Creative Keyboardist Blog
Featuring fresh ideas, tips and inspiration for adult piano students and those who teach them. Find older posts by category or keyword by visiting the Categories and Tags sections in the right sidebar. Welcome!
Composer Spotlight: Jeanine Yeager
Composer Jeanine Yeager discusses her music and thoughts about teaching music composition to adult piano students.
Why Do Adults Study Piano?
At Creative Keyboardist, we ask new students about their deepest motivations and intentions for studying piano. As a lifelong learner myself, I’ve found that clarifying my motivations for a learning project is tremendously helpful for enhancing my enjoyment of the...
Music Theory for Adult Piano Students: A Conversation with Joshua Tanis (Part 2)
Q. What are three or more solo keyboard compositions or recordings, in any genre, classical or popular, that you think every piano student should get to know? A. Chopin’s “Heroic Polonaise,” the Polonaise in A-flat major…
Music Theory for Adult Piano Students: A Conversation with Joshua Tanis (Part 1)
Joshua Tanis is a Lecturer in the Department of Music Theory at the University of Michigan. As a collaborative pianist he has worked on local, national, and international stages with artists from the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago,...
Is It More Difficult to Learn Piano as an Adult?
All things being equal, it is no more difficult for adults to learn piano than children. Most adults can become proficient-to-excellent piano players, allowing them to achieve typical recreational goals. Both adults and children have unique advantages for learning...
What’s the Best Way to Learn to Play the Piano?
We’ve all heard the well-worn proverb “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you’ll feed him for a lifetime.” The meaning is that teaching someone a skill to meet their needs is better for them in the long run than providing instant gratification of those needs. How does this relate to learning piano, particularly for adults?
Teaching Adult Piano Students: A Conversation with Brenda Dillon (Part 3)
Recently, recreational music making (RMM) trailblazer Brenda Dillon generously spoke with me for over two hours. In this final part of our conversation, we spoke about practicing, ear training and listening skills, styles that adult piano students should consider...
Teaching Adult Piano Students: A Conversation with Brenda Dillon (Part 2)
Recently, recreational music making (RMM) trailblazer Brenda Dillon generously spoke with me for over two hours. In this middle part of our conversation, we spoke about common questions that adult piano students have, issues related to teaching and learning...
Teaching Adult Piano Students: A Conversation with Brenda Dillon (Part 1)
Recently, recreational music making (RMM) trailblazer Brenda Dillon generously spoke with me for over two hours. In the first part of our conversation, we spoke about the distinctions between RMM and traditional piano teaching, the challenges of teaching adults, and...
Get to Know the Keyboard Like an Old Friend
If you already read music (including flats and sharps) this mini-lesson is for you. Do you relate to the white and black keys like they’re unfamiliar, possibly intimidating, strangers? Or as familiar friends? Wouldn't you prefer the latter? To feel like one of those...