A Practical Guide to Teaching Adult Piano Students

Teaching adult piano students is a very different ball game than teaching the little ones. For one thing, they’re making the decision to take lessons completely of their own volition. For another, they’re probably putting way more pressure on themselves than any parent would put on a kid.

I’ve come to love teaching adult piano students, but I didn’t always. Many teachers complain about the drop-out rate, the lack of practice or the frequently cancelled lessons. I used to have all these issues too.

But my adults are now some of my most dedicated and reliable students. Plus they practice waaaaaaay more than most of the kiddos.

Here are the four key changes that flipped the switch and made teaching adult piano students my strength – not my headache.

1. Goal Setting

One of the benefits of adult students is that they should be able to articulate what they want, at least a little more clearly than children or teens.

At your first lesson with a new adult student, make sure you find out what their goals are. What kind of music would they like to play? Do they want to play with other musicians? Or perform? Or play Elton John arrangements on a Sunday afternoon?

Knowing where your adult students want to go is very important. After all, they’re choosing to go to these lessons and pay for them. If you’re not taking them down the right path, they’re not going to stick around. And you won’t know what path they want unless you ask.

What if they don’t know or won’t say? Some adults can be a bit shy or hesitant to tell you their goals at the first lesson.

That’s OK. Suggest a path for them to take for now, and as you move along, continue to check in with them. Make sure they have plenty of opportunities to have a say in repertoire choices down the track too.

2. Expectations

Another thing that’s very important to get right at the outset when teaching adult piano students is the expectations. Both your’s and the student’s.

Let’s start with the teacher’s expectations. For instance:

• Do you expect a certain amount of practice to be put in?
• Do they understand your policies including reschedules/cancellations?
• What happens if they don’t like a piece, can they just skip it?
• Do you want them to perform in concerts or other events?

And then there’s the student’s expectations. This is the part that most commonly goes awry with adult piano students. Make sure they have realistic ideas and assumptions.

• How much are they going to be able to practice?
• How fast are they expecting to progress? Try picking out a particular piece they want to play and give them an idea of how far away that is, if they stick to their practice projection.
• Do they have a good instrument? If they have a keyboard that’s sufficient for now – make sure they know when they will need to upgrade.

This might look like you’re going to scare your brand new adult student away as soon as they set foot in the door. Keep it conversational – but yes, you really do need answers to these questions. Otherwise you’re setting yourself up for a mismatch down the road that could have been avoided.

If you align your expectations properly, your adult student could be in your studio for years to come. If you don’t – they’ll be driving away faster than you can say: “unrealisticexpectations“.

By the way, if you need a good way to keep track of those expectations and improvements, you might like these adult assignment sheets.

3. Keep it Light

You need to get work done and improve their skills – I’m not saying don’t get serious about the piano. Just don’t be too heavy.

Piano is (most likely) supposed to be a fun, recreational activity for your adult student. Even if they’re very good, this isn’t their job. It’s supposed to be enjoyable and low stakes.

So don’t give out to them if they don’t practice. Don’t tell them anything “isn’t good enough” or “needs dynamics” or “lacks phrasing”. Correct these things, but correct them as a helpful guide, not as a critic.

Many of my adult students enjoy their scales and exercises, but if your student hates them, you have my permission to stop. Find another way to teach them the theory and technique of scales. Or wait until they need it for their repertoire.

Align everything to their goals, not your own standards. Help your adult student to play well – within their parameters. Don’t force them into a certain curriculum and suck all the enjoyment out of it.

Above all, make sure the lessons are fun and helpful. Adults more than children can be very self-aware and self-critical. Which brings me to my next point…

4. Three Stars

Do you know the phrase, “three stars and a wish”? It’s a catchy way to remember to give three compliments for every one thing to improve. It’s often cited by teachers of all subjects.

But we can sometimes forget this praise when it comes to our adult students. We may feel like adult piano students don’t need the outside validation in the same way that kids do. Maybe we think it will come across as patronising or insincere.

Don’t think that way. Adult students often need more praise, not less.

Even when given compliments many adult students will brush them away, passing the reward to someone else (“oh, well it’s a lovely arrangement”) or diminishing it by gradients (“It’s been a few weeks but it is a bit better, it sounds OK now alright”).

Just as with kids, make sure the praise is enthusiastic, and TRUE. Don’t give some half-hearted compliment – they’ll see right through it. And don’t just say it – exclaim it.

Make sure you help your adult students to see and celebrate their wins. Otherwise they’ll simply brush by them on their way to the next thing. Us adults are terrible for doing that.

Do you like teaching adult piano students?

What are some differences you’ve noticed between teaching adults and teaching kids? Do you struggle to keep adult students in your studio?

Share your experiences in the Vibrant Music Studio Teachers community on Facebook.

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