How To Find Out What Music Students Really Want To Learn
Doug Hanvey shares his advice on how you can learn more about a music student’s motivations!
This article comes from music teacher Doug Hanvey!
As a music educator who specializes in teaching creative adults, I naturally emphasize skills like improvisation and composition. Surprisingly, though, I’ve found that students don’t always reveal their desire to be musically creative. By chance, in a recent lesson I rediscovered the power of open-ended questions for eliciting my piano students’ deepest learning motivations.
If you’re like me, you occasionally ask your students, particularly adult students, whether they’re enjoying their lessons. Undoubtedly, many will be reluctant to admit they’re not 100% satisfied. They may be worried about making you feel bad, or – unable to articulate exactly how their lessons might be different – put on a satisfied face.
After working with Nick (an adult beginner) for several months, I sensed a lack of enthusiasm for the method book we were using. To check in, I could have asked the obvious question: “Are you enjoying the music in the book?” (Which is what I did, at first.) But this is a closed-ended question; the facile answer is “yes” or “no.” It doesn’t lead anywhere, to potentially deeper and more useful information.
Nick’s answer? Of course, it was “Yes, the music is fine.”
But I was feeling curious, as I didn’t feel this was the whole story. So I continued by very intentionally asking an open-ended question (which, by definition, can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”), hoping it might draw him out: “Whom have you played for so far?” Nick’s reply was a revelation: “Well, nobody yet. But when I am finally playing music I like….”
Bingo!
“Ah!” I said. “Let’s talk more about that. Tell me more about the kinds of music you want to play, or that you like to listen to.” Nick began to describe some musical styles and songs that he liked, and even pulled out his phone to play a tune for me. As the conversation continued, an even deeper truth came out – he was actually learning how to play piano because he thought it would be really cool to compose his own music. Of course, Nick hadn’t ever disclosed this to me. Why? Perhaps he felt he needed to be able to play expertly before learning the rudiments of composition (which isn’t true, but he couldn’t be expected to know that).
As the conversation continued, we discussed the idea of Nick studying the fundamentals of music composition while continuing with the method book (which, he said, he really was OK with, as he wanted to master the fundamentals). Suddenly Nick was more animated and energized than I’d seen him before.
The takeaway? Sometimes it’s useful to push a student to reveal his or her deeper learning objectives. This can be facilitated with open-ended questions and by not necessarily taking initial responses at face value.
While most adult piano students enjoy their studies most of the time – otherwise, they wouldn’t be studying! – some harbor deeper motivations and interests that could make their lessons even more enjoyable and stimulating. In helping them articulate those interests and motivations, you can be that teacher who takes their experience of music to a whole other level.