Almost every parent that contacts me says that they want piano lessons to be fun. Should piano lessons be fun? The unequivocal answer to that is YES! However, how we can accomplish that is dependent on the student and the teacher.
As a teacher with a degree in piano and with over 10 years of experience, I know lots of ways to make piano lessons fun. Obviously the first way is with literature that the student looks forward to playing. This doesn’t mean though that occasionally the student doesn’t have to play something they aren’t thrilled with from the get go. Usually even those pieces that the student is iffy about in the beginning end up being great fun after learning the first few pages.
With little kids, I like to get up and use movement in lessons. Marching, singing and dancing are great ways to break up a 30 min. lesson and let those wiggles out. Did you know the Hokey-Pokey is an effective teaching tool? Color is important for all levels as it brings information to our attention.
I can do everything and stand on my head if necessary to try to make piano lessons fun. However, there is a contingency.
The student has to want to learn and to be prepared. A large part of having fun in piano lessons is getting to learn new music. This hinges on the student practicing and be prepared for lessons. That doesn’t mean that it might not take repetition of pieces, but that they should be showing marked improvement week by week.
I like to think that it is a 50/50 split on who is responsible for fun piano lessons. If the student keeps practicing and the teacher strives to incorporate new and creative information then the lessons should be a success.