Lessons on Piano Lessons - Part 1

One of the greatest joys I have is getting to teach piano. I teach Monday afternoon and early evening. I rush from my "day job" as a French Immersion teacher to teach private piano lessons.  It's exhausting to make a 30-km commute from school to where I teach, normally in pouring rain but the reward is great. 

My students are motivated, love music, and I have been fortunate enough to develop positive relationships with them.  In the last few years, I have become increasingly curious about what differentiates a good piano teacher from a great piano teacher.

After observing two recent masterclasses, one by former UBC Professor Jane Coop and current Rice University Professor and the pride of Vancouver, Jon Kimura Parker, I believe that I may have a few insights to share on the subject.   In this post, I'll share what I learned from Professor Jane Coop.

In both masterclasses, exceptional young pianists were picked to perform for these esteemed musicians. After hearing a young girl play Chopin's Ballade no. 3, Professor Coop had just one question: "When you hear a pianist in concert, what draws you to them?"  Are we asking our students how they're going to grab, maintain, and then release their audience's attention?  

The next question that Professor Coop asked was "What's the most difficult thing to do on the piano?" After some coaxing, the student arrived at the answer that creating a legato sound is our biggest challenge due to the decay of sound.  Professor Coop further urged the student to consider that what makes legato challenging is when we can't physically hold down the notes to overlap, how do we create a legato sound? Professor Coop's answer was that we shape the line to give the illusion of legato. 

One element of Professor Coop's teaching style that was very evident was her use of questioning technique to engage students in thinking about the music that they are learning.  Another teaching technique that Professor Coop used was to remind the student of elements that they needed to work on before they demonstrated to her that they had understood her suggestions.  Moreover, Professor Coop sang and conducted a fair amount to give the student suggestions on musicality. How many of us are confident enough to do that? It was a very powerful tool which resulted in a lot of improvement from the students.

The next student to perform did a delightful job of Haydn's Piano Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI: 52.  Professor Coop asked very intriguing questions such as "Why do you think that this sonata is popular?" and "what is the character of this music?"  The first question, in particular, is so critical because the student will share with their audience what they perceive to be great about the music.  Professor Coop drew the student's attention to certain figures that were being blurred by his use of pedal.  An effective piano teacher will always maintain high expectations of their students ensuring that the student is being attentive to each detail present in the score.

Following the Haydn, a young pianist played Debussy's Jardins sous la pluie.  Professor Coop asked the pianist many questions to ascertain whether the student understood the atmosphere and setting that the music was meant to create.  One aspect of Professor Coop's teaching that remained consistent throughout the masterclass was how positive she was toward each pupil.  For example, she complimented the student who played Jardins sous la pluie on having met the technical challenges of the piece. Nonetheless, she urged this student to reach beyond the technical aspects of the piece and aim for colour, confidence, and flare. How often have we been to a recital or festival and heard gorgeous music reduced to a technical study in how to fly across the keyboard?  

Have you ever been last in a masterclass or festival class? It's honestly the worst. You have the difficult task of maintaining everyone's attention after they've already heard three performances and witnessed three mini-lessons.  Nonetheless, one last pianist performed Chopin's Ballade no. 4.  It was in this last lesson that Professor Coop's gifts as a teacher really shone through.  Her first response after the young woman finished performing was to compliment her on how she has focused on bringing out the melody.  

After that encouraging remark, Professor Coop addressed what is a universal issue for musicians. It's the psychological game of having confidence in yourself before you perform and having an idea of what kind of sound you wish to produce.  Professor Coop recommended that the young pianist hear the first few notes in her head before her fingers even touched the keyboard.  Moreover, she suggested having a sound level in mind before depressing the keys.  Finally, her most valuable advice of all: "Remember what it is to sing a line."  Professor Coop reminded the audience and the students that it is challenging for pianists to create melodic lines because our instrument doesn't lend itself to having a strong "sense of intervals."  She claimed that much happens between the intervals of which pianists are very unaware.

To summarize, it was an incredible two hours spent observing a truly masterful piano teacher. Her teaching techniques of encouragement, singing to demonstrate desired musical effect, and using questions to guide knowledge acquisition were all exemplary.  Moreover, her demeanour was consistently calm and pleasant. Nonetheless, her wealth of knowledge made her presence very authoritative indeed. I am still trying to figure out how Professor Coop was so efficient in her instruction but for now I am simply grateful for the opportunity to have watched her generously share her knowledge of the piano and its music.