Having had no enquiries for months, I've suddenly had 5 this week already.

I'm now thinking HELP! what do you do in the very first lesson?

Obviously I've taught several 'first' lessons before, but they've been mostly to people I knew already.

Any tips? Most seem to be beginner pianists.

David

Have fun chatting about the geography of the keyboard and do some rhythm games. That way you can assess where they're at and how you will teach them. You can also think which book might be most appropriate for them too.

It depends on whether they're children or adults of course!

Enjoy yourself!

They seem to be mostly children aged 10-12

David

When I did my CT course we had to discuss and agree on 3 essentials for a First Violin Lesson.

Predictably, we could not agree on even one essential thing!

Mine were

1. Make a sound using the bow and violin (none of that miserabe pizzicato only for weeks on end)

2. Sing!

3. Have fun.

I'm not a teacher, but I'll answer this question anyway (this is for piano).

Firstly, my teacher asked me a few questions so she gets to know me better. Then what I had to do was to play different notes randomly to see what they sound like. I started with two books. The first one was called 'Piano Time', which you can learn the notes starting from Middle C and do pieces at the same time. The other book was called 'Dozen A Day', which had five "groups", with twelve small exercises in each. Also, remember to remind the pupils to keep their hands up, so they can play the notes easier. After the first two weeks, you can teach them the contrary scale of C, then the C major scale. Then, on the next lesson, you can start doing some theory work and also get the scale book as well. Hopefully, it should be straightforward after that!

Car Expert

Hi, it very much depends on age of pupil, length of lesson , but I'd agree that start with putting them at their ease, getting to know them-I would usually cover geography of the piano-playing the sets of 2 and 3 black keys, introducing D, C and E, more notes if they're ready, all over the piano, a simple tune taught without written notation so they go away thrilled that they can play something. Time and age depending, I'd cover simple rhythms, clapping short and long notes, and playing these on the piano on any note. With adults and older children I might make a start on notation reading-with younger children I tend to use an off stave starter first. And above all to have fun and make them want to come back!

Glad to hear your numbers are going up! Here's hoping mine do the same!

From reading another post, I took it upon myself to open the piano lid and let my newest pupil have a look and feel inside as she only has digital pianos at home and learnt on a keyboard. Just added a more interesting element to the lesson and allowed her to experiment with the different types of sounds a piano can make!

Sadly we only have a digital piano too!!! I think if I let them look inside I shall end up electrocuting them which wouldn't be too good a start!!!!!!

David

Yep, don't think my MU insurance would cover that one!

I have a digi from my student days as well upstairs (abolute havoc trying to pin my music to one place!), but when I move out again and leave the acoustic behind, I shall really miss it....

As a fellow 12 year old the main point I would make is to remember an 11 or 12 year old feels and is very different to a 5 or 6 year old. Please check whether we are into 'baby' stuff like stickers and stamps ( don't know about girls but most boys aren't) before plastering them all over our book
Don't talk about magic dots on the ends of finger tips, fairy light playing etc etc UGH
If you can make sure the music book you use isn't full of nursery rythmes and baby tunes that would be awesome.
I know this is full of what not to do and not what to do ... sorry but I hope it helps
12 yr olds are COOL

Musicman, you sound just like Molesworth!! (Who he, I hear you sa?)

don't worry musicmanNZ, I don't think I've ever used 'fairy light playing' even to younger girls!

Although it's funny how some of my adult pupils quite like some of the pretty drawings on the Bastien books I often use!

Nigel Molesworth, the curse of St Custards!

Ah, I think it would be fotherington-tomas who would like to skip lightly along, saying 'hullo clouds, hullo sky' - though wasn't it Molesworth himself who played 'Fairy Bells' on the piano??

Help me out here, guys - I can't be the only person to have read these books!!!

yes I think it was fotherington-thomas - but he was a gurly!

wandsworth the skool dog

peason - the best mate

Sorry for the disruption folks....won't be a minute....

*bundles maggie and cyrilla into a white van.....*

Hi David,

Not actual advice but there have been a few past threads on this which you may find helpful:

The First Lesson, What is your approach?

First Lesson, piano

First Lesson, What is the best approach?

Good luck, glad to hear things are picking up for you .

Ah, Maggie, you have just gone up even higher in my estimation than you were already!

Somehow I just knew that you would be a Molesworth fan!!

Sorry, jazzywench - have just escaped from white van but am orf to bed so you're all safe (but Maggie's still free, tee hee *wild manic laughter*)

cackle cackle cackle fading into the distance .....

Rats! And I'd have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those pesky kids....!

PARDON
I don't look the slightest bit like Molesworth At least I don't think so looking at this
http://www.stcustards.free-online.co.uk/
MusicManNZ

quite likely...

no offence, MusicmanNZ - I thought you made some very good points in your post about 12 year olds.

You're quite right about stickers and babyish tunes (what are magic dots??!)

Look look
Here I am
http://www.stcustards.free-online.co.uk/to...usic/music1.htm

playing the piano ... it's me

ha-ha well done - you found it! wizz

no I'm sure you don't really look like him - it was the mention of fairy bells that did it ...

Fairy bells? Must remember that with my new 16 year old next time (if I can work out how to relate them to hemidemisemiquavers!).

My first lessons tend to be slightly improvised - I'll spend the beginning finding out a bit about the pupil and their previous musical experience, then take it from there. No use going into "and this is a treble clef" if they already know (and this helps avoid the patronising which musicmanNZ hates so much!).

MaggieMay .. sorry I can't tell you about magic dots.
I know how these things work ... you would love the concept so much you'd demonstrate it at your next piano teachers get-together ... those teachers would all start using it and then WHAMM magic dots would spread like the plague through Britain and into Europe.
Thousands, maybe millions, of poor innocent piano students would have magic dots inflicted upon them. Irate they would search down the sourch of this epidemic and find little ME !!!
No my lips are sealed. I am not going to be responsible for inflicting magic dots on the fingers of pianists of the world.

Well, when you put it like that.....

Are they resistant to antibiotics then ??

Do you think that's the problem with these evil colds going round??

You have an awful lot of letters after your name!! I have a few but none are specifically related to teaching piano, rather degrees of varying levels. I have a PGCE but decided teaching big classes in schools is not for me so am trying to make it doing piano lessons privately. My amazing piano teacher will be 100 in December, I love her to bits but think she might go mad if she thought I was teaching without having done all the diplomas etc. I have my first real pupils starting next week, one age 7, one age 60 something, both beginners! I didn't dare tell them they are my first paying customers - really need a boost here. I've been playing the piano since I was 8, that's 21 years. I'm a geographer according to all my qualifications, but my real love is music. Surely it's ok to start out like this??

This was a reply to you! I'm new to this forum business..

Hey, that is brilliant. I haven't read the rest of the posts in this thread.

Did the enquiries result in bookings? How did they go?

Steve