All posts by Karen Berger

For Parents, Piano Lessons for Children

Conversations With my Students

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A few choice  words from my students…. Feel free to add some of your own!

Me: “So did you learn any goofy songs at summer camp?”
Student: “No, mostly they had sailboats in them. My mom knows the words.”

Me: “So, what’s new and interesting this week?”
Student:  “Grandma has spiders on her legs and crinkly elbows.”

Me: “So what’s new this week?”
Student: “Mom got a new pooper scooper.”

Me: “That was interesting…. You had some creative rhythms in there that I don’t think the composer ever considered.”
Student: “You mean it was a train wreck.”

Me: “That was pretty stinky.” (said to a student with whom I have a long-standing relationship that can handle this!)
Student: “I thought it sounded pretty good…. until it didn’t.”

Me: “So, how do you think that went?”
Student: “Pretty good.”
Me: “Yeah? It’s written in 3/4 time, but you played it in 4/4. And you forgot all the sharps in the key of A major. And you skipped these three lines entirely.”
Student: “But it was still pretty good, right?”

Me: “So, what’s new?”
Student: “After piano, I’m going over to my uncle’s house to play with my band.”
Me: “Really? Who’s in your band?”
Student: “Me and my uncle.”

Me: “That was great. Your finger position was so good that even if I were standing all the way over there in the kitchen, I would be able to tell how good your hand position was just by listening to you.”
Student: “I think piano teachers are a different kind of human.”

Acoustic Pianos, Buying a Piano, Digital Pianos

Acoustic Pianos Versus Digital Pianos: Which to Buy?

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There is no getting around this bottom-line fact: A traditional acoustic piano is an instrument of beauty. It can out-sing a full symphony orchestra; it has complex overtones; it has an organic feel and sound. But there’s no getting around the downsides either: The black beast is big, heavy, expensive, and takes a lot of upkeep.

A digital keyboard might not be able to outshout an orchestra, but it can copy the sounds of one (not to mention the sound of a piano). Also on the bright side: it’s less expensive, light, movable, and doesn’t need tuning.

Which Kind of Piano is Better?

Choosing a piano depends on a number of factors. Consider:

  • For gigging with a rock band? (digital)
  • For a child’s practice? (either could work)
  • For a serious classical musician? (acoustic)
  • For an apartment dweller who needs to practice late at night?  (digital)
  • For a composer who wants to experiment with lots of sounds and voices? (digital)

 

Cost and Care Considerations when Buying an Acoustic Upright or Grand Piano

The great classics were written for the acoustic piano and can best be realized on an instrument that the great composers would recognize. So many piano teachers strongly encourage the purchase of an acoustic piano; some insist on it.

In practical matters — cost, portability, versatility —  the heavy, expensive acoustic piano loses ground  to the digital. But the acoustic piano has a certain sound and feel that simply cannot be duplicated by a digital instrument. For the development of proper hand position, finger strength and dynamic control, acoustic pianos are essential. Digital pianos offer neither the resistance nor the response of an acoustic piano. Advanced students cannot learn how to work with a piano’s sonorities by playing on an instrument that merely mimics them. Pianists are unanimous about this: No concert pianists currently perform classical music on digital instruments.

  • Cost of new acoustic pianos: Upright pianos start at around $3000: Good student uprights run $5000 – $8000. Grand pianos start at around $10,000 and, with name brands such as Steinway or Bosendorfer, can run upwards of $100,000 — clearly not an appropriate or even possible purchase if the user is a six-year old beginner.
  • Price of used pianos: Used pianos can be found in retail shops for less than half the price of new pianos. They can also be found when people move or are disposing of estates for far less. Always bring a qualified piano technician when looking at a used piano.
  • Acoustic pianos must live away from windows, sunlight, and heating vents: No exceptions!
  • Acoustic pianos are extremely vulnerable to changes in temperature and humidity and in a volatile climate, they may need frequent repair work.
  • Acoustic pianos should be tuned twice a year.
  • If properly maintained, acoustic pianos hold their value and may even appreciate.

The verdict: Acoustic pianos are expensive, require maintenance and space, and are completely inconvenient when it comes to moving. But people still fall in love with fine acoustic pianos. And that is not going to change.

Basic Facts and Features about Buying Digital Pianos

Digital pianos are also known as electronic keyboards or synthesizers. If the keyboard is a synthesizer, it usually has a full range of sounds, including percussion tracks and sound effects A digital piano typically has fewer sounds and effects; its design is more concerned with achieving a piano-like feel and sound; it may even (sometimes) have a baby-grand piano look. Good synthesizers have both good piano-like quality and the full complement of synthesizer sounds. To be used as a substitute piano, a keyboard should have 88 weighted keys, touch control, and a pedal.

Digital pianos start at under $100; for that, you get an instrument with very limited use and poor sound and feel. They range up to more than $5000. Synthesizers with good piano tone and feel are available in the $1000 – $3000 range. Name brands (with a long history) include Yamaha, Casio, Roland, Kawai, and Technics.
Digital piano benefits include:

  • Multiple instrument voices, which can be used for composing and gigging. A split keyboard lets the pianist play one voice with one hand, and a different voice with the other.
  • Rhythm tracks and built in metronomes.
  • Transposing buttons for use in gigging situations.
  • Maintenance-free operation (mostly). Digital pianos don’t need to be tuned, and are not subject to the tone and wood damage problems that affect acoustic pianos suffering from changes in humidity and temperature. However, when something does go wrong, it can be hard to find someone to fix an electronic piano.
  • Upgradable with new software.
  • Attractive and easy; can be good choices for young children’s piano practice, because kids are likely to be intrigued by the multiple sounds and possibilities.
  • Ear phones allow pianists to practice any time, anywhere there is an electrical outlet.
  • Recording capability for practicing one hand against the other, or checking a performance.
  • Computer compatibility for composing and learning software.
  • Better overall piano sound, feel, and reliability at $1000 to $3000 price-point.
  • Likely to depreciate more quickly than a well-maintained acoustic piano.

The choice between an acoustic piano and a digital piano will be affected by budget, the kind of music, and gigging and traveling requirements. Many keyboard players and pianists ultimately end up with both a traditional piano and a digital keyboard. Or two.

For Parents, Piano Lessons for Children, Practice and Skills

Learning an Instrument: The Importance of a Practice Routine

Learning a musical instrument is unlike almost any other endeavor a young child attempts. Virtually no other activity requires the same kind of weekly private instruction, the intense individual effort that must continue over a period of several years, and, most of all, the daily practice that is so essential to learning to play piano, guitar, violin, or any other instrument.

Quite simply, music education requires practice. And not just sitting down at the instrument for five minutes. Playing a few notes and declaring yourself done doesn’t do it.

Importance of Practice Routine in Learning to Play an Instrument

While music teachers may differ on the specifics depending on the student, the age, the level, the instrument, and the teaching philosophy, teachers almost universally agree that practice should be part of a regular, preferably daily routine. Last-minute cramming works about as well in music education as it does with any other subject, which is to say, not at all. It is better to practice in routine small chunks than in sporadic, intense, long outbursts. The brain simply processes musical information better that way.

In a day and age when every family seems busier than the family next door, finding time to practice in between soccer, homework, and play dates is admittedly difficult. It’s even more difficult if parents don’t have their own personal experience with, or are ambivalent about, music education and the sustained daily effort it requires.

To be effective, practice has to be viewed as a primary activity, like doing homework, eating lunch, or going to school. Parents need to understand that daily practice is not an easy habit. (And any parent who thinks practice is, or should be, easy, should take a hard look at his or her own exercise habits. Practicing every day is just as difficult as keeping New Year’s resolutions to go to the gym).

Children need to be reminded and encouraged to practice their instruments, just as they need to be reminded to brush their teeth or do their homework. One effective solution that works for some families (but certainly not for everyone) is for the child to practice in the morning before school. Just as with exercise, this gets the job done and out of the way. If there is time for more practice later in the day, great. If not, at least the minimum practice requirements have been met.

 

How Much Practice Should a Music Student Do?

The amount of practice required to progress depends on three things: the level and age of the student, the student’s ambitions, and the instrument.

The level and age of the student are the first issues. Often teachers will suggest a time of 15 to 20 minutes of daily practice for very young beginners, 30 minutes for school-age elementary students, 45 minutes for middle-school intermediates, and an hour or more for advancing students.

The student’s ambition is another factor. Is the student planning to major in music? Where? If a student’s ambitions soar toward institutions such as Juilliard, then several hours of daily practice will be required at the high-school level simply to prepare music for the audition. If the student is thinking about majoring in music education at “Typical University,” competence is required, but not virtuosity; the practice required to get in will be commensurately less. Teachers should ensure that any stated goals are in line with actual practice time. Students often have no idea of how high the bar is for professional performance or advanced study. Watching a few YouTube videos of talented students of similar ages to your students may be a hard dose of reality, but it’s important for an ambitious student to know that the competition is not lazy Larry down the street; it’s a focused student who is playing concert music at age 11.

Finally, each instrument is different. For example, piano practice times tend to be longer than practice times for other instruments, in part because the repertoire and demands of the instrument are so vast. Also, it is physically possible for pianists to play for longer than it is for trumpet players (whose embouchures cannot survive a six-hour practice session) or vocalists (who can damage their voices). Still, any instrument can be over-practiced to the point of injury. Regardless of the instrument, at the first sign of muscle strain, tremors, aches, or stabbing pain, talk to a teacher.

In addition to time and routine, two other elements contribute to successful practice: A comfortable practice space that encourages practice and a mindful approach to practice that effectively and reliably solves technical and musical problems.

Legal

The Creative Commons Debate

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This post is a response to a comment made on my last post, in which I requested that readers respect my Copyright. The commenter responded with a discussion about Creative Commons, and how it is the wave of the future for writers and creatives to share their work freely. I want to be clear that I fully support Creative Commons as an idea that may be appropriate and useful for some people. However, the commenter called those of us who protect our traditional, copyright-based intellectual property old-fashioned, locked down, on the losing side of history, and implied  that we were somehow selfish for not making our decades of work and training available for free to the entire world. The commenter thinks royalty-free shared content is the wave of the future. I’m thinking — not so fast, buckaroo.

Dear Commenter: Yes, the writing and publishing worlds are changing drastically, but I’ll wait a while yet before I start to worry about my writing income drying up. The death of publishing has been announced every year since I started in this biz more than three decades ago. The old nag still has some miles in her.

Of course, things are changing. I’m seeing huge new opportunities for creatives to take control of their work. I’m definitely seeing a more challenging financial environment, especially for newcomers. I’m seeing lots of free (and royalty-free) content. What I am NOT seeing is a high volume (exceptions exist) of marketable, high-quality, royalty-free content. And of course, some of what looks free isn’t: Just because a writer isn’t being paid by someone to write doesn’t mean there is no economic value to the endeavor.

For example, writers might be supported by grants, advertising, commercial interests, affiliate product sales, etc., or might be looking to build a public relations platform, develop a loss leader to drum up business, or build an academic reputation. It’s easy for those folks to give their stuff away. Indeed, professors have always “given” their writing away (to academic journals and the like). Their money comes from elsewhere; “giving away” their academic journal articles helps them get that money.

And MUCH of what is truly free is free because there isn’t much value in it, commercial or otherwise. (Of course, there are exceptions; there always are.) No one seems to want to pay for your newest creation, but you want to get it out there? Put it up for free. Throw it at the wall. See what sticks.

Lots of people sit on the sidelines and boo and hiss at those who “sell out” but I have this nagging little feeling that those boos and hisses are as much about jealousy and frustration as they are the result of some high minded idealism. Here’s a little test: Try waving a nice book publishing or recording contract check in front those folks and see how quickly how many of them jump ship! All that rhetoric about being on the right side of history and the moral benefits of Creative Commons, and sharing and creative community — it all goes out the window with a big enough check.

It’s a lot like what we see with self-publishing and the writers — usually those who haven’t yet found a traditional publisher — who extol its virtues. They put an e-book out, maybe distribute it for a low cost or for free; maybe one in a hundred has some modest success. Now let’s say a traditional publisher takes notice: I mean, really, how many creative types would say, “Well, no thank you, Random House, I really don’t want that six-figure advance; I’ll just stay with the self-publishing thing/Creative Commons deal and give my work away for the good of humanity if you don’t mind.”? Yes, there may be some outliers — idealists, rebels, free-thinkers, visionaries — who would turn up their noses at a nice sized publishing deal but as a rule? I’m thinking they’re signing those contracts as fast as they can find a traditional, moribund, lost-in-the-tides-of-history, low-tech pen.

I’m as excited about self-publishing and independent music production as the next guy, because it will work for my projects that DON’T work for traditional publishers. But am I giving up on traditional publishers? Hell, no!

I still BUY books and music because much of the good stuff I want isn’t free. Also, I believe in supporting the artists who create good work. So I put my money where my mouth is, so to speak: I buy CDs (yes, CDs — I’m THAT old fashioned) by local musicians (sometimes I buy even if I am not that wild about those musicians), and I buy books by local writers and art by local photographers.

Don’t get me wrong: I think there’s a lot of value in Creative Commons. I don’t doubt that a few people who are giving away work for free are giving away work of real value. Many fine younger artists are taking this path to get the word out, and the cross pollination and energy of an exchange of ideas creates an incredible synergy. But let’s be realistic: Do we really think that these people don’t want to be paid for their work? Giving it away is often simply a matter of creating a long-term marketing and career development plan.

It is, however, getting more difficult to break into the arena of the creative fields where people pay you upfront for your work. The barriers to entry are as high as I’ve ever seen them. In a sense, that’s where the free stuff comes in: People put their stuff out on creative commons or on free sites or for low prices and just try to get noticed. Then they move up to monetizing. OR they become hobbyists. OR find another way to support themselves. OR marry rich. Those are the choices.

The financial models, technology, and distribution channels are changing, yes. The financial situation, in particular, is challenging: Monetizing the Internet is a difficult endeavor, and traditional outlets are hemorrhaging money, advertisers, and readers. But traditional copyright-protected, royalty based work isn’t going anywhere: The last music book contract I looked at (that was last week) had a clause about “all rights in all technologies now or yet to be invented in the universe or any universes yet to be discovered” — or something pretty close to that, and I am not exaggerating. They are grabbing those rights because intellectual property still has VALUE. 

The good stuff floats to the top, which is where the money is. There is still demand for good creative work that people will pay for — just like they pay for TV, even though there is “free TV.” (I think — I don’t actually have TV reception in my house, so I don’t know — there still IS free TV, right?)

People — at least SOME people — still want quality. And there lies the hope for those who want to monetize creative careers. I take issue with the contention that crowd-sourced material is as good as anything out there that people have to pay for. I won’t argue about the perception of the value of anyone’s work in particular — as I have said, there are always exceptions. I WILL say that much crowd-sourced royalty-free material is crap, and even when there are golden nuggets in it, it is difficult to wade through because of the noise to signal ratio. I can tell a self-published book at sight. I barely even have to open it to know it hasn’t been properly developed, designed, edited, and proofread. Same with many self-produced, self-recorded, self-mastered, self-engineered CDs. (Of course, a lot of stuff you pay for is crap, too; worse, a lot of people today can’t tell and don’t care.)

So intellectual gatekeeping is also in a process of change: How that shakes out in the future will also determine what is available for free — and who pays for what.

I don’t object to the Creative Commons concept at all: I can see where it can make sense and where it can produce some good stuff. It addresses some HUGE flaws in our current Copyright system. It can give beginners some experience getting their work out and talked about; it can share ideas from thought leaders who are monetized in other ways (universities, think tanks, etc.) It may indeed be (and I hope it is) a wave of the future — but I do not think it will be the only wave.

What it is is a CHOICE. Both Creative Commons licenses and traditional copyrights have a role to play in the new digital intellectual marketplace. One is not ethically superior. One is not moribund and dying. One is not lame-brained and naive. One is not hard-hearted and selfish. It is the creator’s choice to use one or the other, or both. And that is the most important thing of all.

Legal

Please Respect This Blog’s Copyright!

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Dear Piano Teachers:

I’m overwhelmed at the global response to my post, “The Truth About Piano Lessons.”

It seems that we are ALL going through the same thing: From Egypt to Estonia, Sri Lanka to Sweden, Cuba to China, the story has been read and passed around the world.

Unfortunately, it has also been reprinted (sometimes with alterations that I never even saw!) without my permission.

This puts me in a difficult predicament:

I WANT the article to be read and to help as many teachers and student families as possible.

But I make my living as a writer and a musician. I am the copyright owner of this blog, and I have not given permission for people to reprint the post on their blogs. This is not a matter of plagiarizing: Almost everyone has given me credit. But even if you give me credit, you do not have permission to reprint the article on line.

Reprinting MY post on YOUR blog hurts my business, because readers doing a search about piano lessons may find my post on your blog instead of on mine. Google pays me based on page views and advertising revenues on my blog, and it can and does penalize writers whose works are found in multiple places on the Internet. I also want people who view that post to be able to read the other articles on my site.

As much as I appreciate your valuing my work, I therefore have to ask that you respect my copyright.

There is an easy solution: You are welcome to reprint the first 50 words, and send readers to my blog via a link, to read the rest of the article. You may also print hard copies for your personal students, as long as my name and the address of the blog are clearly visible.

Thank you for your understanding,

Karen

Songs and Pieces

Songs for A Hurricane

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What do a bunch of musicians do during a hurricane? Put playlists up on Facebook: Here’s a compilation of songs suitable for a storm.
A Mighty Wind (from the eponymous Christopher Guest movie)
Against the Wind
Blowin’ in the Wind
Blown’ (BTO),
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
Coloured Rain
Come On Irene
Conversations of the Wind and Sea (from Debussy’s La Mer).
Dust in the Wind.
Everyone Knows it’s Windy
Feels like Rain
Fire and Rain
Fool in the Rain
Four String Winds
Get Off of My Cloud
Goodnight Irene
Have You Ever Seen the Rain
How High’s The Water, Mama
I Can See Clearly Now
I Can’t Stand the Rain.
I Wish it Would Rain
I’m Only Happy When it Rains
It Never Rains in California (It Pours)
Kentucky Rain
Let the Thunder Roar
Lightning in the Sky
Like a Hurricane
Listen to the Patter of the Falling Rain
November Rain
Purple Rain
Rain – Beatles
Rain – Peter Gabriel
Rain King
Rain Song – Zeppelin
Raindrop Prelude (Chopin)
Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head
Rainmaker
Rainy Day Women 12 & 35.
Rainy days and Monday’s
Riders on the Storm
Rock you like a Hurricane
Shelter from the Storm.
Singing in the Rain
So. Central Rain
Stormy
Stormy Monday
The Wind Cries Mary
They call the Wind Mariah
‎Who’ll Stop the Rain
Wicked Rain
Windy
Performing

The 12th Annual Riverside Jam

Riverside Jam 2011 is now in the rear-view mirror, and I thought it would be fun to share some of the highlights of this years event, if only because it really does embody the spirit of sharing music.

A brief bit of background: RSJ started just over a decade ago when a bunch of college friends reconvened at an old band-mate’s wedding. Some genius in the group figured out that they didn’t have to wait decades — or till someone else got married — to play together again, and they organized another get-together, which became an annual event. Over the next few years, long-lost bandmates and college friends found their way “home” to the newly reunited group, and new friends and students joined in.

Every year, someone different hosts: So far, we’ve been in Connecticut, New Jersey (twice), Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois (three times), Indiana, and Massachusetts (twice). My partner, David, has been involved in hosting four of the jams; I’ve co-hosted two here in the Berkshires, and  David is just about always the music director. Each event has its own venues, its own highlights, the occasional drama, hundreds of songs, and a lot of laughs. We’ve played at public parks, bars, schools, coffee houses, community centers, a blues joint, and this year — an alpaca farm (Think “Woolstock” complete with a little rain and mud.)  And our repertoire has gone from Elvis to Elvis, from jazz standards to three chord rock to progressive to R&B to metal and punk and every combination thereof.   

Here are some highlights of RSJ 2011, which involved about 25 musicians. Thanks again to Jeff and Helena for hosting and to Lily and John for the use of their alpaca farm! And thanks to John Reichert for the pictures.

 

Our rehearsal set-up.

RSJ is a chance to get to know new musicians. Greg’s musical partner Suzannah was new to the group this year, AND it was her first time playing with a full band, but she did a great job, especially on Pink Martini’s “Hey Eugene.” 

 

We didn’t have a huge audience, so we appreciated everyone who was listening. These guys were among the most attentive.

Rock and roll and go-carts… what more could a kid want? 

The young’uns joined in, too. Eric Brownstein did some great solos, and the guys contributed back-up animal sounds for “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” 

Michelle on cello, me on piano: Two classically trained gals, but you wouldn’t believe the soundtrack: We’re attempting to play along with Derek, Paul, and Ruben (the Space Jammers) (and Greg, too) on a heavy metal/progressive/rock original. 

Viewing the set-up from behind the stage. Jeff, Dan, Kyle, and Greg were the sound dudes who had to figure out how to connect all this stuff together and make it sound good. 

The treehouse: This was my vote for where to put the keyboard, but I was over-ruled. 

How many engineers does it take to put up a tarp? The rain wasn’t going to stop us, except for the hour or so it took to get everything protected and re-wired.

I always tell my students to get used to lousy pianos because you never know what you’ll have to play. This was at the impromptu jam in the hotel lobby — and this is what I had on hand.  We started with variations on the chords to Pachebel’s Canon, transposed to C because, man, those black notes are hard on an iPad!

Jamming in the hotel. What you DON’T see is a group of wedding guests, who came down to play cards and stayed to sing along. They ended THEIR part of the evening by walking out to the elevator singing the Sound of Music’s “Farewell, Goodbye, Auf Wiedersehn, Goodnight.” 

A little rain didn’t stop Woodstock, and it didn’t stop Woolstock, either.

Books

New Book: The Art of Songwriting

I’m going to use this post to let you know about David’s new book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Art of Songwriting, coauthored with Casey Kelly. It just came out yesterday.

David Hodge and I live and work together and we both spend our days pretty much the same way: Writing books and on-line articles, teaching music, and doing the occasional live or studio gig. I teach piano; David teaches guitar and songwriting — plus bass, banjo, mandolin, ukelele, and a little piano. We sort of fell into writing books for the Complete Idiot’s Guide series, which despite its name, offers some pretty meaty content (written, of course, in a down-to-earth-easy to understand way).

David’s the author of Complete Idiot’s Guides to Bass, Rock Guitar and Guitar, and he’s going to be starting a book on playing ukelele. I’ve written titles on piano chords (a little, easy little “pocket guide” to using lead sheets and fake books), as well as teaching music and piano exercises.You can read more about these books at our music books page

 So… Songwriting. On this book, David collaborated with songwriter Casey Kelly, a Nashville-based Grammy-nominated songwriter who has written chart-topping hits performed by Tanya Tucker, Kenny Rogers, and George Strait, among others. The book covers music and lyrics, collaborating, business aspects of selling your songs, and gives plenty ideas on how to get going. The book benefits from the combination of David’s long experience teaching and writing about songwriting and music theory and Casey’s top-tier music industry and working-songwriter chops.


Music Musings

Beethoven, Viral Marketing, and Fur Elise

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Viral marketing is supposedly the new kid on the marketing block, what with social networking and computers and Blackberries and Tweets. Only, it turns out that there’s nothing new about viral marketing.

To the contrary, consider Ludwig van Beethoven and a simple piece of classical music.

When a Song Goes Viral

For two hundred years, students have been coming into piano teachers’ studios begging to play it. They may live in homes without a single recording of classical music. They may think Beethoven is the name of a big cartoon dog. They may barely be able to play three correct notes in a row. They might not  know the name of the song they want to play. Neither do their parents. They can’t remember where they heard it. They don’t even like to practice piano, but they will, they promise — if they get to play this one song.

Dee-dle-Dee-dle-Dee-di-di-di-daaaahhh.

These nine notes pass from one student to another like a bad knock-knock joke. What is it about Fur Elise? Certainly, piano teachers don’t know the answer. There are other pieces kids love, but many of them are short and easy, like Heart and Soul or Chopsticks. Fur Elise is hard. It takes weeks to learn (sometimes months, if a student prematurely attempts the unabridged version).

“You can’t play it yet,” the teacher says. “It’s too hard.”

Usually, students recoil from the words “it’s hard” like a vampire recoils from daylight. Not this time.

“Pleeeeaze,” the student pleads. “I’ll practice every day. I promise.”

Be honest, wouldn’t every company like its products to be received with such desperate enthusiasm? And consider this: This is happening 200 years after the product was created.

Ten Things Beethoven Must Have Known About Selling His Songs

So what is it about this piece of music, or anything, really, that makes it so immediately appealing, so catchy, so viral? What did Beethoven know?

  1. It’s all about the hook. Keep it short. Keep it simple. Keep it strong. Make it memorable. Nine notes, and everyone recognizes it.
  2. Don’t be afraid of saying things twice. The main motif in Fur Elise comes back at least a dozen times. Put the message out there, then say it again.
  3. Get the kids hooked. Let a producer of kid TV shows do a biographical film about the composer. Use it in the soundtrack, get it in the schools. If the kids love it, maybe they’ll love something else later on. The Moonlight Sonata, perhaps. Maybe they’ll shell out for the Symphony. Or want to learn to play the Hammerklavier.
  4. Don’t be afraid of new media, and don’t be stuffy. Sell the rights to a Peanuts cartoon. Let the theme go on a cell phone ringer program. If the audience hears it in a commercial, they’ll recognize it in a concert. Maybe they’ll check out what else this guy wrote.
  5. Bury the complicated stuff. Make the opening ring, draw them in. Then hit them with more. Not everyone will buy into the more complex ideas, but some will.
  6. Use a ringer. That most successful and talented student who is up to every challenge and can’t wait to play for a group of people? Teach it to her.
  7. Don’t underestimate word-of-mouth. Not even piano teachers can name a prominent artist who has recorded Fur Elise — except for Lang Lang. It’s never played in “real” piano concerts. The big boys ignore it, but it’s all over Youtube and piano recitals.
  8. Have a mysterious love story in there somewhere. Who was this Elise anyway? After 200 years, scholars only think they know. Keep them guessing.
  9. Being temperamental, tragic, and having a dodgy personal life help sell stuff. They always did.
  10. Don’t ride on the laurels: Keep creating good work. The audience will come back for more.

Case studies are used in business schools to learn from other people’s failures and successes. Beethoven is not usually cited as a mastermind of the business world. But perhaps he should be.

For Parents, Piano Lessons for Children

The Truth About Piano Lessons

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A piano teacher looks at what it takes to succeed in music, how parents can help, and why they should care.

To piano teachers: This post is copyrighted. Please do not reprint the whole thing on your blog. Feel free to reprint the first paragraph and then link to it here. You also have permission to print it and hand it out, as long as my name and the blog address are visible. Thank you for respecting my copyright.

Dear Piano Parents:

If it seems like you’re always battling to schedule your kids’ activities, you’re not alone: The soccer coach wants to know if you’re doing traveling team, the Little League coach is scheduling practices, the dance teacher is putting her classes together. And you’re wondering about piano lessons for little Johnny or Suzie.

You want to know how much Johnny will be expected to practice. You want to know if Suzie can just “try it out” and see if it’s “fun.” You need to know what kind of instrument I expect you to have. You want to know if you can come whenever it’s convenient, and whether I’ll be flexible regarding hockey games, ski Fridays, school dances, ice-skating parties, holidays, and play dates. You want to know if I’m “reasonable” by which I think you mean: Can I change my schedule to suit yours, and am I a stickler for daily practice because Suzie has so much else on her plate and  “things are crazy around here.”

It doesn’t usually occur to you to ask what you can do as a parent to help your child with music lessons, but that’s something you’re going to have to know, too.

I’m in a difficult position as a piano teacher because I’m afraid of telling you the whole truth. I’m afraid because the unvarnished truth may not what you are probably going to want to hear. And when people don’t like what they hear, they tend to bail out. You may go to another teacher (which is fine: Everyone deserves a compatible teacher). But I’m afraid you may bail on music lessons all together.

Because the truth about learning to play the piano scares people. That’s the last thing I want to do.

Benefits of Music Education

We all know the benefits of music education: the improved test scores, the correlation with less drug and alcohol abuse, the benefits of learning to be part of an ensemble and stick with a challenge. Music is one of the most powerful expressive forms we have in our lives. How powerful? Playing music (not just listening to it) is used to treat neurological problems, to heal people who have had strokes, to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Musician’s brains — as measured by MRIs — actually work differently than the brains of non-musicians. We (musicians) develop pathways that you (non-musicians) don’t, which help us make other connections. The ability to play an instrument, particularly a complex instrument like piano, has been linked to less dementia in old age, better cognitive skills, and faster healing from traumatic brain injuries. (Source)

Not to mention the sheer joy of it. How many adults do you know who say “I wish my mother hadn’t let me quit.” You may be one of them.

So if I scare you (and your child) away, I’m doing you a disservice on many levels.

Learning Piano and Modern Parenting Trends: Not an Easy Fit

The problem is that learning to play piano isn’t easy, and what it requires flies in the face of current parenting trends. You know the trends I’m talking about: The ones that have you driving  500 miles a week to ball games, play dates and the like. I had a student once who showed up for piano wearing his karate uniform, after eating dinner in a moving car. After piano lessons, he was headed for night skiing. No wonder this little 6 year old vomited at the piano. I felt nauseated just listening to his schedule.

Look, the truth is that your kid can’t be a black belt in karate and a ski racer and a soccer player and a pianist and an “A” student and a dancer and in the school play. Kids want to try everything, parents panic if they think they are missing the next new thing. You can go broad or you can go deep; that’s your choice. But you need to know that learning to play piano takes place in the deep end of the ocean.

The Process (and Practice) of Learning to Play Piano

Playing piano also takes a kind of concentration children are rarely exposed to anymore. If you’re one of those parents who wants to protect your child from frustration, you have got to come to terms with the demands of what I call “the big black beast.” Learning to play the piano is all about overcoming frustration. It’s about thinking through problems, breaking them down, solving them one step at a time, figuring things out, finding creative new ways to approach a challenge, putting the pieces back together and trying again and again and again. Piano lessons are life lessons. There’s a reason music students score higher in math. But music isn’t easy.

You’re not going to want to hear the truth because it takes a lot more effort to get your kid to practice than it does to get her to brush her teeth, and YOU are going to have to put that effort in every day for the next four years before she even has a chance of playing “Fur Elise” or “The Entertainer.” Even the most enthusiastic student is not going to want to practice every day (and yes, every day is recommended). Or practice enough. Or practice correctly. If you’re the kind of parent who calls your kid “buddy” and “pal” and “girlfriend” and thinks that regular practice is some kind of punishment that is enforced by the “bad guy” parent, you could be in for a rough road as far as piano is concerned.

You may think that Suzie has talent and will follow in the footsteps of Uncle George, who just sat down at the piano one day and started playing jazz standards. But I can guarantee that’s not how it happened for Uncle George, and it’s not going to happen that way for Suzie, either. Family myth notwithstanding, Uncle George had solitary time with the instrument, whether formally instructed or not, whether playing by ear or by notes. He wrestled with the big black beast — same as your child is going to have to do.

You want to know if Suzie can just “try it out” and the answer is sure: It’s your money, and I can’t stop you from taking a few lessons and quitting. But I can promise that if you’re not committed going in, you’re not going to stick around. Suzie might enjoy her lessons, but at home, she’s going to have to put her thinking cap on and wrestle with note reading and trying to remember where Middle C is and how to count and which finger is number 1 and which finger is number 2.  Sure, some kids find this early part fun, and if they do, you’re in luck. But I’ll be honest: Many don’t.

What You Can Do To Help A Child Learn Music

And do you have idea how long a half an hour’s practice time is for a 7 year old? It’s like dog years — an eternity. You may have to help, and ideally, this means paying attention during a young child’s lesson, taking notes, listening to how I tell them to practice and then making sure that they do it. It may even mean learning to read a few notes yourself (Yes, you can, and yes I will teach you, but you may have to work at it. Not every adult gets it on the first try. You need to be willing to brush off YOUR thinking cap, too). You don’t have to learn to actually play the piano, but I do expect you do be able to read a book aimed at a second-grader and figure out enough music reading so you can help them between lessons.

And then there’s the whole buying a piano thing. Teachers do differ, so you’ll need to listen carefully to their reasoning. But the more pleasurable an instrument is to play, the more a child will want to play it. They DO hear and feel the difference, and it does affect their learning, technique, and musical sensitivity.

Good News About Music Lessons

It sounds daunting, doesn’t it? Why not just cross it off the list and move on to soccer? Because a) You don’t want your adult child joining the chorus of people blaming their parents for letting them quit music and b) Because it’s good for them in so many ways: creativity, self-expression, working with others, mental health, good work habits, problem solving, cognitive development, neurological health, and the simple appreciation of art and beauty. (I’ll be writing more articles on the benefits of music education and links to studies showing these benefits in the upcoming weeks, so check back here.)

And let me give you some (more) good news.

Just about any kid can learn to play the piano. Some may take to it more easily than others; some may race ahead; some may lag behind. Some may read quickly, others may be aurally gifted, or able to move their fingers quickly and naturally. But it really does boil down to practice. Don’t give your kid the easy out of saying “Well of course Annie is playing better than you; she’s very talented.” In the long run, talent helps, but it’s not about talent: It’s about DOING IT And yes, there have been studies on this, too.

I’m not asking for miracles here: Most kids who practice in a focused way for 1/2 an hour most days of the week will learn to play well enough to enjoy participating in music in a meaningful way. It may, however, take 4 to 8 years, depending on goals, talent, and practice habits, before a student turns into a musician. When it happens, it’s like watching the tulips bloom in spring.

The bottom line: by giving your child music lessons, you are giving them a lifelong gift.

Music IS joyful, it isn’t always fun. Learn to know the difference — then teach your children well.