Piano teachers are some of the most dedicated, committed and hard-working professionals around. But are we sometimes too dedicated for our own good? I know that feelings of being overwhelmed and burnt-out are all too common. I think part of it stems from our own desire to always deliver that ‘perfect’ lesson.
Piano teachers are some of the most dedicated, committed and hard-working professionals around. But are we sometimes too dedicated for our own good?
I know that feelings of being overwhelmed and burnt-out are all too common. I think part of it stems from our own desire to always deliver that ‘perfect’ lesson. One that includes a little bit of everything, from arpeggios to aural tests and from repertoire to rhythm patterns.
Of course, there is no perfect lesson and you can’t do everything in 30 or even 45 minutes. So don’t even try.
Instead, think holistically about what you’re delivering in lessons and work on improving your ability to find and make connections between the activities that make up a piano lesson plan.
In today’s post, I want to get you off the dancefloor of teaching and onto the balcony (with apologies to Jim Collins) where we can look down and get an overview of what’s going on.
I believe there are three main areas we need to cover in most lessons to ensure a well-rounded education. They are, in no particular order:
Here are some considerations:
You’ll notice that all my lesson plan templates, which I’ll be releasing next week, are based on these three key areas forming the main part of a lesson.
I like looking at just three segments because it’s so much more attainable than trying to do everything.
If you just cover one activity under each of these three areas every lesson, you’ll already be teaching better than half the teachers out there who only cover technique and repertoire.
See also my podcast: “5 reasons to get more creative in your piano teaching this year.”
I’ve created a downloadable cheatsheet to help with your lesson planning.
It comes in two versions:
This means that you can use the teacher one for your own reference and the student version in-lesson. Students can choose one option from each of the 3 Keys at the start of the lesson, giving them autonomy and choice as to the activities you’re going to explore.
Just leave your details below and I’ll email it through to you. You might like to laminate it double sided!
Stay tuned next week when I’ll be releasing my piano lesson plan templates which you’ll be able to download for free.
These will include weekly and quarterly (or each term for the Aussies) piano lesson plans, depending on how you work.
I’ll also let you see examples of how I fill them in.
All of these plans use the three above segments as a basis for organising your teaching material.
Is this “3 Segment” approach too broad or does it help reduce the overwhelming desire to “fit everything in”?
Let me know by leaving a comment below.
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Jason says:
Tim,
I always enjoy listening to your podcast. I think it’s a great way to keep me thinking about creativity, though I can’t always apply everything you recommend. I particularly thought it was useful when Susan Deas talked about fitting things into a lesson by estimating how much time you may want to spend on something. While I agree that it’s good to be able to veer off course, I often find that I can do a concise and thorough job of teaching something in a shorter amount of time than I realized. I also think this is a good way to keep activities changing so that students don’t get bored.
I need to ask you a favor. I’ve seen a lot of discussions about it on the forums in the past, but I’ve mostly stayed out of them. However, I know that you do a considerable amount of thinking about pedagogy, so I want to ask you about it. In your podcast, you mentioned several method books teachers might use to organize their curriculum. One of them was Piano Pronto. I’m sorry, but I think a recommendation of this method needs to be defended.
I’ve looked through it a couple times, and I don’t see any evidence that it reflects any sound pedagogical research. I don’t want to do a page by page critique, but I will say that one of the basic tenants of good pedagogy is that learning proceeds from the known to the unknown. The method makes no attempt to relate new concepts to earlier concepts. While the pieces are attractive folk songs, they do not reflect a variety of styles and sound worlds, so the student ends up with a limited imagination. The postponing of the left hand as long as it does is inexcusable. Her use of the black keys to find “A” (when they are so much more useful to find “C” and “F”) is downright silly, especially since A is not used until the 10th piece in Keyboard Kickoff, and even later in Prelude. A note-by-note approach (as opposed to the intervallic approach) to learning the staff does not give the student any tools to figure out forgotten notes, nor does it reflect an understanding of how and why the staff is constructed as it is. To be honest, every time I look at the book I am saddened by the thought of how many kids will be deprived of a good piano education because the book is so well marketed. So I need to know what you see in the book that makes you able to recommend it to other teachers in good conscience.
I apologize for being such a pain, but I do think that it is important to say something about it. I am a firm believer in the intervallic approach. I trained (and still train) under pedagogues who worked with Frances Clark, so I am heavily biased. I would really appreciate hearing someone who’s thought about pedagogy a considerable amount give a defense of Piano Pronto. I worry about the future of a musical world where such a book represents acceptable piano education.
I appreciate any time you’re willing to spend explaining this to me. I do want to clarify that I understand ways to use the materials. I know that transposition is valuable, that it can be supplemented, that you can switch hands, etc. Still, I think that a method book should do far more than Piano Pronto does.
I’m looking forward to hearing you speak at NCKP, and I hope to meet you there.
Jason
Muge Saglam-Ongun says:
Thank you so much for your advice I creative myself wish have a good lessons
Muge Saglam-Ongun says:
Thank you so much for your advice I creative myself wish have a good lessons I study everyday for my students and I created myself i play classic and jazz and I work to make my music with computer.I arranged metallica with q base and I try to arranged trance with q base.I am happy for introduce you.I follow your ideas.Thanks again
Monica says:
Hi Tim! I’m watching your “3 keys to a successful piano lesson” YouTube video and am trying to download the lesson planning work sheets (I think there’s a teacher version and a student version?) mentioned in the related blog post, but every time I enter my name and email address and click download it just takes me to a “Success!” page with no link to download or any other information on how to get the worksheets. Also, in case it matters, I’m already logged in with my Inner Circle username and password… Any suggestions? Not sure what I’m doing wrong. 🙂
Elspeth Johnston says:
Hi great resource, how do I download it though please? Thanks
Heidi Neal says:
I would love the student version of the 3 keys. I like the idea of letting students choose the order in their lessons.
Aliyah says:
Hi, please could you send me the 3 Keys plan? I’m finding your stuff really helpful!
Nikki Foss says:
I would love the 3 keys download.
Janis James says:
I would like to get the 3 Keys cheat sheet. Thank you
Shannon says:
Hi Tim,
Just found your podcast and website a few days ago and am so appreciative of all of the information you share. I’m in the process of re-starting up my studio after a 15 year “sabbatical” to homeschool and raise my kids. Approaching the empty nest stage now and your website is helping me to feel more up to speed with fresh, new methods and teaching techniques. I was wondering how I might get a copy of your “3 Keys to a Comprehensive Lesson Plan” cheat sheet.
Thanks for all of your hard work.
Shannon
Rosanna says:
Hi Tim,
Just listened to your 3 Keys video and really appreciated it. I was regularly dividing lessons into 6 x 5 minute chunks and finding myself overwhelmed by the amount of prep work for each student, and I’ve been struggling to stay on time during the lesson. Three main categories seems so much more workable – I’m looking forward to trying it.
I also really like the idea of allowing the student to see all the possibilities for a lesson plan. I didn’t have enough confidence in my approach to let my students add their own direction to the lessons, and I’m looking forward to being able to include them in the lesson structure now. Thanks for sharing your free PDF!
Rosanna
Kim Edwards says:
Hi Tim,
Could you please send me a copy of the 3-Keys sheet?
Thanks so much!
Kim
Michelle says:
Great video – i get so scatterbrained because i want to do EVERYTHING!!
Natasha says:
Could I get a copy of the 3 keys to a lesson plan template please?
Joseph Seraphin says:
Hey Tim,
Been loving your work lately, I came across your video on the 3 keys lesson planning method. I truly enjoyed it and would love a copy of the cheatsheet for teachers. This will contribute tremendously to my lesson planning.
Thank you!
Kind regards,
Joseph Seraphin