Avoid Purist Piano Teachers for Kids

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A purist piano teacher is one who believes the following:

1. There is only one way for kids to play the piano: first learn to read music, and if you survive that, you will be allowed to play real music. All piano teaching derives from 1830 and the work of Carl Czerny.

2. Until kids have mastered reading music, their diet will consist of exercise pieces, which are entirely academic. Kids will never play a piece of music they have heard unless they can read it at the piano.

3. A child’s nature is entirely irrelevant.  There will be no talking, no laughing, no slouching, no childish behavior of any kind. Piano lessons are a serious business that proceeds the same regardless of the personality of the child.

4. The piano teacher does not engage the child. The child must latch on to what the piano teacher wants or leave.

5. The piano method can never bend to the child. The child must always submit to the piano method.

A progressive piano teacher believes the following:

1. Every child is unique. There is only one way to teach an individual child the piano, and it is the teacher’s job to discover that way. If it includes the 1830s and Carl Czerny, we will use it if it benefits the child. If the child does not thrive with Carl Czerny, we will find another way.

2. A child should learn to read music at a pace they find comfortable. Reading music may not be the best starting platform for every child. The first goal is to interest the child in the piano, not indoctrinate them with the minutiae of musical notation as dictated by the 1830s.

3. A child should be allowed to be themselves during a lesson. They may converse with the teacher as if with a friend. The best relationship for teacher-child is one of collegial exploration rather than master-slave.

4. A children’s piano teacher should engage their mind from the first second of every lesson. If that engagement cannot be achieved with reading music, there are many other ways to interest the child in the piano.

5, Any piano method or tool that the child cannot understand and easily grasp is useless. Learn how to recognize the failure of your teaching and resolve to find a better way to engage each individual child.

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