What’s the key to helping our students grow musically? Get to know your students as people.

An experience during one week of lessons reminded me of the power of getting to know my students, not just as musicians, but as people.

Two students presented the same musical mistakes yet with different causes. By knowing a little bit about them outside of the context of music lessons, I was able to diagnose the root problem and provide the appropriate solution.

Two students of similar ages possessing the intellectual knowledge and technical facility to perform the assigned music were stuck with awkward pauses between the measures.

What was I, as their teacher, to do to help remedy their situation?

I leaned into my knowledge of the students as people to find the proper solution for each student.

The first student, a former voice student, paused to take a physical breath as if she was singing the melody. The student began to play fluidly when they separated their physical breath from the act of playing the piano.

The second student, a youth with an ADHD diagnosis, paused when focusing on only one note at a time. When encouraged to look forward to the next note while playing the present note the student discovered a new ease in their playing.

What’s the one tip to improve your music teaching? Get to know your students!

As teachers, if we want to inspire our students to fall in love with music while encouraging them to pursue excellence in their playing, we must get to know our students as people. In knowing who they are, we can find individual solutions to their musical quandaries.


Catherine Sipher is a remote piano teacher at Blossom Piano Studio, located outside Boston, MA. With over 20 years of piano teaching experience, nothing brings her more joy than sharing the beauty of music with her students. When not teaching, she can be found spending time in nature, writing, practicing yoga, and enjoying time with her 6 children.

Catherine Sipher
blossompianostudioma@gmail.com