I have a 7 year old piano pupil who is dyslexic so finds learning notation hard. In that respect we are making progress through use of covering the page with coloured see through plastic etc. He has been having lessons since October and is now nearly up to the hands together part of John Thompson's part one book. However, I'm worried he'll leave because he is becoming bored. If he finds something difficult he'll say he doesn't want to do it, even though he's just played the same notes perfectly in a different piece on the page before (common in dyslexia pupils I know) and he frequently says he can't do it. I know he can, and I frequently encourage him and point out difficult things that he has achieved and how well he's doing. But he just says he wants to play the first exercise in the book over and over again or asks to play with my cats. We have done jumping to rhythms, clapping to rhythms, singing along before playing etc. I know his impatience is probably due to him being dyslexic but it's my responsbility to make the lessons enjoyable and fun yet at the same time make sure he learns the things he needs to in order to progress - does anyone have any experience of this type of thing or any ideas? Incidentally, his parents take his piano practice very seriously which I'm grateful for but I wonder if it's having a negative effect on him?

Thanks

A few thoughts occurred to me, nearlygreen.

Since his parents take his practice so seriously, might they be pushing him? Is he being forced into too much practice?

Alternatively, is he doing enough practice to make reasonable progress? It might be worth checking up on his this. You could try giving him a practice diary. I did this for a wee girl recently for whom practice was becoming an issue. Four or more sessions per week gained her a star, and 6 weeks of stars earned her a small prize (sitting wrapped in silver paper on the piano for tonight's lesson).

Do you think he is musical? Or at the right age (for him) to be learning piano? Often, children are ready at 7, but some take longer.

Do you break up the lesson enough? For instance, five minutes per activity, and then switch to something else. My younger students find Lina Ng's sticker theory books quite entertaining, and a change from reading notation.

I also teach a number of dyslexic students, and in the earlier days tended to teach them some simple duets by ear, but giving them the music as well with all the fingering written in as a reminder between lessons. First Duet Album by Barbara Kirkby-Mason has usually gone down well.

Finally, some rewards. He might like to see stars accruing on a star chart, for instance. Or, when I had a 7-year-old student who complained that everything was "too hard" (although she was actually quite talented) I sellotaped a lollipop to the piano with the promise that it was hers if she didn't say that for the whole lesson. (But be careful here - I already knew the child was not allergic to anything, and it was given to her in the presence of her grandfather when he collected her at the end of the lesson.)

I'm sure you have already thought of some of these ideas yourself, but if not, try putting some into practice. It can be difficult motivating younger children. Hope you get on okay with him and manage to keep him going. Good luck!

(Blimey, sorry for the long post!)

Is there any particular piece he wants to learn? Usually with young children if there is something that they really want to play then they will practise for hours until they have it right eg.Spongebob Squarepants theme or Theme music from Tracey Beaker If you teach it by ear then they wont have to worry about the notation...and you can involve some aural into it - i.e. A "copy me" game where you play a phrase and then he will hear it by ear and play it back. Good luck!

Thanks for your helpful advice. I hadn't actually thought of most of those ideas myself so I will try them out. You both mentioned teaching him to play things by ear. I had thought of this, but I'm worried that we'll then move away from learning notation completely, or he'll just refuse to ever try reading it again. How did you two effectively combine the two?

Also you mentioned trying other activities in the lesson, could you give me some suggestions, as the only activities I do, is learning the pieces in the book. I know you mentioned theory but I'm wary of this because he stuggles with reading notation. I'm actually new to this game, only started teaching in October so it's all a learning curve for me.

Thanks for your advice x

Hi nearlygreen,

As far as teaching by ear is concerned, my dyslexic students did learn to read from notation, but doing some teaching by ear gave them a break from it. They knew which pieces would be played from the book and which they could "just play". But I would definitely start off with notation at the beginning, when he is reasonably fresh. Sometimes a young beginner can recognise middle C at the beginning of the lesson, but by the end of the lesson simply has no idea!

Also, with all my young beginners, I give them Dozen A Day alongside a tutor book; the Mini (pink) book starts with just two notes, and I find it helps to consolidate their learning. As you will have been teaching this lad (I assume?) since October, you will already be picking up on the signs that he is ready to leave one particular activity and move on to another, and with this age-group it's really best not to labour the point. You can always come back to a specific point next lesson - perhaps approached in a different way.

Don't be wary about theory. The Lina Ng Theory Made Easy for Little Children is excellent for this age-group. Level 1 is very basic, and it will back up his note-reading, but in a fun way. There are lots of stickers to put in at the right places, puzzles to do, bits to colour in etc, and it has been universally enjoyed by the kids I have given these to. At £2.50 each, it's something the parents don't seem to mind paying a bit extra for.

Try a variation on the "I went to market" game. For example, "I went to market to busk, and I played this note" - but make sure he wins sometimes! As he gets more confident you could ask him to name the note, but keep within a small section of the keyboard that he is familiar with.

Sometimes with young ones, I have taped a huge stave onto the floor with electrical tape or masking tape, asked them to pretend to be a note and jump onto the line / space that I name. But make it clear whether you are working in treble or bass clef!

You could also make up some flash cards for him to work with at home, asking Mum / Dad to help him to learn the notes. He could use them to spell simple words. This idea could be extended into a flash card game, adding extra cards as he becomes more confident.

And make him laugh! It does wonders for easing tension and then refocusing concentration.

Hope this gives you some ideas - but the sky is the limit, really.

Oops, another long post!

Hello Nearlygreen

Have you talked to the parents as they might have knowledge that could help you? If he is a registered Dyslexic they would have had a report from the BDA (link below) that suggests certain learning styles that suit him. My daughter has one and we have used it to her advantage.

What are your long term goals for your student? What are his goals and his parent's goals and where does he want his playing to take him? The reason I ask is Dyslexic children are normally very artistic and you might find that he will flourish if you take him of this well worn path of achieving grades through sight reading and introduce him to his artistic side. As you know a lot of very talented and famous piano players can't sight read.

Try contacting the following group http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/ or a local school that has association to BDA through which you can get advice. You might find that becoming dyslexic friendly helps your teaching

Hope this helps.

Thank you for your advice everybody, much appreciated and I now have some very much needed food for thought so thanks xx

Just had a terrible lesson with my 7 year old. He didn't want to listen, he wouldn't still on the chair, he wouldn't do anything I asked him to, he completely ran the lesson and got nothing out of it. I'd considered what you all suggested to me and I did some of those things, we did improvisation, clapping rhthyms, the I went to market to busk thing, but it's like he doesn't like being guided, he just wants to do what he wants to do which was basically pressing random keys on the piano. At first I tried to get him to see if he could make a tune out of what he was doing, but he was not interested. Basically he was just ignoring me completely. In the end I asked him in front of his mum if he enjoyed learning the piano, what was it he wanted to get out of lessons, and that if he wasn't enjoying it, no one would be cross with him if he stopped. I asked his mum whether he practiced of his own accord at home or if he had to be made to and she said half and half. I explained that we don't have to go down the traditional route of learning to read notation if that was the problem, but that I also thought that he didn't really want to concentrate or listen. I said to him that in future, if he pays attention in lessons, he can have play time with my cats at the end (he loves the cats) and if he doesn't try in lessons then he can't. And that because he hadn't concentraed this lesson he couldn't play with the cats today. I said to him and his mum to let me know if there were any tunes he liked that we could play together and I could write them out for him. I said I'll be here to teach him as long as he wants to learn and I will do by best to make the lessons as fun as possible if he promises to ask when he doesn't understand (his mum thought that was the problem). Basically I think he just doesn't like being guided or shown anything or have to do things he doesn't want to and I asked him that in not so many words and he said "don't know". Basically, I think his mum went out of here very embarrassed, the child is probably traumatised and I've said completely all the wrong things. Can any of you experienced lot help me at all? Should I not have said all this? It's been driving me mad for weeks now, and its not even like I'm being paid! I start the ABRSM Teaching Music Effectively course next week so I really should have kept my mouth shut. You need at least one pupil to do the course, and I've probably lost him now. I do have two other non paying pupils (all my students are friends of friends), one who is very bright and is 14 and thankfully does listen but the other one is his dad, and he doesn't listen to me either and he's an adult. Wondering if I'm not cut out for this!

Now I'm a bit puzzled - do you mind if I ask why you are not being paid?

Dyslexia aside for a moment, my gut reaction is that this child may simply not be ready for one-to-one music lessons.

Nothing you've done or haven't done. If he isn't ready or isn't interested, you have an uphill struggle. I think you were quite justified in making the points you made. If a child will not sit still even for a few minutes, I personally would probably not try to teach him. I accept that he finds the reading side of learning hard. But if it is difficult to engage him in, for instance, copycat tunes and rhythm games, I would feel I didn't have a starting point at all.

If you are going to all this trouble to find something he will respond to, and the family are not paying you ... ?

I totally agree. I had a pupil like this a few years ago. I was starting teaching at my local Primary school and had around 10 students, all beginners. They all started with the same tutor book and all made progress from day 1, except this one boy who I could not get to do anything except bang randomly on the piano. I tried everything I could think of to get him interested, but after 2 or 3 lessons his mother and I agreed that he just wasn't ready. I got her to sit in on the last lesson so that she could see what was happening.
I always tell parents that some children of this age are ready to start and others aren't, and the only way to find out is to give them a few lessons.
Don't feel that you are in any way to blame.

too! I think you are doing everything that you can to help this boy and it does seem that he is not at all ready for this type of 1-2-1 lesson.

Am I right in deducing that you are not paid for any of your three students?? Even if you are an inexperienced teacher, you SHOULD be being paid for your time, effort and work. Sadly, IMHO, things that people have gratis are not appreciated in the same way as something that is paid for...

Hang on in there. The problem is not with you!

Thanks all. I chose not to be paid, which sounds silly, but in my mind, I decided to start teaching in October and I hadn't done any courses and had no prior experience of teaching and I'm only taking my grade 8 this year. Based on this, I didn't want to charge anyone for a service that ultimately might not be of the standard it should be. The other reason and the main one, is that when friends knew I wanted to teach and to do the course I needed at least one pupil for, they offered to help me out by having lessons so I felt they were doing me a favour (they also happened to want lessons anyway). The 7 year old is the newphew of my oldest friend and the other two are my other half's oldest friend and his son, both who I have come to know quite well so I felt I couldn't ask to be paid. I have advertised for paying pupils but the only one who replied wanted jaz lessons and I have never played jaz. I'm on musicteachers.co.uk and another well known one I can't remember the name of and I haven't heard anything. I might now put an advert in a shop window or local paper. Thanks for all your advice. I'm so glad it isn't anything I've done. These things happen and it's part of the learning curve.

The local paper is a good idea. Also, ifyou have a local music shop, put an ad in there; I do this, together with a stack of business cards on the counter, and it has engendered quite a lot of work for me.

Good luck, nearlygreen, and don't despair because of one inattentive pupil.