[Jozeca]

Hello,

I thought that perhaps this could be a place for piano teachers to share creative ideas you've done with your kids.

For me, one of the best things that I've ever done is to get kids working OUTSIDE of their books. Method books are great and a huge help, but sometimes it's so easy to get stuck in a rut.

Right now I have five students:
Two 8th graders
One 6th grader
One 6-year-old
One 5-year-old

Both the younger ones are exceptionally smart and have very much enjoyed composing their own pieces. I'm trying to get the older ones to be a bit more creative as well.

Other ideas?

Are there even other teachers around?

[PianoMan]

I don't teach, but I have taken lessons from some extremely good teachers for the last 12 years. My advice is this:

- get them improvising early on! My teachers never did this and I am trying to learn now, but it is MUCH harder.

- Get them a solid grounding in chord construction and theory and keep them in it. My teachers gave me a decent grounding, but once I learned it they didn't keep me in it. I am paying for this now.

- Give them a grounding in music of all types, be it classical, jazz, new age, oldies, church music, etc. it makes a difference and will make their lives earlier. My piano teacher of the last 6-7 years did this and it has helped me immensly in my playing.