Many years ago I walked into the piano studio of a new teacher, having recently realized that my years of piano lessons had left numerous gaps to which I was oblivious. Participating in a nation-wide music event as a high schooler had revealed this shocking truth to me and I was eager to make up for what I now knew had been a deficient music education. I was eager to learn everything I could about playing more advanced literature, grasping music theory concepts, understanding music history, and more.
Although I’ve heard teachers over the years speak disparagingly toward transfer students or vow never to take them on themselves, I’ve always been grateful for the attitude of my teacher, who welcomed me as I was and then charted a course to help me reach my goals. She patiently helped me establish better rhythmic skills through all kinds of creative approaches. She introduced me to and began to walk with me through the scary world of improvisation. She gave me tools to memorize and increase confidence in performing.
Because of her attitude and the many things I learned during my ten years of piano lessons with her, I find myself eager to welcome transfer students into my own piano studio. No matter what their background or how much they are lacking in fundamental knowledge and skills, if they demonstrate a desire to learn, I am whole-heartedly devoted to helping them achieve success. After having a studio primarily of students that I’ve taught from the beginning (which I also love!) for several years, I was thrilled to welcome two new transfer students last fall. We’ve been trying a variety of new approaches this year that have been a huge success, so I thought it would be fun to write a series here on our process and what has been most effective. I hope this will be helpful to other teachers and that you’ll feel free to chime in with your favorite resources and experiences of teaching transfer students!
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