repeatedly on the instrument. When you play by test, which many students who claim to play by ear are actually doing, you go to the instrument and play different notes until you find the one you want, then go to the next note and try several until you find the one you want, and so on. Like hunt and peck on a typewriter (remember those?) It can be a slow and painful process in trying to learn or play back a piece of music you have heard. After a measure or two, the ear and memory can get tired, you lose your place, get confused, and then need to stop and try again later. Can you improve your playing be ear? Yes. In lessons, play back games with your teacher can improve the musical memory you need and the correlation between what you are hearing and the key or fret or position that will produce that sound. Starting with short patterns and building over time in to longer patterns will improve your ability to play by ear, and less by test. This skill is learned more easily by children, especially young children, than by adults, but anyone can improve their musical ear skills if they are willing to give it a try! Next post, what is the difference between learning by ear or by rote?