Know Thyself
Before you being studying music, it’s important to have a clear idea of yourself and what you’re looking for.
Here are some of the questions we’ll discuss in this chapter:
- What is my motivation in taking piano lessons?
- What is my musical background and ability level?
- What types of music do I enjoy?
- What is my “learning” personality?
- What value do I want to get out of piano lessons?
Asking questions like these can put you way ahead of the game in finding a teacher that suits your needs. Surprisingly, I have found time and time again that these areas have not been explored by the vast majority of students seeking lessons. It is extremely common that I have to “switch gears” after a few weeks of lessons, when a student’s true desires come to the fore.
What is your motivation in taking piano lessons?
One of the nice things about being a “grown-up” is that we get to do things, at least some of the time, because we enjoy them. There really aren’t very many bad reasons to take piano lessons. Still, not understanding your motivation can make it hard to find a good match.
So what led you to take piano lessons? See if you can dig a bit deeper than simply “I want to learn piano”. Is there an underlying motivation that points to your own unique personality? Here are some common real life reasons I’ve found in my teaching:
- I need an emotional outlet.
- I have a deep love of music.
- I want an activity that is relaxing.
- I need approval for my hard work.
- I feel guilty for quitting lessons as a child.
- I need a hard challenge to work towards.
- I’m just exploring different things to see if they interest me.
- I want to be able to impress my friends.
- I want to play a song at a specific event, wedding, etc.
- My teacher/parent/authority figure was mean during childhood and I have issues to resolve.
- I’d like an activity where I can meet other people and make friends.
As you can see, these reasons really run the gamut. Everything from having a light interest in music, to needing a huge challenge, to exercising childhood demons – and yes this last is a real reason that I encounter often, so don’t feel embarrassed if this is a factor for you!
Of course for most of us, our reasons for taking lessons are mixed, so don’t be surprised if you encounter several. But as you can imagine, it’s tremendously helpful to understand your deeper motivation going in.
What is your musical background and ability level?
This is certainly a hard question to assess on your own. I’ve found that many students mis-categorize themselves in this area – at least at first. Having a clear idea of your ability and skill levels is critical to your piano lesson success.
Students with little or no experience
If you are really a complete beginner – and by this I mean no lessons ever, even as a young child, it can be quite hard to know where you stand in terms of musical ability. The hard truth is that some students seem to be more adept at picking up piano than others – at least in the beginning stages. The good news though is that if you are aware of your deficiencies you can often make up for them.
In fact, my experience has been that while some students are “naturals” from the beginning, these same students tend to plateau and give up once the going gets hard. Students who approach their learning calmly and intelligently, and put in consistent work, tend to fare the best in the long run.
There are always outliers. For some people, music is simply not their strong suit. However, for the vast majority of students, the greatest indicator of long-term fulfillment is steady practice over a matter of years.
So if you want to self-assess, here are some things to ask yourself. Please remember that this is only a preliminary exercise, and a good teacher will be able to refine your understanding of your strengths and weaknesses:
- How is my ear? Can I carry a melody? Do I often remember music I’ve heard vividly? Perhaps I been able to pick out tunes with ease in the past on the piano?
- How is my dexterity? Is it easy for me to manipulate small objects or do I often feel clumsy with my hands? (This, I have found, can be quite hard to self-assess.)
- What is my work style? Do I tend to work in inconsistent bursts, regular intervals, or what? Can I adapt to the long term regular practice that real piano skill requires?
- How about patience and delayed gratification? Progressing at the piano often involves plateaus that must be patiently carried. Can I deal with delayed gratification over months or even years? Am I happy with slow progress and occasional perks, or will I jump to pieces that are too difficult and ruin the process?
- How do I deal with stress and criticism? Even people who think they are good under stress can find piano lessons to be demanding (although this is very much mitigated by a great teacher.) Can you get in a learning mindset and away from the desire to prove yourself? If you think you can approach lessons with a calm demeanor you will get a lot from them!
Students with past experience
Self-assessment can swing wildly when a student has had past experience, for instance:
- A student will say she is a complete beginner when in reality she had several years of lessons as a child. While she might feel that he doesn’t remember much from his lessons, a lot of skill is waiting to be remembered.
- A student will categorize himself as advanced, when in reality he is self taught and unaware of many of the mistakes he is making.
In the first example, this student may be pleasantly surprised to learn that she can advance more quickly than she believes.
The student in the second example, on the other hand, may be in for a shock when it is necessary to pull things back a bit. A good teacher in this scenario will give this student simpler pieces than he thinks he is ready for. And depending on this student’s personality, this might be a stressful experience.
Intelligent Ignorance
Of course there is a third alternative, which I touch on in my blog post The Best Learners. This is what I call “intelligent ignorance”.
Here’s what I say there:
Without relinquishing judgement, the good learner defers to a teacher’s expertise. Once the teacher selection is made, the ability to suspend judgement *intelligently* is crucial to optimal learning. Without this, the teacher spends more time proving himself and the student spends more time re-evaluating whether the teacher knows what he is talking about. As a result, not much time is left for actual teaching.
In other words, if you’re unsure of your ability level, do the work to find a great teacher, and let him or her guide you! (I discuss more elements of great learners in Chapter 3.)