In July of 2009 an experiment was conducted that did not have anything to do with piano teaching. But, as it turned out, the results have EVERYTHING to do with piano teaching.
The Significant Objects Experiment
In 2009, some researchers purchased $128.74 of thrift-store junk. Then, they hired a team of creative writers who composed unique, fictional stories about each piece of junk. Next, they auctioned the junk on ebay attaching the fictional stories to each product description (buyers were aware the stories were fictional).
The result… the thrift-store junk, with their creative stories as a selling feature, brought in $3612.51.
The conclusion… meaning matters!
What It Means For Piano Teachers
Until the “junk” was assigned a meaningful story, it was just… junk. It had no purpose, meaning, or significance.
And so it is with piano repertoire.
Until a piano student connects with a piano piece, it is simply… a piano piece. And a piano piece means nothing to a student until it gains some significance. If you want to motivate your piano students then you have to help them find meaning in every piece they play.
And finding meaning is personal. The same piano piece can connect with different piano students in different ways. This is why something as seemingly trivial as changing the name of a piano piece can have a profound impact on a piano students’ motivation.
(Of course, it’s always good to move beyond the trivial, but if you’re simply looking to inspire a 6 year old boy, changing the name of a piano piece to “Dirk The Dragon Slayer” can work wonders!)
Dig Deeper As Students Get Older
Obviously, changing the name of a piano piece only works for so long. As your students get older, you’re going to have to help them dig deeper to connect with the repertoire they are playing. Some simple ways to do this include:
- Having your students write a fictional story to accompany a piano piece
- Using language such as, “This piece reminds me of a time when”
- Using language such as, “I like the way it sounds because…”
- Creating a new piece based on the old piece by changing dynamics etc.
- Sharing interesting stories about the composer’s life (imagine little details like “What happened to him that morning? Who was he with? What had he seen?”)
- Having your students draw a picture inspired by the piano piece.
From Now On, Never Introduce New Repertoire Without…
… first remembering the Significant Objects Experiment. Not only will it have a huge impact on the success of your students, but it will also have a huge impact on the financial success of your piano studio.