"It sounded better at home." I heard that sentence for a decade. Same kid, same song, flawless on their living room piano, then falling apart in the second measure with me sitting beside them.
I filed it under nerves and got exceptionally good at pep talks. I have whole notebooks of lessons where I did more cheerleading than teaching.
Then it clicked. They weren't nervous. They were being listened to, without a break, for the entire lesson. My undivided attention was the problem.
I should have caught it sooner. I'd been that kid, five years old, furious at my own hands, playing the same four bars until I hated them. I wanted to quit. More than once. I knew that look when I saw it.
For years I sat six inches from every student for the entire lesson, and it took me far too long to notice what that was costing them.
Why I Stopped Sitting Next to My Students
I wasn't always the least intimidating piano teacher on Long Island.
I wasn't always the least intimidating piano teacher on Long Island.
Why I Stopped Sitting Next to My Students
