A New Start
• INTRODUCTION
Plan for a 30 – 35 minute lesson allowing extra time as new students can feel overwhelmed and intimidated. It’s also nice for new students to meet existing students as it helps create a sense of community when students face exams together. Familiar faces are wonderful in stressful situations.
When your student and parent(s) arrive, ensure that your area is clean and prepared. Greet them with a friendly smile and be natural. Remember: this is not a stage performance. You will need to work with both the parent and the student to be an effective teacher.
Have a chat and get to know a little bit about your new students.
I like to ask questions like:
- Do they have a piano?
- Have they played before?
- Are they interested in exams?
After this, I lead into more personal questions like the student’s date of birth (necessary for exam enrolments). I also ask the parent what name they’d like me to put on the receipts.
After the introduction, I break the lesson into 4 sections:
• PRACTICAL
If this is a completely new music student, introduce the piano.
Ensure the student feels comfortable at the piano by showing them correct posture. Have them sit in front of Middle C, in the middle of the piano stool with their back straight, shoulders down, forearms parallel to the floor and hands curved.
When you’re used to doing all these things on your own, it’s a bit tricky to be suddenly aware of them and try to teach them.
Introduce Middle C and the clefs. Have them find all the C’s on the piano.
• WRITTEN
Get students to practice drawing treble and bass clefs for homework. I say 10 of each in all different colours.
• AURAL WORK
Play something (also helps to show parents that you know how to play) and ask students to clap the beat back. Ask them to differentiate between low and high pitches, identifying treble and bass.
• CONCLUSION
I ask parents to get three books
– Blank notebook
– John Thompson Easiest Piano Course Book 1
– My First Theory Book by Lina Ng
And that’s it!
Time flies in that half an hour and you’ve already laid groundwork for
the next lesson. This involves checking homework, and starting the primer and theory books.
If you have a new student who is under the age of 10, check out our Young Beginner Pack. This pack contains everything you need to introduce a young student to musical concepts such as rhythm and notation. Focus on one page a week or combine to suit your own teaching methods!
Streamline Your Teaching
Whether you are a new teacher or an experienced one having these resources may save you some time, allowing you to focus on your students.
All of resources have been re-formatted and updated but you are more than welcome to personalise them to suit your needs.
Resources for Administration
- Students List
- Teaching Timetable
- Notice of Theory Exam
- Notice of Practical Exam
- End of Year Notice
Resources for Teaching
Download from the list below or grab the whole lot:
- Objectives A summary of the different levels of piano exams.
- Music Diary Track your practice times, record when homework and write down any questions that arise during the week.
- Key Signature Chart This chart teaches students how to identify and work out key signatures.
- Basic General Knowledge General knowledge questionnaire for Preliminary to Grade 4.
- Advanced General Knowledge Comprehensive and easy to study from, this is designed to cover all areas of general knowledge.
- Diploma Level General Knowledge This is the most comprehensive study guide for students undertaking Diploma level practical exams.
- Dominant & Diminished 7ths This worksheet explains how to work out the keys needed for dominant and diminished sevenths.
- Summary of Time Periods These summarise all the important information and still leave plenty of room to make your own notes.
Download from the list below or grab the whole lot:
