Teacher Dreamaurora - Piano Q&A

[Dreamaurora]

kathyh:

I think under this topic we should keep on the track of explaining / discussing the technical questions. Regarding the attitude or the motivation, i think it is diverse among children. Some children do not need motivation at all, they love to play piano and music from their bottom of heart, probably was cultivated by parents. Some are not so need some discipline. Scolding might work for some children but also might not work at all for others. I believe the person who understands the kids most is their parent. And it is really not necessary to ask about which teaching way is suitable from teachers.

Actually I feel that the teacher does a play huge part in motivating the students, and while a lot of parents do understand their kids best, there is also a large number of parents who THINK they know their kids best but actually do not. It is a sticky issue and the statistics do not lie. The number of students who persevere to grade 8 is few and many students give up halfway because they lose interest, yes even those kids who may be initially very motivated to play. And we often hear about parents engaging brilliant teachers but totally unsuitable or cannot click with their kids. So, I understand that teachers will want to know more about various ways to motivate kids for the obvious reason to retain students in their studios. In teaching field, soft skills are as equally important as technical skills.

[kathyh]

I dunt think so. For piano, student only sees his teacher once in a week. Lesson time is only 60 mins. Most of the time after the lesson parents play a vital role to supervise or even coach. You mentioned sOme dunt play at all after grade 8. I think partly becoz the parents think they achieve "their" goal so they stopped encouraging. And to accOmpany the child thru out this journey, maybe parents can coach or direct at the beginner stage say bf grade 5, after that I think mostly depend on child’s self motivation, unless parents know piano themselves.

[Dreamaurora]

kathyh:

I dunt think so. For piano, student only sees his teacher once in a week. Lesson time is only 60 mins. Most of the time after the lesson parents play a vital role to supervise or even coach. You mentioned sOme dunt play at all after grade 8. I think partly becoz the parents think they achieve \"their\" goal so they stopped encouraging. And to accOmpany the child thru out this journey, maybe parents can coach or direct at the beginner stage say bf grade 5, after that I think mostly depend on child's self motivation, unless parents know piano themselves.

I can see where you are coming from. Most private teachers do not have the luxury of teaching audition-filtered kids with required supportive parents that NAFA Young Talents demand. A lot of students will also not have very supportive parents who assist them in practice. So the reality of the situation is that even though students only see their teachers once a week, the rest of the week they may not have anyone helping them. This is especially true for students who start later i.e. teenagers and adults.

Anyway, the issue of motivating students is one that pedagogist constantly discuss and debate. Many parents also seem to expect the teachers to motivate; just look at the other threads and see how many parents are trying to find teachers who can motivate. There are a lot of factors that determine a student's motivation levels. And these factors can vary widely between students of different ages, personalities, background, etc. Anyway, I am going to discuss this in my answer to Sacredmusicals, so I will not bother repeating them in this reply.

Regarding stopping after grade 8, I think it will be quite wasteful if students do not continue further as the bulk of piano repertoire is post grade 8. Anyway if student do not wish to continue after grade 8 because of other commitments, it is okay with me. As long they continue to enjoy music and play leisurely. What I worry is students completely stop playing and dislike classical music after completing their grade 8s or diplomas (possible if forced by parents).

[kathyh]

I believe for those who learn from as early as 3, 4 , 5 yrs , they are motivated by parents so they don’t lack that, no matter experience screening or not

[Chattyirena]

Hello music teachers!


Could you give some advice on how to help my 4 year old to play the piano with curved fingers rather than flat fingers? I don’t remember having this problem when I was learning to play piano as a child…

Thank you.

[Dreamaurora]

Chattyirena:

Hello music teachers!


Could you give some advice on how to help my 4 year old to play the piano with curved fingers rather than flat fingers? I don't remember having this problem when I was learning to play piano as a child...

Thank you.

There are some common factors that may cause children to play with flat fingers; you would want to check if your 4 year old is currently experiencing any of this now:
- Sitting position too low (wrists needs to be above the keyboard to curve comfortably)
- Keys too heavy
- Bad habits from other activities (such as pressing fingers too hard on IPad screens or PC keyboard, getting more common among children now)

After you check above factors and your child is still playing with flat fingers, you may need to assist your child in practice and help correct until the habit is gone. I recommend buying one of those fake decoration fruits (either apple or tomato) and put it near the piano so your child can grab it to regain the curve in case he/she starts playing with flat fingers again.

[Chattyirena]

Thank you Dream Aurora


I will try the fake decoration fruits to help him get the curve back....I'm not sure if the U1 keys are too heavy for him or whether it's the ipad. I don't think it's height...

BTW, I really appreciate your free PDF books - have been slowly trying out as it's been many years since I played the piano...thanks for posting those books online.

Cheers!

[Dreamaurora]

Chattyirena:

Thank you Dream Aurora


I will try the fake decoration fruits to help him get the curve back....I'm not sure if the U1 keys are too heavy for him or whether it's the ipad. I don't think it's height...

BTW, I really appreciate your free PDF books - have been slowly trying out as it's been many years since I played the piano...thanks for posting those books online.

Cheers!

Well there are also other possible causes other than those I listed above. If your child's fingers are rather small and the piece have some big spans the fingers can go flat also. Anyway it is an uphill battle to make children play with curved fingers and it may take quite some time for them to get used to play with curved fingers, so don't expect overnight change.

Do you know us pianists curve our fingers naturally also when using our smartphones and tablets? One of the ways to identify if a person is a pianist. Anyway, glad you find the books useful. I am trying to find time to revise them and add new ones to collection, but with various concerts I am trying to organise and new commercial stuff I am working on now I am kind of overwhelmed now. :sad:

[Chattyirena]

Dreamaurora:

Chattyirena:

Thank you Dream Aurora


I will try the fake decoration fruits to help him get the curve back....I'm not sure if the U1 keys are too heavy for him or whether it's the ipad. I don't think it's height...

BTW, I really appreciate your free PDF books - have been slowly trying out as it's been many years since I played the piano...thanks for posting those books online.

Cheers!

Well there are also other possible causes other than those I listed above. If your child's fingers are rather small and the piece have some big spans the fingers can go flat also. Anyway it is an uphill battle to make children play with curved fingers and it may take quite some time for them to get used to play with curved fingers, so don't expect overnight change.

Do you know us pianists curve our fingers naturally also when using our smartphones and tablets? One of the ways to identify if a person is a pianist. Anyway, glad you find the books useful. I am trying to find time to revise them and add new ones to collection, but with various concerts I am trying to organise and new commercial stuff I am working on now I am kind of overwhelmed now. :sad:

Hi Dream Aurora,

My ds is only in the middle of Book 1 of JMC - he's currently learning to join notes together (as opposed to \"staccato-like\" movements). After some practice, he's more or less able to join doh and mi (c & e) together, but not mi & sol (e & g) together. His fourth finger always hits fa (f) when trying to join mi & sol together. Part of this is due to flat fingers, but I'm also wondering if it because he hasn't yet learnt to separate the movement of fifth finger from fourth, or it's merely a finger span issue? Incidentally, he doesn't have problems joining notes when playing all five notes (c to g) one after another...

Your observation on how pianists use smart phones and tablets with curved fingers is interesting...

[Dreamaurora]

Chattyirena:

Hi Dream Aurora,

My ds is only in the middle of Book 1 of JMC - he's currently learning to join notes together (as opposed to \"staccato-like\" movements). After some practice, he's more or less able to join doh and mi (c & e) together, but not mi & sol (e & g) together. His fourth finger always hits fa (f) when trying to join mi & sol together. Part of this is due to flat fingers, but I'm also wondering if it because he hasn't yet learnt to separate the movement of fifth finger from fourth, or it's merely a finger span issue? Incidentally, he doesn't have problems joining notes when playing all five notes (c to g) one after another...

Your observation on how pianists use smart phones and tablets with curved fingers is interesting...

Interestingly, I had the exact same problem on my right hand when I started learning piano at 17. My ex teacher last time was so puzzled why when I used my 3rd or 5th finger the 4th finger will go down as well. I later learnt after I studied the physical construction of hand (to put it simply, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th fingers' muscles are closely connected) that this was caused by repeatedly subjecting my right hand to prolonged strain (I was obsessed with playing games in arcades during my teenage years). After I learnt to relax my body and some specific technical exercises, I managed to overcome this problem, albeit much much later during my full time study.

For young children, I am not sure if strain is the cause. I always think nowadays children are exposed to tablets and phones so early; I see that many children have very poor hand shape when using these devices and as a result straining their hands, but like what you said it is entirely possible that your ds has not learnt to separate those last two fingers yet. I have not encountered this issue yet with any of my past or current students, so to be honest I am not sure. Perhaps I shall read up more to find out about this. Just curious, how old is your ds?