Piano Blog

Aristotle Agrees

Regarding my last post on repetition, it's good to know that even Aristotle agrees with me:

"It is from the same causes and by the same means that every excellence is both produced and destroyed, and similarly every art; for it is from playing the lyre that both good and bad lyre-players are produced. . . if this were not so, there would have been no need of a teacher, but all men would have been born good or bad at their craft."*

So, says Aristotle, if you want to be good at the lyre, or um. . . piano, you can't just goof around. The good and bad pianist both practice the piano (hopefully) but some of them become excellent, and some don't. The excellent people make a habit of it by repeating the right things over and over again.*

Thanks Aristotle. 

*Nichomachean Ethics 1103b10. My edition is the W.D. Ross Translation.

*There's more expicit stuff about repitition in his later sections on excellence. But that's the subject of a future post.

Keep it Simple

Playing a musical instrument is a complex task. Almost anyone could practice on a daily basis. But without guidance, there's a good chance this practice won't be beneficial in the long run. 

When a child learns to walk, for instance, he gets immediate feedback as to whether he's doing something incorrectly. (That is, he falls down.) But often the feedback you get with a musical instrument isn't so easily interpreted. You might play the right notes in the correct order but at the same time use your muscles or your mind in a way that hinders progress down the road.

But let's assume you're getting good guidance and the technical elements are more or less in place. There's an unavoidable fundamental to playing: automatization. You simply don't have a choice but to make the physical elements of playing automatic.

What does this mean? Repetition. 

The devil is in the details. They are important. But don't lose sight of the foundation of good practice. To become truly facile, you have to move to the level of the automatic. Watch any number of great musicians over time and you'll observe this simple common denominator: tireless, intelligent, repetition of the music.

Don't let details bog you down and sap your motivation. Keep it simple, over and over again.

Music Studio How-To

Now for some shameless self-promotion!

Over the last few years, I've been asked the same question over and over: How do I get started in my own teaching business?

I can really empathise with this question. I know firsthand how hard it is to start a music studio.

Are you like me when I started teaching? 

I had zero students, nowhere to teach from, zero income (but lots of debt), no prospective students and no idea how to start. 

It was a long road that took me where I am today: I can't keep up with student requests. I get to set my own hours, control my vacation time. I don't have to put up with a nagging boss or coworkers. And best of all I don't have to deal with rush-hour traffic because I work from the comfort of my home!

Not too shabby. 

So then what is the answer? How do you start a music studio?

I've earned my fair share of free dinners trying to answer this question. The truth is: its a BIG subject. Way to much to cover in one evening. And way too much to cover in this blog post. So I I won't try.

I'll do something better. 

For free, and with zero obligation, you are invited to join my Piano Studio Handbook list. This group is for those serious about starting a successful and fulfilling teaching business.

I'll use this list to send out *in depth* information for music teachers that I wouldn't post in normal pianoblog posts.

There's zero obligation to signup, and you'll receive answers to your questions like:

How do I get students? - Where do I start teaching? - How do I handle my first lessons? 

Emails will be packed with answers to any question you can think to ask. And I HOPE that by helping you, I can save you the many years of trial and error that I went through to build up my teaching practice.

If at any time you decide you want to stop getting tips from me, un-subscribing is simple and I *don't ever* share contact info from any pianoblog readers with outside sources.

If you're really serious about getting started the right way,  sign up below! 

 

PS - If you're reading this in your blog reader and don't see a signup form above - just visit the actual post!

Things Mean Piano Teachers do Just to Be Mean

Why am I such a mean teacher?

One of my favorite things to do is have my students transpose small pieces and exercises into different keys. This is usually met with a fair amount of resistance. But, I insist, it is one of the BEST ways of really understanding the keyboard. I always say: you want to be able to play in more than one key don't you?

In fact, all my children learn their 5 finger positions ASAP so they can move a simple piece to every major and minor hand position on the keyboard.

Quick break.

I finally made it back to the gym today. I could have done a bunch of isolation exercises on my legs. (These are exercises that work very specific muscles.) Instead of did a few sets of squats. For those of you who don't go to the gym: squats suck. They work about every muscle in your body at the same time. Afterwards you feel like you want to die. BUT they're awesome. You work everything and you get HUGE. (No, I am not a big muscle man.)

Back to piano.

Here's why I brought up squatting. Transposing is like the squat of the piano. (Or maybe the deadlift.) If you select a couple measures with some smarts, you can work your technique, your ear, your understanding of theory, and your musicality. All at the same time. 

As they say at the gym: crush it.

Piano Practice and Exercise - Similarities

There are no quick worthwhile results.

Extreme amounts of repetition are necessary.

Poor execution causes more harm than good.

A stupid approach means years of frustration and wasted time.

Each session is best planned in advance.

Showing off is detrimental to real progress.

More time is spent worrying than doing.