A few years ago, I had a student whose mother instructed me in no uncertain terms that I was not to pressure her daughter in any way: not to practice, not to play the music perfectly. She just wanted a space for her daughter to grow in her ability to ENJOY music. I had to figure out how to make it fun for her at every single lesson, and still integrate the difficult work of getting her fingers to listen to her brain, and absorb the language of written music. It was tricky and it took a lot of extra concentration and engagement on my part.

Around the same time, I had another student that was so wild and wiggly that it was almost impossible to get him to sit on the piano bench with me for more than 2 minutes at a time. Just to get through the lessons, we had to play a ton of musical games, and I had to entice him to play by showing him how to play songs that he knew from the radio. The idea of making “progress” had to be abandoned, in favor of just getting him to sit next to me on the piano bench and play SOMETHING.

Guess what: it’s been 4 years, and they’re both still studying with me. And, they are two of my most accomplished, hardest working, and musically independent students. I don’t take credit for this, because teaching in this way was not my idea or preference (at first!). But seeing how these students’ musical lives have unfolded completely challenged my original teaching style.

I was taught music mostly in a… let’s say… “factory farming” style. Very linear, very by-the-book. It worked for me and my Type-A personality. Let’s be honest, it was definitely “easier” to replicate this type of teaching in the beginning of my teaching career, but it was often boring, for the student and for me. And having boring piano lessons does not create a good musician, and it does not cultivate a love of music. Following the students’ joy and helping them find their own stride makes them self-motivated and independent, and as a bonus, fulfills me as a teacher and as a human. Eschewing the pre-made book curriculum and instead thinking hard, being creative, and trying to be a good listener to each of my students means I finish the day exhausted…but contented and inspired. I trust (on a good day) that my students feel the same.