If you are wondering how to get the most out of your
piano lessons for the price that it costs you, we hope to enlighten you on some things to consider. Both finding the best learning situation for yourself and then leveraging that learning situation is key to getting the most out of your piano lessons. Sometimes leveraging the learning situation requires some personal introspection and change.
Here are some things we think you should consider in order to help you get the most out of your piano lessons:
1. Find a Good Piano Teacher
There are many people out there who call themselves piano teachers but who aren’t really
teachers. By that we mean, they don’t know
how to teach.
You can have two different people with the same degree, even from the same
educational program, who had the same professional backgrounds, but one is a better teacher than the other.
It doesn’t even matter too much how long someone has been teaching. It does to an extent, but you can have someone who has taught for 20 years who isn’t as good a
teacher as someone who has taught for 5 years.
Consider Emotional Intelligence
To say it in another way, don’t just consider the IQ of a potential piano teacher, consider their EQ as well. Someone with a high IQ may have a lot of knowledge and experience but may not know how to reach people where they are at and communicate with them in the way they best understand. Emotional intelligence and other natural social skills play such a big role in the communication of the piano lesson room.
Since communication through emotional intelligence is extremely fundamental to getting the most out of your piano lessons, you definitely want to find someone that communicates well with you and you with them. So just keep in mind, credentials aren’t everything.
Test Out a Few Different Piano Teachers
So if you want to get the most out of your piano lessons by finding that right piano teacher for you, you may want to set up a few
trial lessons with a few different teachers to see which one you seem to connect with most. You may even try a few months with one teacher and a few months with another.
You could even go to a few
student recitals to see the fruit of a piano teacher’s work. That may also give you clues into the piano teacher you are interested in working with.
2. Get The Most Out of Your Piano Lessons With a Good Instrument For Practice
When it comes to wanting to get the most out of your piano lessons as far as your
piano instrument is concerned, the basics are these:
- You need a full sized keyboard or piano with 88-keys.
- The keys on your keyboard or piano need to be weighted.
- You need a sustain pedal option on your instrument.
Essentially, it boils down to needing an instrument that feels closest to a real piano. This is because if you are learning piano technique such as learning how to get that touch or pressure just right when pressing down on your keys, you are going to want to develop that on something that closely resembles a real piano as much as possible. Otherwise, you might find yourself sitting at a piano lesson but not being able to play anything like how you are able to play at home on your
practice instrument.
3. Be Well Prepared Before Every Piano Lesson
Piano teachers love working with students who come to their lessons prepared as much as they can be. This is key to seeing the best progress for yourself as well. Also, remember that you are paying for each minute of your lesson. It’s costing you money out of your own pocket so of course you want to
be as prepared as possible in order to get your money’s worth!
We’ve put together a short list of things you could do to get the most out of your piano lessons by preparing yourself and learning materials before every piano lesson.
Is Your Music Organized?
Whether you have a set of lesson books or you have loose papers that you keep in a folder or binder, do you take the time before every lesson to officially organize it so that you aren’t wasting any moments scrambling to find page 1, then page 2, and finally page 3 of a piece you are about to play for your teacher during your piano lesson?
Remember, having your materials organized will save you precious time that you are spending money for!
Eat a Snack Before Your Lesson
You want your brain to be working at its top performance. You want clarity of mind. No sugar drops that cause you to be foggy-brained or feel sleepy or tired. So eat a snack of some sort before your lesson so that the sugar high you get during your lesson will help you retain as much of your lesson as possible!
Turn Your Phone On Silent Before The Start of Your Lesson
Prevent any distractions or disruptions from your phone by turning it on silent before you get into the lesson room. Of course this point would make sense for getting the most out of your piano lesson, wouldn’t it? Not to mention, your teacher, we know, would
very much appreciate the fact that you take your piano lessons and instruction so seriously! Some teachers may even see it as respect.
Consider Recording Your Piano Lessons
Not too many people think of this often, but it can be quite beneficial to you if you audio recorded your lessons. For one, you are able to go back during the week and relisten to the instruction, but two, you can also go back weeks or months later to listen to recordings to get an audio reminder of your progress as a piano student!
Sometimes we focus so much of our energy on the present in order to get to the next step or level and we forget to stop and look backwards at how far we’ve come. You owe it to yourself to celebrate all the progress you make! Don’t forget to take the time to remind yourself of your progress! It’s truly inspirational in helping you continue your forward momentum!
So get the most out of your piano lessons that you can by celebrating the progress.
4. Do Some Honest Self-Evaluation
So it’s one thing to celebrate your progress when you look backwards, and it’s another to evaluate your progress objectively. This is also important in order to get the most out of your piano lessons. How long did it take you to get from A to Z? Do you think you could have gotten there faster if you had invested more time into your daily practicing? Did you make the right sacrifices in life outside of your piano lessons in order to prioritize your lessons at whatever level of priority you are wanting them to be in your life?
These sorts of questions take honest self-evaluation of the objective truth. That is a developed skill that the most successful people in life have practiced well and continue to practice. It’s something we can all always improve in ourselves: honest self-evaluation.
5. Make Any Necessary Changes to Get The Most Out of Your Piano Lesson Experience
Change isn’t always easy for people but sometimes it is necessary for the sake of progress, getting the most out of your piano lessons, and developing yourself through music education.
It is important to take the time every-so-often to make some honest evaluations about your progress. You can choose how often to do this, there’s no “ideal” time intervals. Maybe every 3-6 months?
When you evaluate, consider: Are you happy with your progress? If not, why not? Are there any changes that need to happen in order for you to be happier with your progress?
Do You Need to Change Piano Teachers?
Having to change piano teachers, for example, may take some awkward conversation and personal honest truths with yourself. But even these changes may be necessary in order for you to get the most out of your piano lessons. Take courage! You’re investing in your future and you want to do it
well!
Do You Need to Invest More in Your Daily Piano Practice?
Taking personal responsibility for any changes that need to happen on your personal end, is one of the most difficult, vulnerable things to face with yourself. However, it is a good self-growth discipline to do. People who are able to see, accept, and do the personal change necessary are the ones who have the most success in life.
Again, no change comes easy. Especially when it comes to having to accept one’s own responsibility and make those personal changes. But hopefully, if you keep the perspective of “I’m trying to develop myself, improve myself as a person, and be the best I can develop myself to be.”, it will help make those sacrificial changes a little easier!
Summary
To summarize, the five points we expanded on as our suggestions for getting the most out of you piano lessons are:
1. Find a Good Piano Teacher
2. Get The Most Out of Your Piano Lessons With a Good Instrument For Practice
3. Be Well Prepared Before Every Piano Lesson
4. Do Some Honest Self-Evaluation
5. Make Any Necessary Changes to Get The Most Out of Your Piano Lesson Experience
We wish you all the best in your journey of self-development through your piano lessons. It really is a treasure and privilege to have developed within yourself, all the valuable personal development that music lessons will bring into your life.
Learn More About Martucci Music in Sacramento, CA