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Problems with Modern Piano Methods
1. Unbalanced and incomplete: They have
an unbalanced emphasis on certain aspects of music while neglecting others.
2. Introduce error: They employ teaching tricks and shortcuts which,
instead of speeding up learning, serve to introduce error and confusion that
hinder development of necessary foundational concepts and skills.
3. Need "transition": They use ineffective methods for teaching note
reading such as hand positions which prove to be inadequate when the student
gets to more complicated music, creating the need for teachers to learn how
to overcome difficult "transitions" to piano literature.
4. Delay progress: They artificially delay progress; repeating many
songs at the same level of difficulty, causing students to wait several
years unnecessarily before they play the piano literature.
5. Lack technical explanations: They give inadequate direction
concerning development of proper technique.
6. Draw on fun and entertainment: They use mostly familiar and
popular songs designed to entertain students eventually causing them to lose
interest in music.
7. Reactive teaching: Does not provide what the teacher needs in
order to fully prepare students to play and understand correctly the first
time. |
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The Solutions in The Conservatory Course
1. Balanced and complete: Provides a
comprehensive and balanced system for teaching all aspects of piano
simultaneously.
2. Corrects error: Corrects the common errors prevalent in today’s
teaching methods, presenting concepts in context and in the easiest, most
understandable order - the order in which they developed historically.
3. Progresses steadily without transition: Develops alphabetical
reading, saving enormous amounts of lesson time that will be freed up for
demonstrating and working out technical skills.
4. Accelerates progress: Accelerates progress, avoiding the extended
delay in progress typical of today’s methods (Level 2 of the Conservatory
Piano Course is equivalent to level 4 of many others).
5. Step-by-step technical development: Provides practical
step-by-step guidance for teaching technical skills, including ways to
verbally explain and physically demonstrate them so students are able to
reproduce the desired sound.
6. Draws on the joy of learning: Provides universally accepted piano
literature, designed to develop students’ musical understanding and broaden
their musical exposure by acquainting them with the musical thoughts of the
minds of great composers.
7. Proactive teaching: Saves valuable lesson time by teaching
proactively, preventing the need for remedial work, and by providing the
most straightforward and efficient path to learning. Thus, minimizing the
differences in students by helping more students succeed. |