Adult Education – Page 2

The Importance of Notation

Fermata • The Pianodao Blog
Short Reflections by Andrew Eales

In a trend that will worry experienced music educators, community musicans and professional performers alike, the importance of notation is increasingly coming under fire within the piano education community.

The charge is often led by those who prefer teaching popular music, have a limited music education background, and perhaps don’t fully understand the long-term needs of other music students. But the trend limits opportunity, and we must challenge and resist it for the benefit of all our students.

Four Mistakes a Student Makes

Fermata • The Pianodao Blog
Short Reflections by Andrew Eales

The ancient Chinese Classic of Rites, among the world’s oldest wisdom texts, tells us of four mistakes that are commonly made by learners.

“There are four mistakes a student makes when learning, that a teacher must know:
trying to learn too much;
trying to learn too little,
trying to make everything easy;
and trying to quit.
In all four cases, the heart will be scattered.
You must first know your heart;
Only then can you correct such mistakes.”

Book of Rites, Xiu Ji (translated by Deng Ming-Dao)
The Way of Health and Beauty, 2019

The player who tries to learn too much perhaps attempts an unrealistic number of pieces within a year, not comfortably mastering any of them. Perhaps, instead, they attempt music which is simply far too advanced for their present level of attainment and technical ability. Frustration sets in when enthusiasm meets reality, and they descend to the earth with a bump.

The player who tries to learn too little has the opposite problem. Bogged down with the detail, perhaps discouraged by perfectionist tendencies, they make little tangible progress, and have little to celebrate along their Way of Piano.

The player who wants to make everything easy, perhaps coaxed into implausible expectations by a misinformed teacher, becomes frustrated when confronted by the real-world fact that playing the piano is simply a challenge. It may be possible to achieve seemingly great things in a short time by using shortcuts, learning by rote, or neglecting the foundations of playing. But the cracks soon emerge, and are large enough to swallow the player whole.

Faced with such disappointments, many simply try to quit. Often quick to blame others, they make their excuses and leave.

The Three-Dimensional Pianist

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

Understanding the importance of equally training, nurturing, and developing our musical mind (understanding), body (technique), and soul (musicianship) empowers us to teach, learn, and practise the piano holistically.

Paying attention to each of these three dimensions in equal balance gives us a solid educational philosophy, a foundation for practice, and the insight needed to foster deeper learning. Teachers have long done this, knowingly or intuitively, to deliver a well-rounded music education.

While the concept of a “three-dimensional” pianist may sound new or even exotic, it really isn’t. All successful musicians engage musical mind, body, and soul in their performance. The purpose of the terminology and perspective shared here is simply to illuminate more clearly what it is that makes some more successful at the piano than others.

In this article I will consider these three dimensions of musical learning in turn, explaining how we can nurture and monitor each, and suggesting how our recognition of their importance can help us develop as teachers, learners, and players.

Keeping Your Own Piano Journal

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

In my book How to Practise Music, I wrote the following to suggest adult learners keep a piano journal:

“Older learners often like to keep their own journal in which they write a more reflective account of their practice journey, which may or may not be shared with a teacher. These can be excellent tools for structuring practice sessions, probing for solutions, or looking back on previous work.”

It is a suggestion I unpack a little in the book, but in this post I want to explain the concept and potential benefits in more depth, as well as offering some practical tips to help you get started…

Teaching Adults to Play the Piano

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

There has been an interesting and persistent debate in recent months about whether adult students can effectively teach themselves to play the piano (tapping into the growing plethora or apps, books, etc), or whether there is an essential ongoing need for a teacher’s involvement. I have addressed this in my recent article Who Needs Piano Lessons Anyway?

But while there’s no shortage of arguments for learning with a “good teacher”, many seem to struggle finding one who is sympathetic to their goals and in tune with the needs of adult learners.

In this post I will therefore share some of the strategies which have worked for me over the last three decades of teaching these enthusiastic learners.

Who needs piano lessons anyway?

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

As Chair of the European Piano Teachers’ Association, Mark Tanner seems an unlikely cheerleader for shunning expert tuition in favour of “teaching” oneself to play the piano. And yet in his new teach-yourself-book for older beginners, The Piano in Black and White (Faber Music, 2021), this is the path he advocates, enthusing:

“Learning to teach ourselves gives us the advantage of becoming masters of our own universe.”

Tanner ignores the obvious point that our own universe, without the guidance and insights of those more experienced and knowledgeable than us, might well prove to be a rather limited, small universe…

The Pianist’s Resolution

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

The start of any new year or season is for many a time for making resolutions: a time for ambition, grit and determination. Whether it’s a fresh commitment to healthy eating and exercise, or a renewed self-discipline in setting aside time to practise the piano, there’s never a bad time to make a decision to turn a new leaf.

But how can we foster perseverance and ultimately success?

Chetham’s Summer School for Pianists

Supporting Piano Education
Article written by Andrew Eales

The International Summer School and Festival for Pianists held each summer at the Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester UK is now in its 19th year, and has established itself as one of the major annual events in the piano calendar.

Incorporating a series of nightly public recitals as well as (this year) the sixth Manchester International Concerto Competition for Young Pianists, this extraordinary (if not exhausting!) event benefits from the stunning setting that is Chetham’s School of Music, which includes the new Stoller Hall, several recital and ensemble rooms, a huge fleet of pianos (the school’s impressive collection supplemented by additional pianos on loan from nearby Forsyth’s music store) and the enlarged premises opened in 2012.

The Summer School for Pianists provides the opportunity for players of all ages to have one-to-one lessons with the dozens of internationally respected pianists and pedagogues on site, who comprise a formidable faculty list that reads like a “who’s who” of the international piano scene.

With more than 250 participants in each of the two weeks, the event combines several projects initiated and led by the inspiring and indefatigable husband-and-wife team of Murray McLachlan and Kathryn Page, both of whom are themselves hugely successful pianists, teachers and communicators.

I was delighted to receive an invitation from Murray and Kathryn to visit this uniquely all-encompassing event and see for myself how its strengths combine to add up to more than the sum of its parts, offering a fusion of inspiration, education and creativity for pianists and lovers of the piano of all ages and at all stages of their lives.

In this article I will explain more about how the course works, be a fly on the wall observing some lessons, talk to participants, enjoy the array of concerts, and offer my overall view of the week.