Starting out? Here's some tips.

Over the past week, two of my friends have mentioned to me that they are starting to teach piano or will be soon. So I thought I would post especially for them. I remember my first lesson, I was confident until I actually sat down and thought about what I would teach them during the first lesson in a couple days. Man, I was blank. Where do I start? There is so much! Do I start teaching how to read notes right away? What exercises would be best? And heck, what piano books do I even have them start with?

I was completely lost and that's when I had the brilliant idea to call my sister-in-law Cathy, who was an old pro at teaching. She asked me if I was starting with true beginning students. I was. She then told me four simple things to do during the first lesson.

First, start by asking them about the physicality of the piano. Questions like, "How many colors are on the piano? Do you notice any patterns? Where are the high notes and low notes? How many notes are on the piano?" That last question will always trip them up, they will start guessing how many KEYS are on the piano not NOTES (there are 84 keys on the piano and 7 notes).

That last question will lead you into the second thing you want to introduce them to which is the SEVEN notes on the piano. Show them where middle C is and talk to them about the pattern of the notes and how they just keep repeating and repeating over and over. Then assign them to find (pick three notes) all the A, F, and D's on the keyboard every time they practice. Then the next week ask them to find the remaining four notes.

The third thing you want to talk to them about is the 5 finger pattern. Teach them that thumbs are always "1" and pinky's are always "5". Show them how to play a 5 finger scale with the right hand only and ask them to repeat it. You will be surprise at how many kids have a hard time playing a simple 5 finger scale and that's because their fingers aren't strong enough yet. Have them practice the 5 finger scale with each hand seperately throughout the week. (Obviously, talk to them about playing with curved fingers and playing smoothly etc.)

The last thing you want to do is assign them their very first song. Play it up. All my kids were SO excited they were going to learn a song already. I have them play just the right hand of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and I right out the 5 finger pattern for the song. (3-2-1-2-3-3-3-2-2-2-3-4-4-3-2-1-2-3-3-3-2-2-3-2-1).

You'll be surprised how much time all of that takes to explain. If you can't get through it all with one kid, don't worry about it just break into two lessons and explain the rest the next week. You don't want to overwhelm them during the first lesson.

Also, I wanted to mention that I had my students bring a three ring binder with them and page separators. I make five sections in the binder...Practice calendar, lesson plans, theory, exercises, and extra. Helps keep me, the parents, and the kids organized.

The books that Cathy recommend I have them start with was the Primer book from the Faber series (search on Amazon and you will find) and the first grade John Thompson book (I played from that when I was little, it's a classic). I'm on the lookout for a good finger exercise/scales book for my students anyone know of any?

Hope this helps, good luck!