As music teachers, we most often teach children. We try to prepare them for any musical situation that they may encounter in the future, be it music major, member of a garage rock band, college level music course, session musician, music educator or just a lifetime of enjoyment. Even though 90 percent will never make a career out of music, our job is to teach them everything that we know and to make them better than we are. From time to time, we will get a different kind of student who calls our studio, one who will likely never make a career out of music: the adult beginner.Though in the minority, adults do take lessons. In fact, as I write this, 30 percent of my personal students are adults. Some of them played when they were kids, some have been playing off and on for years but with no formal education, and some are brand new to the instrument. I often find that when an adult comes to me for lessons, most seem to say all the same things: “I want to be able to play a few songs around the campfire,” or “I just want to sit at the piano and have fun,” or “I want to be able to play music with my friends.”
The adult beginner often takes lessons because it is something they always wanted to do and now they have the time and/or money to do it. But as music teachers, do we treat them the same as we would an eight year old student? No. Adults, having a fully developed mind, can get concepts quicker than a child. They are not out to learn everything there is to learn on the instrument either. I often find that piano teachers especially have one way of teaching. It doesn’t matter if they are 8 or 68, they teach the same to everyone. That doesn’t work with an adult beginner. It has been said that with video games, computers and TV, children are looking for instant gratification now more than in the past, and to some degree that is probably true. But I find that the adult beginner requires instant gratification much more than children do. I have had adults come back the second week and want to quit because it is too difficult. Most of the time, adult beginners don’t take lessons as long as kids do either.
So how do we teach the adult beginner? Start out the first lesson just talking to the student. Find out why they want to play the instrument, what they want to learn or their goals. Adults will often have a reason or something specific they want to be able to do, whereas children will just say “cuz it looks fun.” Find out what music the adult student likes, what artists they enjoy. Make them be as specific as possible. Then, teach them a few easy chords to their favorite song, or the melody, or how to play a blues or something simple like Happy Birthday or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, just to get them going. Do not start teaching them out of the beginning book be creative. At some point, you will have to teach them more traditional concepts, but don’t make it the focal point of your lessons. Many adults still work, have kids and business trips, and they may not always have the time to practice. They don’t all respond well to constant criticism about their practicing, so keep that to a minimum as well if you want them to be in it for the long haul.
Adults are not looking to make a career out of music; they just want to have fun. They will not generally stick with their teachers as long as children do and require instant gratification. So while you have them, teach them to play things they like. Then they too will be able to enjoy making music.
