I only teach one student at the moment, but she's driving me up the wall.

She's got some natural talent and the flute I think, and is good at sight-reading - but she never practices. Ever! We only have a lesson once a fortnight and in the last two weeks she has played in chapel twice, and that is it.

She can play about 2 1/2 octaves of the range, about 2 ish of which are reasonably reliable. She isn't great with sharps or flats but she has a stab at anything (I have been proud of her having a go in chapel though she plays quietly so you don't hear her a lot!

Her tone, especially considering how little she plays, is reasonable.

But she doesn't practice, and it's starting to drive me up the wall. I've been giving her lessons for a while - at least two years I think - and her progress has been painfully slow but has now pretty much ground to a halt. Nothing I have tried (and I have tried really hard) has ever got her to practice more than twice a fortnight if I am REALLY lucky.

It's got to the stage where I feel quite bad taking money off her mum when she's not getting any better.

I am considering having a chat with her mum and just letting her know that there's not a great deal I can do if she won't practice and won't even look at what she is supposed to be practising. If her mum's happy to keep paying me then that's one thing but it seems only fair to let her decide if she's willing to shell out money for lessons that aren't getting anywhere. It's not like I have a waiting list, so I can keep teaching her...

Oh I am waffling here... but any sage wisdom anyone can pass on??

Have you told her that you are considering doing this?
Sometimes that works.

Have you tried just pointing out that if she's happy just playing around with stuff as and when she feels like it then it's really wasting her mum's money to be paying for lessons?
Maybe suggest the occasional get together to play some things for fun if that's all she wants.
My younger daughter worked this out for herself when she was about 12 or 13. She realised that though she would like to be able to play the piano well she didn't want it enough to be bothered putting in the effort.

If you do stop teaching her then let her know that if she decides that she wants to restart you will welcome her back and that you are not going to stop talking to her if she stops lessons. Teenagers (and sometimes adults) sometimes have the idea that you will fall out if they quit.

Hadn't thought of that...


Yes... she does agree... but it's made no difference!


Hadn't thought of that - good point.

Thanks for the thoughts...

I've done this twice, and parted on good terms. But neither ever came back...

Can you teach her more than once a fortnight - the trouble with lessons this far apart is that after each it feels like there's "ages" until the next lesson, so they don't practise, then it's ages since the last lesson, so they've forgotten what to practise, then it's the lesson tomorrow, so they figure it's too late to practise. I teach in inner-city primary schools, and if I don't see the kids for a week, then the next lesson is spent oiling valves (brass teacher) due to lack of practice. I have to make them feel that, even when I'm not there, I'm breathing down their necks all the time.
Also, have you tried writing down exactly what you want your student to practise each week? If you can do this, especially in a book or diary, then you can point out to her (and her parents) that she is consistently not doing what you have asked. You can then point out that she (probably) would not consider doing this in school lessons. It sounds a bit harsh, but practice is just as important as attending lessons, and I think sometimes as teachers we are far too nice when pupils don't practise. I used to say things like "oh, well, um, try and do some next week then", or occasionally give a little lecture on how they wouldn't get better without practising, but it just doesnt work. They are far too used to being lectured at school and by parents to take notice.
Next time, tell her that no practice is unacceptable, and spend the whole lesson on sight-reading and aural (no point going over pieces she hasn't practised). Tell her exactly what you want her to practise, and how often (how many days and for how long). Then give her a book / diary / sheet that she can complete (a sheet is good as you can stick it on the fridge / noticeboard etc). Then, at the end of the lesson, go out and repeat the entire conversation with the parent. Be really nice and reasonable, but firm. Repeat this consistently every week. It sounds harsh, and lots of effort, but it usually works and it also shows that you mean what you say and care enough to enforce it.
Hope this helps

scoobydog

Yes, I thought of that after I posted too.
I've just started having lessons once a fortnight and don't find it easy yet to get the pace right as far as practice goes.

Unfortunately it isn't my choice


She has a notebook, in which I write exactly what I want her to do with what pieces and what scales, ie last time round I wanted her to memorise one piece, work on something specific in another piece, and learn a scale and an arpeggio. The notebook went into her bag with the music and the next time it came out was yesterday when I took it out myself...

I did make practice sheets once upon a time, which had the same fate Writing specific practice notes on the music makes no difference - the music lives in her music bag along with her flute and practice notebook... and so rarely sees the light of day.

Yesterday we had a whole lesson of scales & sight-reading as she hadn't practised... I'm not holding my breath over whether this will make the slightest difference.

I have pointed out to her that I am no miracle worker and that having a lesson once a fortnight won't make any difference if she never practises in the meantime. I've tried everything I can think of - she just doesn't practice. She apparently doesn't practice the piano either.

One of my pupils went through a spell of not practicing. Things improved after the following conversation:

Deborah: Practice is like homework. What would happen if you didn't do your school homework?
Pupil: I'd be put in detention.
Deborah: Maybe I should put you in detention...

Equating music lessons to other school subjects had an effect. His practice is still erratic, but when he does practice, the improvement between lessons is remarkable, and I make sure I praise it as well - even if the praise is tempered by "and think how good it would have been if you'd practiced every day".

Sarah, how about praising her loads on her natural talent and then follow that up with a small criticism that that has been seriously curtailed thr lack of practice? Try to be as positive-sounding as you can though I appreciate you don't feel like it at all! Might just work to begin with... Talk with kid during lesson and parent aside privately on the phone.

VN's teacher often say - I really like that, it was very good but if I want to be critical, you can do more like ... Try something in the same spirit.

Heh, maybe I'll try that


I do tell her she has talent, and I have explained to her that that's the reason it seems so sad that she doesn't practice - because she gets a good sound and she plays really well considering how little work she does.

I think when it comes down to it, the idea of playing the flute is enticing, but she doesn't care enough to practice in order to get good...

Sometimes I get a little sick of foraging around in my brain far something positive to say to a pupil who isn't working and isn't progressing. To praise this this type of pupil is almost to belittle the ones who do work and who deserve praise. It is a little different for you if you only have one student, but I would be unlikely to let the situation run for too long if it were me. You risk being accused, ultimately, of being happy to accept fees for very little to show for it - through no fault of yours, but I think you should discuss with the parents whether they are happy to continue paying while the pupil isn't practising. Parents don't always cotton on to the fact that practice is neccessary for progress! (Strange as it may seem - some of them think it's just another one of those activities that you throw money at, and go to once a week (or fortnight).

Yeah - I think I need to have a chat to her mum about it, just to give her the chance to stop the lessons if she feels that is best - if she is happy to keep throwing money at me then I guess I shouldn't complain too much but it does seem fair to give her the chance to make an informed decision.

I recently suffered a similar problem and I was ready to stop lessons with this pupil. However, I decided to give it one last go. I am currently in the process of 'solving' it and it's working well.
I made a little weekly chart and asked her to write how many minutes she is practising each day. Many practice books include a chart like this anyway but giving it as a piece of homework on its own highlights its importance.

The effect of this is (I was a psychology student!) that they realise they should be doing more than they are.
I found great progress and praised her on this and mentioned what an amazing difference more practice makes. She's getting better by the week.

Obviously there's the risk of them cheating and just filling it in...
but it's working for me!!

Flute

If your student plays at Chapel is there any way of motivating her to do something more challenging? Something that she would need to work with you on to make it happen. So maybe if she plays for the odd hymn or two now, it could be good to find a piece to play at the beginning or the end of a church service. So a challenge for her, hopefully some kudos as well, and a real need for her to work to a deadline with you helping behind the scenes.

With my students I "manufacture" events with 2 open days and one music festival each year. Thinking about it I need something in the Spring term to keep them on their toes ....

But for you with one student it is harder to do that. But there could be other opportunities. Have you considered duet playing with your student at a local old folk's home or similar?

Good luck in any case

Juflute

Is she the sort of pupil who does her homework from school? Becasue if she is, there's an instrumental teacher at school who has a trick that might just work;

Instead of calling practise at home "practise", call it "homework". I'm not sure if this is the kind of student who would respond to this, but often the word "homework" sounds compulsory enough to sink into a child's brain that they have to do it.

Obviously, don't try this with someone who wouldn't usually do their homeowrk, as you may end up in an even deeper hole; but if she does, then it's worth a shot. I know that the teacher at school had a far better practise rate once he started calling it homework.

And the other thing is, have you looked on practise spot? They have a lot of ideas and such like to get students to practise. Things like moving rocks closer to the door, and ripping up paper. They might work before you really start to consider getting rid of her.

But also have a word with her mum; it might kick her into action!

Good luck!

Thanks for the thoughts and ideas, everyone - much appreciated

Well.... I had a chat with her mum on Sunday, and explained that she wasn't practising, and she will progress very little if she doesn't - but, that I am happy to teach her anyway as long as mum realises that the sloooooooooooooooow progress will continue unless practice starts happening. Mum was OK with that, seems happy to keep paying me anyway so who am I to grumble had a lesson yesterday and sight-read through some grade 2 ish duets, (from the start of the Voxman duet books) and worked on a couple of bars which gave her trouble (essentially supervised practice, really) and managed to get one of them sounding reasonably presentable. Student seemed quite happy with that, seemed to enjoy herself (I didn't know if she would, seeing as she's not that into classical music but she was happy to continue in that book). So I guess till future notice that is the way our lessons will go.

I'm planning to arrange some duets for us of pieces she knows, but does anyone know of any good elemetary standard duet albums with more modern, maybe popular music in? I have Microjazz duets but think they need to be used sparingly as I know she will find them much more difficult (a couple of the easier ones or playing them below tempo may make them feasible), and also a couple of jazz duet books, but again I know they are too hard for her right now. Besides them I basically have duets in tutor/study books, the Voxman duets, and some RR Bennett! So, any suggestions??

She might enjoy The Best Flute Duet Book Ever by Emma Coulthard, which has a good mix of pop and classical (from Mozart to the Spice Girls via Abba and The Aristocats). Difficulty ranges from easy to relatively challenging, with most on the easy side.

Oooh that sounds like a good one - thanks!

I have been browsing on justflutes but the choice is enormous, and it's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack trying to work out which ones would be appropriate.

I use the Razzamajazz Flute Duets and Trios and Red Hot Flute Duets which are both quite modern/jazzy and come with CD. They are both Kevin Mayhew publications.

David

Thanks for the ideas