hm...i have 4 students right now, all beginners. I taught them the essentials and the basics of learning piano, how to read staff and the hand positions when playing on a piano.

but the thing that's troubling me is that they don't get it!! their hands are like crabs, or like old witch hands....if any of you also teaches a musical instrument...got any pointers or advice for beginner students? need some ideas :heh:



Edit: i think this should go under MUSIC DISCUSSION...

get them to practice scale first, or arpeggios?

slap their hands when they mess up!
lol just kidding :heh:

have them work things through really reAaAally slowly.
i never found arpeggios to be all that helpful on the piano..o_O
u know when i first started piano i had this really cool thing that u put on top of the piano keys...and it has the name of the note as it sits over the corresponding keys...maybe something like that would help

If you could get your hands on this book, so much the better ^_^
Charles-Louis Hanon: Virtuoso Pianist In 60 Exercises - Complete (http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/a/item.html?id=70450&item=3144241)
It's a great exercise book for beginners and the experienced.
Works on familiarizing with the piano, different feels, different skills, dexterity and strength... a must have for every pianist :D

I'd get them to start practising the earlier exercises slowly ^^

Crab? Witch hands? o.0 wow, hehe, nice description.

Well, most beginners are kind of like that, so no worries, they might grow out of it in time, especially with the exercises everybody else has been mentioning. But I think the key is for them to loosen up, you know, get more comfortable with playing on the keys. Once they have more confidence and understand what they're doing (because there's more to it than just pressing a key and making a sound), then their hands will just flow easier.

Charles-Louis Hanon: Virtuoso Pianist In 60 Exercises - Complete

i have a very old Hanon book, that was like published back in the 60th, have like around 100 exercises, but then i don't want to lend them out to the students...cuz i think if i keep it long enough, it'll be valuable :lol: hahahah guess i'll tell THEM to get it, aint' lending out mine :shifty:

arpeggios..lol i don't think they're good enough for it yet...but right now i'm giving them Thompson to practise...



Well, most beginners are kind of like that, so no worries, they might grow out of it in time, especially with the exercises everybody else has been mentioning. But I think the key is for them to loosen up, you know, get more comfortable with playing on the keys. Once they have more confidence and understand what they're doing (because there's more to it than just pressing a key and making a sound), then their hands will just flow easier.


i really hope so :heh: but then this girl got this problem, you know some people can bend the first section of your finger and make a right angle with it.... or at least it is very flexible and can bend up in a weird way....they have that problem.... X_X man wonder how far they can go with piano with those hands

note, do not try and teach them scales and alpegios to early, realy puts off new student. get them to play realy simple tunes (silly thing which only use three notes)

then user fingure exercises, ive worked througha collection called "a dozen a day". they teach you to do all the hand postions and can lead into alpegios and scales but keeps it fun at the same time. it sort of follows you through a day, the first one is called 'waking up' and keeps going. I'll scan an example if you would like?

I teach piano. :heh: I have four students, all 12 years and under, and at beginner level to grade 1 standard. I've found that if you teach something to them, and they don't get it, they won't say. It's rare for them to say "sorry, can you explain it again?", so you've got to pick up on it yourself.
Teach them things as you go along, not everything at once at the beginning, or it makes things a bit boring. Everybody learns things quicker if it's fun and interesting, so make it that way. Help them to learn things in context, so they know there actually is a point to it all.
If you teach them, but they never seem to remember, just keep reminding them, and eventually they'll get it stuck in their heads. If they forget it, ask them something like "what do you do here then?". It could be that they just plain forgot about it, or that they didn't understand it in the first place.

Just the main point is to keep things fun and interesting. I don't know about you, but learning all those arpeggios, scales and Hanon studies is really boring for me. :mellow:

im not old enough to teach..i get taught...my piano teacher ish very patiente...strict though...u should try being that way...

lol, strict teachers never motivate me to do anything =P

oh....then nvm....but patiance...rite? that gets u motivated dosen't it?

my teacher gets cross but never has a go at you, she makes you feel like you are in the wrong.

stricktness may make you learn quicker but removes some of the enjoyment that students get when they improve

when i started piano, i started with songs. basic stuff. most of them are nursery rhymes where u play chords on the left hand and the melody with the right. i did scales after i got to play them rite.....i think it took about a month for me...dont really remember.

I've found that if you teach something to them, and they don't get it, they won't say. It's rare for them to say "sorry, can you explain it again?", so you've got to pick up on it yourself.

yep i realized that because in school i don't ask when i don't understand something :P but when they don't understand i'll know, because their face will be different, or their eyes will roll LOL. Especially when i teach how to figure out what scale is what scale and how many sharps or flats are in what scale...they get confused lol.


about that strict teaching thing...i think i need to be A LOT strict than right now. 2 of my students are kinda slacking off...(at least that's what i think cuz they're really not improving much) then again, i can't be sure, some of them i can tell are not gifted in the field of music. -_- oh well.



I'll scan an example if you would like?
i would love it!!! where are you gonna post it? here?

If you could get your hands on this book, so much the better
Charles-Louis Hanon: Virtuoso Pianist In 60 Exercises - Complete

www.sheetmusicarchive.net

for all classical pieces. its perfectly legal, or so the site says so itself :heh:

And sites with roms also claim to be perfectly legal <_<

Try and demonstrate how their hands should go - don&#39;t mock them when imitating them as it totally ruins their self-esteem (my piano teacher did that and put me off piano lessons for life). Reward them when they get their hand positions right - do they keep their fingernails short? That really helps with maintaining the "holding a bubble" hand position - get them to keep their wrists elevated as it makes it easier to move the fingers.

Hope that helped :)

eheh im only 14 and i got two studentz hu r Older den me :D theyre bOth grade 3 now [[theyre gonna overtake me sOon.. only five gradez away :(]] but i found my studentz are realli smart.. learning all the stuff themselvez.. wont let me teach :( but yea i got dem doin just their grade scales and stuff but i found out im alOt better at teaching theory :D

btw my first lessOn was a complete stuff up ^_^

Come on, there is no excuse to use that type of typing. It&#39;s annoying to read and even browse through v.v; and it is ruining the threads.

I&#39;m self-trained. :mellow: I&#39;ve always been somewhat interested in playing some instrument, and it happened to be the piano since I have a keyboard around.

Sorry I&#39;m fixing my condition >.<

well i taught myself.........the only thing i got told was every good boy deserves fudge and in between it spelt face........goin on that i spent ages reading music then you kind of train your hands to do it.........it takes loads of time being frustrated and dont give up if you been at it for 10 minutes and all you hear is plink plonk.....it will come......ive been playin for 7 months and i can play most music sheets and i even finished my 1st composition today.......you just got to have the dedication

you just got to have the dedication

i agree, the only stupid problem is that i have no idea if the 3 new students have the dedication, they said they like piano and want to learn them...but i bet once they&#39;re in the " STUDY SECTION " they will be bored to death and probably want to quit. That&#39;s where most students quit. V_V i really want my students to be good and able to play the pieces they want to play, not just easy ones, but harder ones. I showed them many hard pieces and played some of them, MAN right now they just dont&#39; look interested....they&#39;re so freaking into those anime musics...which i don&#39;t really recommend them playing when they can&#39;t even play scales&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; *SIGH*&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

And no offense to these 3 students...but they&#39;re VERY VERY SLOW learner...getting on my nerves X_X