Cherry Hill Academy of Piano & Guitar
The Ultimate Lesson Manual For Parents!
by Guy Faux
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Where To Start?
I may not know your exact situation as to why you ordered this book, but I have a pretty good idea.
You either have one or more children who have expressed interest in music lessons and you’re not sure where to start, or you already have family members enrolled in lessons and you want them to have the best experience possible.
• There’s also another possibility. Someone in your family had music lessons in the past and either didn’t have a great experience, or for one reason or another, didn’t do as well as you had hoped or expected.
So with that said, let me give you a brief description of my first experience with private piano lessons — and I say, “my first experience”, because it didn’t last very long.
I was only 5-years-old and don’t really remember asking for lessons — but my mom played the piano, so that’s probably the reason why she signed me up.
I don’t remember a whole lot from the experience, but I do know that I didn’t last more than a few months. I do remember playing at a recital, but that’s about it.
I don’t recall it being fun — but I don’t believe it was a bad experience either — it just wasn’t all that memorable.
I say this to help you realize that your child's first experience with music lessons, like my own, may not last very long. Of course, you may be feeling a little discouraged as you read this because you’ve already been there and done that.
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The purpose of this book is to help every parent, (no matter where they are in the music lesson journey with their kids), to understand the ups and downs that are involved with learning how to play a musical instrument, without any sugar coating!
My second stint at piano lessons came about after watching “Sincerely Yours”, starring Liberace.
I’ll talk more about this truly inspirational movie a little later, but needless to say, I was extremely motivated to start piano lessons again, which I definitely remember asking for this time around.
Now I had a great start. In fact, you could say I exploded out of the gate. There was no stopping me.
I practiced at least 45 minutes every day right from the beginning and it was a while before my practice sessions started to taper off.
In any event, my mom didn’t have to work that hard to get me to practice those first few years. But like anything in life; all good things must come to an end…at least for a little while.
The Ups and Downs
“Hills and Valleys”!
That’s how my piano teacher described it to my mom.
Now my mom lived through World War 2, so “hills and valleys” was no big deal. Now if he had said mountaintops and canyons, that might have been a different story, but my teacher always knew how to soften the blow, especially with the little things.
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He never made mountains out of a mole hills.
When I went through periods where I didn’t want to practice, he never panicked or got bent out of shape.
He would calmly inform my mom that it was just a phase and would soon pass, and it always did.
I’d always get back on track — but I was, for the most part, a low-maintenance kid.
What do you do when your son or daughter isn’t so low- maintenance, and they’re not showing any signs of getting back on track any time soon?
Or maybe, they’ve been off track from the very beginning — or at least that’s the way it seems.
This issue of “not practicing” seems to be the biggest problem that parents face, so I’m going to cover this topic right from the start, and I’m going to cover it in detail. The Obstacles
The most logical question that the majority of parents ask me is this: Why can’t I get my son or daughter to practice?
My response is usually in the form of a series of questions. How much time does your son or daughter have to practice each day?
And the typical response to my question usually involves a run down of their child’s daily schedule, which is usually filled to capacity.
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“Well, Monday, Wednesday and Fridays she has gymnastics from 4 to 7 p.m. and then she comes home, eats dinner, does her homework and then gets ready for bed.”
I reply, “Well, how about the rest of the week?”
Well she only has karate and dance on Tuesdays, so she should be able to get some practice in then. ______
I usually don’t ask how long — I just inquire about the rest of the week.
“How about Thursdays?”, I ask.
“Well, that’s the day she has her piano lesson, so she counts her lesson time as a practice day.”
“Hmmm, — I see. (Long Pause)
“How about the weekends — does she get any practice then?”
(Another long pause)
“Well — not much! They are her days to unwind from the busy week.”
I wish I could say this isn’t typical, but unfortunately, most students have so many daily activities, I wonder how they find time to eat and sleep.
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I’m not saying that students who have a lot of time on their hands don’t have problems finding the motivation to practice, but at least they have something to work with — Time!
For all of the students who are involved in soccer, football, basketball, tennis, softball, field hockey, track and field, gymnastics, dance, karate, school clubs, girl scouts, boy scouts, and, well — you get the idea — the good news is, is that I have a solution for every student who has a busy schedule.
“Clear Your Schedule!”
That’s right!
Stop signing up for every sport, club and after-school activity under the sun — that is if you truly want to learn how to play a musical instrument.
The truth is, is that learning how to play the piano or guitar, or whatever musical instrument you’ve chosen, takes time, money and effort.
It takes self-discipline, hard work, the ability to manage your time, (assuming you have any left at the end of the day), and a ton of patience.
It also takes a great deal of energy, persistence and commitment.
Here’s my Top 10 List of traits students need to Excel in Music:
1. Time 2. Money 3. Effort 4. Self-Discipline 5. Hard Work
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6. Ability to manage time. 7. Patience 8. Energy 9. Persistence 10.Commitment
Students who push their practice times to the end of the day usually don’t have any energy left to get any real, meaningful practice time.
You may be wondering why I mentioned money.
Students typically aren’t the ones forking out the money to pay for private music lessons.
That’s the parent’s responsibility — but like it or not, money plays a very important role.
Yes, but what does money have to do with students not practicing?
Let me explain.
I’ve been involved in the music profession most of my life. First, as a student, and now, as a teacher and a music school director.
I’ve been playing the piano for 50 years and teaching for 25 years. Needless to say, I know what it takes to succeed.
• I’ve pretty much seen it all. I’ve seen students succeed and I’ve seen them fail — and I can handle both.
If a student succeeds, it’s because they knew how to incorporate the Top 10 List into their daily lives. If a student fails, then it’s because they didn’t. It really is that simple.
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The thing I have a hard time with, is the student who knows what it takes to succeed, but refuses, for whatever reason, to implement those things into their life.
Unfortunately, that’s the student I can’t help.
• It’s frustrating, but after 25 years of teaching, I’ve come to terms with the fact that some students will fail — not because they have no talent, but because they refuse to do the things necessary to succeed.
Of course, I’m didn’t write this book to try to convince anyone to adopt my Top 10 List.
I’m here to help those who want to excel and are willing to do whatever it takes to be the best that they can be.
Now — if you’re still reading, lets cover my Top 10 List in detail. Time
This is the one thing there never seems to be enough of — and it’s the biggest excuse that many students use to explain why they didn’t practice all week.
Believe it or not, I’ve had 5, 6, and 7-year-olds who have used this excuse.
I’m not sure what kids that young are doing with their time, but I’m not too demanding on my beginner students.
All I ask is 5 to 10 minutes a day to be set aside for piano practice.
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Of course, the real issue isn’t with the students — it’s with the parents.
• After all, what 5-year-old kid has the discipline to practice every day?
I don’t know too many kids that age who even know what discipline is. Young kids just starting out at the piano will need help from their parents.
Doing so will take time. So, when I listed “Time” on my Top 10 list, I wasn’t referring to the student’s time — I was referring to mom and dad’s time.
Some of my best students have their mom or dad sit in on their weekly piano lesson.
I realize that parents are not always available during lesson time — but if you are, then there’s no better investment of your time, than to sit in on the weekly lesson and the daily practice sessions of your son and daughter.
The Benefits of Parental Involvement
My mom took piano lessons. Every week I’d have my lesson, then she would have hers.
As I was finishing my lesson, she’d come into the room, ask the teacher how I did, inquire about what I had to practice for the week, then have her own piano lesson.
• Now she didn’t need to know every little detail, but just by her asking I knew that my mom cared about what I was doing.
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Kids may not know how to express it, but when parents are involved in what they’re doing in a meaningful and noticeable way, they respond in some very remarkable ways.
For example, one of the piano students here at the Cherry Hill Academy of Piano & Guitar has been taking lessons for close to 7 years as of this writing.
• This student’s mom has been sitting in on her piano lessons every week for the entire 7 years, and the results of this student’s playing are dramatically superior than other students where no parent sits in on the weekly lesson.
I’ve only had a handful of piano students over the years who regularly have a parent sit in on their weekly lesson — (usually the mom) — but in every case, the student’s recital performances are beyond exceptional.
• It’s hard to put into words, but when mom or dad sit in on weekly lessons on a regular basis, dramatic results always follow!
What does this mean?
Out of all the practice habits and character traits that I’ll be discussing in this book, parental involvement is the glue that bonds them all together.
1. It takes parental involvement to help your kids manage their time.
2. It takes parental involvement to teach your kids how to put effort into the things they want to accomplish in life.
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3. It takes parental involvement to instill discipline into your son or daughter.
4. It takes parental involvement to show your kids what hard work is and what hard work will do for them in every area of their lives.
I could go on and on, but if you’ve read this far, it’s clear to me that you are the type of person who understands the role that parental involvement plays in the life of a child.
My mom’s active and constant participation in my music education was the key to my success! She instilled in me all of the character traits that I needed to not just do well — but to excel at piano! Money
Yes, I realize that money isn’t really a trait — but it’s on my list because it’s an important ingredient in the success of your child’s musical education.
Music lessons aren’t cheap. We raise our rates every two years just to cover pay increases for all of our teachers, and the ever- increasing cost of doing business.
• Running a music school isn’t exactly the path to a lucrative lifestyle. If you’re looking for the road to riches, I wouldn’t suggest opening a music academy.
However, if you want a career that offers rewards far beyond financial compensation, then there’s not too many professions that even come close to teaching music.
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When you see a student learn a song that they thought was beyond their abilities, or a you watch a student pull off an amazing performance at a recital and the audience applauses a little louder than normal, (and the student realizes what they’ve just accomplished) — that’s when you realize as a teacher, that teaching music beats out a 6-figure income any day of the week.
Of course, as much as I’d like to not have to focus on money issues, it’s unavoidable.
To keep good teachers on staff costs money. Good teachers expect to be paid well.
When a student cancels their lesson, good teachers still want to be paid, which really isn’t all that unreasonable if you think about it.
When we hire teachers, we ask them to make a commitment to our academy and to the students we send to them.
Part of a teacher’s commitment to each student is to provide a consistent lesson time each week.
Students need consistency!
Students have a better chance at success when they have a consistent day and time every week for their lesson.
• We ask our teachers to provide this consistency. If fact, we demand it!
Of course, this puts teachers in an awkward position at times.
When a student cancels his or her lesson, the teacher cannot schedule any other student in that time slot.
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Most teachers experience a minimum of 4 to 5 cancellations each week. Multiply that by 4 weeks, and you have 16 to 20 cancellations a month.
There aren’t too many teachers who would be able to survive in this profession if they lost that much income every month — which is why good teachers expect to be paid when a student cancels his or her lesson.
It’s a matter of survival.
As a parent of a music student — if you aren’t willing to pay your child’s music teacher for their time, and you’re going to fight for a refund every time you cancel a lesson, then your experience and your child’s experience will suffer.
To be fair, most people understand this concept and agree with it — but there’s always one or two parents that will not listen to reason, and it’s their kids who suffer the consequences.
However, this isn’t the only issue with money that can affect your child’s music education.
You Can Quit When You Turn 18
As I mentioned earlier, my second stint at piano lessons started out very well, and my enthusiasm carried me for several years before I started to slack off on my daily practicing.
And yes, there were times when I wanted to quit.
Of course, my mom’s response was always the same, “you can quit when you turn 18.”
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• My mom wasn’t about to pay for lessons for two or three years, only to have me turn around and throw all of that money down the drain by quitting.
No — my mom was in it for the long haul, which meant that I was in it for the long haul.
Quitting was not an option!
I wish that quitting was not an option today, but unfortunately, a lot of parents today do not share my mom’s stubborn attitude.
I had one parent who stopped lessons for her 5-year-old daughter after two weeks of lessons because her daughter wasn’t practicing enough.
I asked the mom what she did about getting her daughter to practice.
The mom replied, “If my daughter wants to play the piano, then she needs to discipline herself to practice…it’s not my job to force my daughter to do something she clearly doesn’t want to do.”
That mom’s response to my question is the reason why I’m writing this book. I want parent to understand that kids are not equipped to do this all on their own. They need help and lots of it.
It takes an adult 21 days to establish a new habit.
Most adults understand habits, discipline, motivation, etc.
Most 5-year-olds do not. Most 5-year-olds don’t even know what discipline is, let alone have the ability to apply it to their lives.
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Food On The Table
My parents were not rich. They worked hard to put food on the table and a roof over our heads.
• They didn’t have the luxury to just throw money away on piano lessons if I wasn’t going to practice.
Unfortunately, there were plenty of times when my piano teacher had to tell my mom that I wasn’t practicing enough.
There were even a few times when I slacked off on purpose to get my parents to stop my piano lessons.
• I remember my mom discussing it with my dad in the kitchen. That was where all of the serious financial meetings took place in our household.
My dad clearly thought we were wasting money by continuing to pay for my lessons.
My mom, on the other hand, wouldn’t budge!
“We’re wasting money if we let him quit”, she’d argue!
My dad lost this argument every single time — and looking back, I think he went into each argument knowing that he’d lose, which is why these discussions never lasted very long.
At the time I was always so disappointed that my dad didn’t put up much of a fight.
Now, I’m so glad he didn’t, because I can’t picture what my life would be like without music.
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I don’t even want to think about it.
• I get to sit down at the piano and compose, (something I’ve always wanted to do), any time I want.
• I get to sit down at the piano and arrange a Billy Joel, Bruno Mars or Adele song any time I want.
• I get to record any song I choose in my home recording studio any time I want.
• I get to share my musical knowledge and abilities with my students 5 days a week — and I get paid to do it.
• I get to employ other music teachers and help them share their musical knowledge and abilities with others.
• I get to do what I love every single day of my life!
I get to do these things because my mom wouldn’t let my quit piano!
I took 13 years of piano lessons when I was a kid, and it cost my parents a lot of money. Money they really didn’t have.
Looking back, it wasn’t easy for them to invest that money in me when they didn’t know how it would all turn out.
• If you think about it, there’s no way they could have known that I’d one day own my own music academy.
• There’s no way they could have known that I’d one day compose my own music.
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• There’s no way they could have known that I’d one day perform in night clubs.
• There’s no way they could have known all of the things that I would accomplish in the music profession.
In 1979 the men’s Olympic ice hockey team did something that no other olympic team had ever done.
They started training 7 months in advance and trained longer than any other olympic team in US history — and they invested all of that time and energy not knowing how it would all turn out.
Of course, we know now how it all turned out. It’s referred to as the “Miracle On Ice”.
Sports Illustrated named it the top sporting event of the 20th century.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) named the "Miracle on Ice" as the best international ice hockey story of the past 100 years.
The 1980 men’s ice hockey team, made up of a bunch of amateur college kids, beat the Russian National Team, which consisted of professional hockey players with significantly more experience.
Oh yeah, the Russian team hadn’t lost in the olympics in 20 years.
But you just never know how things will turn out. If you’re willing to invest the time, energy, and yes, money — goods things will happen!
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Effort
Number 3 on my Top 10 list of traits that students need to Excel in music is: Effort.
While traits 1 and 2 fall primarily to the parent, trait #3 falls squarely on the student.
• Effort - a vigorous or determined attempt, strenuous physical or mental exertion.
How many music students today are really determined to learn their instrument?
How many students are willing to put forth the strenuous mental exertion that is an absolute requirement to excel in music?
If you want my honest answer, then I’d have to say, “very few”!
To be fair, it’s not all their fault.
Students today have so many opportunities available to them, that it’s hard not to want to participate in as many activities as they think they can handle.
Of course, the issue is clear. Students are biting off way more than they can chew, and no one is telling them to stop. In fact, the opposite is true.
Students are being encouraged to get involved.
Instead of becoming a master of one, students are becoming a master of none.
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• It’s a huge challenge as a teacher to get a student to put forth a little effort after a long day at school, followed by one or two after-school activities — followed by their nightly homework load.
By the time lesson-time rolls around, most over-involved students don’t have anything left in the tank.
Now I’m not saying that every student who enrolls in music lessons has to train as if they’re training for the olympics, but the truth of the matter is, is that there are some things in life you just can’t do halfway.
• You can’t sign up for tackle football and expect to put in a so-so effort.
You’ll learn fairly quickly, (usually after the first hard hit), that halfway doesn’t really work all that well, especially when a so-so effort can get yourself injured.
Equally, you can’t sign up for music lessons and expect to put in a so-so effort.
There’s just too much involved.
While a so-so effort in music lessons probably won’t get you injured, it will get you extremely frustrated.
There are physical and mental demands to learning how to play a musical instrument.
It may take a little longer than tackle football to figure it out, but halfway doesn’t really work all that well with music lessons either.
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Self-Discipline
When you are disciplined to do something, then you are being trained to behave and work in a strictly controlled way.
• Self-discipline is when you are in control of the training.
Your behavior is a result of your predetermined decision to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals.
• Self-discipline is a rare commodity.
How many people join a gym in January, only to find themselves back on the couch watching TV by mid-February?
According to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, a little more than 12 percent of gym memberships are sold in January compared to an average of 8.3 percent per month throughout the rest of the year.
It’s easy to start something. Finishing is the hard part.
The fact is, we all need help to reach our goals!
If we adults have a hard time with self-discipline, how can we expect grade school kids to buckle down and get it done.
Self-discipline is a trait that takes years to acquire.
There’s no way a 5-year-old or even a 10-year-old kid has what it takes to reach their goals without the help of their parents.
• When I was a kid, I loved doing two things. Playing the piano, and playing outside with my friends.
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I loved the outdoors, and on days when I wanted to be outside playing in the sun rather than being all cooped up indoors practicing the piano, my mom had to get tough.
I won’t go into detail, but I’m grateful that she instilled in me the self-discipline that I needed.
Music changed my life for the better!
Of course, I never would have realized my dreams if I hadn’t gotten help! Hard Work
It’s easy to get this one confused with effort. Remember, effort is a vigorous or determined attempt…a strenuous physical or mental exertion.
• Hard Work - a great deal of effort or endurance.
So if effort is defined as strenuous physical or mental exertion, then hard work is defined as a great deal of strenuous physical or mental exertion, with a great deal of endurance added on to that.
I took 13 years of piano lessons as a kid. This was back in the 60’s when the majority of piano teachers taught nothing but classical music.
It’s a lot different today.
There are more piano teachers offering pop, rock and jazz instruction than ever before.
To be completely honest, as much as I loved playing the piano, there were times when I had had enough.
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• And yes, it was hard work.
There was no way I would have endured the strenuous mental exertion involved in classical piano lessons without the constant push from my mom.
My teacher used to say, “If you can play classical music, then you can play anything.”
He was right!
I grew up listening primarily to Billy Joel and Elton John.
• Elton John had a few tough piano riffs, but Billy Joel’s music was downright impossible to play.
Of course, nothing a little Beethoven, Mozart and a little hard work couldn’t fix.
As my playing technique improved, (via classical training), Billy Joel’s songs became a whole lot easier to play.
After all, a wise man once told me, “If you can play classical music, then you can play anything.” Raimundo Marquez II, my piano teacher
I just said it, but it bears repeating, “My teacher was right”!
Learning to play classical music gave me the ability to play anything I want.
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The Ability To Manage Time
This trait is not the same as the first trait I talked about on page 8.
On page 8 I talked about Time…the time that parents would need to invest in their child’s music education.
The ability to manage time, however, falls once again, on the student.
Yes, my mom pushed, begged, manipulated, and flat out tricked me at times to get me to practice.
Actually, she never begged. She was too good at pushing & manipulating me to ever have to resort to begging. But as much as she did to get me to practice, I was the one that had to get it done.
To accomplish the things that my teacher wanted me to do each week, (and the list of things-to-do was extensive), I had to know exactly how long to do each exercise.
My teacher required nothing less than 60 minutes of practice every day, which may seem like a lot of time — but if you saw my workload, you’d wonder how I did it.
My Practice List As A Kid
1. Hanon Finger Exercises 2. Hertz Finger Exercises, Scales and Broken Chords 3. Bach Inventions 4. Mozart Waltzes 5. Beethoven Sonatas 6. Chopin Etudes
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I won’t go into detail, but suffice it to say that I consistently did 5 of the 6 from the above list just about every day.
Yes, I had my off days and my off weeks, but for 13 years, for the most part — this was my life.
• I had an enormous amount of material to practice every day, so I had to learn how to manage my time.
My mom didn’t teach me how to manage my time. My teacher didn’t teach me how to manage my time. My teacher basically told what to do and expected me to get it done.
Yes, he was tough on me — and so was my mom.
But you’d be surprised what a little pressure will do.
If you want something bad enough, you’ll find a way to get it. If you don’t, then you’ll probably just quit.
Of course, quitting wasn’t an option for me. I was doing piano lessons until I turned 18 whether I liked it or not — so I learned how to manage my time because I wanted to be good at the piano. Patience
This is a hard one.
After all, how to you teach patience?
Patience is defined as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
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So basically, to teach someone how to be patient, you have to put them in a position that causes trouble or suffering, and tell them not to get angry or upset.
Like I said, this is a hard one. Nevertheless, it’s on the list.
My piano teacher taught me a practice technique very early in my piano studies.
This technique allowed me to learn very difficult musical passages in a very organized and effortless way. This practice technique is the most amazing technique on the planet in my professional opinion!
• My teacher told me if you practice your classical pieces using this technique exactly the way I say, and you do it 20 times every day for 5 to 7 days, you’ll be able to play difficult musical passages with ease.
This is how my teacher taught me patience.
I always knew how long it would take to accomplish my weekly practice goals…5 to 7 days! I had the secret to success! All I had to do was follow my teacher’s exact instructions.
If I followed my teacher’s instructions, then I’d accomplish my goals for the week in the amount of time he said.
I knew it wouldn’t happen on day 1 or even on day 4. It was a 5 to 7 day process. When you know what to expect and when to expect it, it’s very easy to be patient.
Of course, problems arise when students don’t follow instructions. Like I said, this is a hard one.
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Energy
Every student is different. What motivates one student may not motivate another.
And when I say “Energy”, that’s what I’m talking about. Motivation!
What motivates your child?
More specifically, what will motivate your child to practice their instrument?
The answer in simple: Inspiration!
Inspiration is the key to motivating every student.
Like I just said, what motivates or inspires one student, may not motivate or inspire another.
• The inspiration may differ with each student, but make no mistake, each student needs Inspiration!
Inspiration is Energy!
When a student is inspired, they have enormous amounts of energy!
So then, why doesn’t your son or daughter practice consistently?
Kids are like automobiles — they run out of gas.
We all run out of gas. We all need to be recharged.
Inspiration needs to be recharged on a regular basis!
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When I was a kid, my mom took me to see Liberace perform at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, NJ.
His role as a classical pianist who temporarily loses his hearing, in the movie “Sincerely Yours” is what inspired me to take piano lessons the second time around.
If you don’t know who Liberace was, he was commonly known in the entertainment world as Mr. Showmanship, and he could play the piano like no other.
The movie “Sincerely Yours” and the few live concerts of his that I went to were the sources of my early inspiration.
Of course, there was no “YouTube” or “Movies On Demand” way back in 1967, so I had to get a lot of mileage out of a movie that came on late night tv once every 5 years and the 3 or 4 live concerts I attended.
In contrast, it’s easy to find inspiration today.
• YouTube has an endless supply of concert videos.
Finding your favorite musical artist is always just a few clicks away.
Listening to music is good — but watching concert footage is better.
• There’s just something about watching someone perform that inspires us to want to do the same.
It should be on every student’s monthly to do list.
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Persistence
Persistence - firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.
One of my best students has no natural talent. However, what he lacks in talent, he makes up for in persistence. As the definition above states, he is firm in his course of action.
• If you want something bad enough, you will put in the time and effort it takes to get it. You will pursue your goal relentlessly. There is nothing that could make you quit.
Music may not come easily to this student, but he is teachable. He listens to everything I say and practices everything exactly as I ask him to.
If I ask him to practice something 20 times, he practices it 20 times — no questions asked.
The technique that I discussed on page 20 that my teacher taught me is the same technique that I taught this student.
This student uses this technique every times he sits down to the piano to practice, and it is helping him to become a very good musician.
Of course, he really wants to play the piano and his obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty, is paying off.
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Commitment
In order to use the practice technique that I have been talking about, you have to be committed.
• This technique is not that difficult to use. In fact, it makes the whole daily process of practicing significantly easier.
However, if you’re going to see the same amazing results that I talked about, then you have to make a serious commitment.
Remember, it’s a 5 to 7 day process. It take 5 to 7 days of consistent practice using this technique to experience the full effect.
If you use it on Monday, skip Tuesday and Wednesday, then use it again on Thursday, skip Friday and Saturday, and then use it again on Sunday, you’ll be disappointed at the results.
You’ll probably even say it doesn’t work.
When I started teaching so many many years ago, I was enthusiastic to share this technique with all of my students.
Unfortunately, most of my students were not willing to make a serious commitment. They pretty much followed the Monday, Thursday, Sunday schedule, instead of the one I taught them.
It took me a while to realize that this technique is not for everyone.
As I sit here and write this, I currently have 31 students on my weekly student roster. I only have 4 students using this technique.
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Of the other 27 students on my roster, some are just not ready for it, and the rest have not shown me the level of commitment necessary to use this technique.
Does this make the rest who have not shown me a specific level of commitment, bad students?
Absolutely not.
Every student is different.
You have to understand one thing about me as a piano teacher, I want every student to learn everything that music has to offer, but in reality, not every music student wants what I want.
And that’s okay.
Just because a student doesn’t want to learn all the mysteries that music has to reveal, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to learn a musical instrument at whatever level they so desire.
I have a method of piano study for everyone!
I teach a piano method called, “Piano Shortcuts” that is perfect for students who don’t have 45 minutes to an hour every day to practice.
Our music academy also offers scaled back guitar methods for students who are not interested in classical guitar studies.
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Why Every Student Should Learn Chords!
If a student only has 10 to 15 minutes a day to practice, then they should be learning Chord Style Piano.
It takes 45 minutes to an hour every day to be able to learn and retain the names of the music notes on the music staff.
I remember my piano teacher telling me that the piano was the hardest instrument to learn.
• One reason for this is because piano students have to learn to read two separate music staffs — one for the right hand, and one for the left hand.
Even though the notes on each staff look identical, the notes have different names.
For Example: The note on the first line of the bass clef is a G. The note on the first line of the treble clef is an E. They look identical, but they each have a different letter name associated with it. This is true up and down the entire music staff.
Forget about all of the other formal music symbols and concepts that students have to learn, this one issue of learning and retaining the names on both music staffs has caused more students to discontinue piano lessons than any other issue.
• Learning and retaining the names of the notes on the music staff is not a problem if you have 45 minutes to an hour a day to practice.
• However, it has been my experience over the past 25 years of teaching, that if you don’t have that kind of time each day to practice, then constant frustration is the end result.
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In my Piano Shortcuts method, I teach Chord Style Piano and offer my students EZ Read Sheet Music.
Piano Shortcuts is geared more toward pop and rock music, which tends to be the music that most students want to play, and it eliminates a good deal of note reading.
I still use sheet music as a guide, but it’s not the end all, be all of learning how to play the piano.
For more details and to watch videos of students who have studied the Piano Shortcuts method, visit us at http:// www.cherryhillacademy.com/piano-shortcuts-frequently-asked- questions.html or call (856) 662-6855. How To Train Your Ear The Right Way!
What will ear-training do for your son or daughter?
Ear-training allows students to really hear melodies and chord progressions, as well as rhythmical patterns, which are the 3 musical elements every student should be learning.
I have performed with some great musicians who couldn’t read a single note of sheet music, but they could play a song just by listening to it.
Having a great ear is absolutely the single most important skill that every musician must have to really enjoy music at its highest level.
It’s not a difficult skill to develop. Students should begin developing this skill very early in their musical education.
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Take it from someone who started ear training as an adult — it’s possible, but it’s a whole lot harder.
Ear-Training For Beginners
There are countless ear-training courses on the market today, most of which I would not recommend for beginner students.
In the context of private lessons, ear training should start simple.
At each level, the Piano Adventures Theory Books offer basic interval training.
Interval training teaches students to hear the distance from one note to another without the aid of an instrument.
However, listening to a short melody line and being able to reproduce it with the aid of an instrument is not easy to do.
Using your instrument to reproduce the notes, is a legitimate form of ear training.
Ear-Training For Intermediate & Advanced Students
As students progress, the teacher can introduce longer melody lines as well as chords.
Lessons with some of my “Piano Shortcuts” students have us logging on to YouTube on a regular basis to learn songs directly from the music video.
• With proper instruction, students who have difficulty reading standard music notation can learn how to play by ear in a few short years.
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There was a time when you were considered an accomplished musician if you could read music notation.
In this day and age, however, students who can play by ear are now considered accomplished.
Why? Because most pop, rock and jazz musicians don’t use sheet music — they learn music directly from a recording.
If you can walk into a band rehearsal or audition without sheet music and can learn new material by ear, you’ll be in high demand. Being able to play by ear is the new standard.
Why Every Student Needs Notation Software
If you want your son or daughter to really excel in their music studies, notation software is a must.
There are 7 benefits of using this specialized computer software, and 10 to 15 minutes minutes a day on the computer can transform any student into a musical genius.
The 7 Benefits
1. It’s FUN - Learning to play a musical instrument is not easy, and sometimes the thought of having to practice every day can take the fun out of it. Most students enjoy working on a computer, and learning to use Notation Software can be a lot of fun, as well as educational.
2. It Will Turn Your Son or Daughter Into A Musical Genius - Notation software allows students to input notes onto a digital representation of music staff paper and then play it back, giving students a more interactive experience with music.
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3. It Helps Students Learn the Names of the Notes - Learning how to read sheet music is one of the biggest challenges facing busy students today. Notation software reinforces the note learning process by providing students with the ability to input and manipulates notes on a digital music staff.
4. It Helps Students Improve Their Rhythm - The playback function allows students to hear the exact rhythm of any song. Notation software also allows the user to slow down the tempo for more complicated rhythms.
5. It Helps Students Transcribe Music - Students who can read sheet music and play by ear can notate songs using notation software. This allows the user to easily share professional looking sheet music with their friends, family members and bandmates.
6. It Helps Students Compose & Copyright Original Songs - In order to copyright and register an original musical composition, having notation software allows musicians to convert professional looking sheet music into PDF format and quickly and easily upload the original song to the copyright office in Washington, DC.
7. It Helps Students Arrange Songs - Musicians are no longer stuck with a one size fits all mentality. With notation software, music students can take an existing piece of sheet music and rearrange it to fit their own unique musical tastes and style.
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The One Simple Rule That Every Parent Should Know!
Students forget 50% of what they are taught in their music lesson by not following this one simple rule.
What is the rule?
Student forget 50% of what they are taught in their music lesson when they wait more than a day to start practicing. Students who delay practicing by more than two days after their lesson typically forget most, if not all of what was covered.
By practicing shortly after the lesson, (same day), or the very next day, at the latest, students are able to retain what was taught in the lesson and make more progress.
Following this one simple rule will yield significant results in a very short period of time!
If a student doesn’t have time to practice the day of the lesson, a brief review of what was covered will still help in the retention process.
Why Every Student Should Study Music Theory
Learning music is like learning a foreign language.
Learning how to say hello or goodbye in another language doesn’t mean you can speak that language fluently. It takes years to learn how to speak a second language.
Students who avoid music theory never really learn how to speak the musical language fluently — which
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is what causes students to get frustrated in their music lessons and ultimately quit.
The best teachers mix a little bit of music theory into each lesson so students learn how music really works.
This approach doesn’t overwhelm students with what may seem like a lot of useless information — but it will gradually provide students a deeper knowledge and understanding of the inner workings and structure of music — allowing them to enjoy music to its fullest.
• The concepts and rules that make up music theory are very much like the grammatical rules that govern written language.
In order to communicate with another person, you have to be able to speak their language.
The same is true in music.
When two musicians are able to perform together, it’s clear that they both understand the musical language. This mutual understanding allows the musicians to have a musical conversation.
So then, what is music theory?
It’s just a way to explain the music that we listen to every day.
Some will say that music theory is the understanding of written music which provides a language for songwriters and performers to communicate with each other.
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• Songwriters and composers use written symbols in the form of notes, rests and dynamic markings to communicate how they would like their music played.
Musicians who understand written music are then able to perform the music exactly as the songwriter intended.
How do musicians who can’t read written sheet music communicate with each other?
• Musicians who can’t read standard music notation and have no interest in learning, have only one recourse, and that is to play by ear.
There are different levels of playing by ear. Some musicians can just hear a song once and then play it without any practice.
For the few who are born with this rare musical gift, music comes very easily to them because they know the names of the notes as soon as they hear them.
For the rest of us, we have to either learn how to read written sheet music, (which is the study of music theory), or learn how to play by ear.
Of course, there are musicians who have learned how to do both.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s not a difficult skill to develop and having a great ear is absolutely the single most important skill that every musician must have to truly enjoy music at its highest level.
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Music Lesson Success Secrets
I had originally planned to write a full length book to help music students get the most out of music lessons, along with giving parents a better understanding of their role in the whole music lesson process.
However, I hadn’t written more than a dozen pages before I realized that too much information just might be a bit overwhelming for someone who is new to the whole process.
The most important thing to take away from this text is for parents to realize that learning how to play a musical instrument can be challenging for young students.
And it takes time!
For one, it takes time to get used to practicing, and for parents who don’t see instant results, it’s easy to want to pull the plug. Now if your son or daughter was having difficulty in school, you wouldn’t think about pulling the plug, would you?
Of course not.
You’d get them the help they needed.
The difference between school and music lessons is that school is a constant. It happens every week for eight hours a day from Monday to Friday, ten months out of the year.
• Music lessons happen once a week for thirty minutes.
It would be nice if I could see the same students five days a week — the results would be amazing, but it would be cost prohibitive for most people.
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The main thing to take away from this book is that it takes years to learn how to play a musical instrument, and your kids will need your help throughout the entire process.
Remember this:
• Your kid’s music lessons will drain you at times. • At other times you’ll come across as the bad guy for making them practice. • You’ll even wonder if you’re just throwing good money down the drain.
My piano teacher never made mountains out of a mole hills.
When I went through periods where I didn’t want to practice, he never panicked or got bent out of shape.
He would calmly inform my mom that it was just a phase and would soon pass, and it always did. My mom was in it for the long haul, and because she never gave up on me, I’ve been able to enjoy a long and fruitful career doing what I love to do.
• Thirteen years of weekly piano lessons played a huge role in my development into adulthood.
Daily practicing taught me the meaning of hard work — and not hard work for the sake of hard work, but what I could accomplish if I was willing to work hard.
The list of benefits from music lessons really goes far beyond my Top 10 List, but self-discipline, patience, commitment, and the ability to manage my time are traits that I would not have
40 Cherry Hill Academy of Piano & Guitar developed without a vehicle to cultivate in me a strong work ethic.
For me, that vehicle was weekly piano lessons. But remember, I could not have done it without my parent’s help!
• My mom for always being on my back to practice. And my dad for always letting my mom win the money arguments.
Your kids may not thank you now or any time in the near future. They may not even thank you to your face.
But who knows?
They just may write a self-help book 50 years from now extolling all of your wonderful qualities, and talk about how you provided consistent motivation, (constant nagging), that helped them become the person they’ve become.
Of course, this may require a great deal of patience on your part.
I wish your son or daughter all the best in their musical pursuits.
Sincerely,
Guy Faux School Director/Piano Teacher/Author/Composer Cherry Hill Academy of Piano & Guitar www.cherryhillacademy.com
P.S. — Mention that you read this book and get $57 in Savings when you enroll at the Cherry Hill Academy of Piano & Guitar.
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