The Problem With Piano Lessons

Every year, thousands of people enter piano lessons, but only a handful learn enough so they can enjoy lessons later themselves. Since we now know that anyone can learn piano--it's not 'rocket science," why would this issue still persist? Of course, on the surface, the problem appears to be a 1) talent issue, and/or a 2) motivational issue. When normal people begin lessons, in the absence of any specific identifiable personal pathology (e.g., personality disorder, psychosis), then stop lessons while still beginners, it is assumed that the decision to drop out is due to either psychosocial factors (lack of motivation), or due to lack of some natural musical talent. This is diagnosis by exclusion and it is irrational. Why? because it is not that insensitive or inappropriate tests have been used to understand this "mass exodus" from lessons; it is because there have been NO TESTS to ascertain the problem. In science, it is always necessary to try to document the presence of psychosocial factors that can (A) put a halt to lessons, or (B) transduce psychosocial perceptions of threat into somatic symptoms, anxiety or maladaptive behavior (e.g., avoidance) independent of any type of percieved talent. Unfortunately, this type of examination is not being done to date.

In social sciences, mostly in psychology and psychophysiology, we know well that psychological symptoms become amplified by situational psychosocial stress or by internal perceptions of threat. The students seldom show gross overt anxiety, depression or acting out, and often do not meet stringent criteria for a psychological diagnosis. Thus, a subclinical population exists; people who have adverse experiences to the degree that they may experience symptoms, but there are not enough criteria present to reach a diagnosis.

For folks in other professions, when anxiety other psychological problems appear, many avenues for treatment often exist. However, in the arts, a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association applies: . . . as "one of medicine's blind spots." It is a large blind spot.

Why do I say this about the arts? The reason is the lifetime prevalence of anxiety and depression in the arts--reported in more than 76% of all artists. Where do these symptoms come from? Dr. Linda Hamilton informs us of the problems in early lessons; teachers who do not understand developmental differences expecting a small child to be like an adult, pitting student against one another to find the "best," using anger to control students., etc. Performing Arts Physicians who treat problems in artists surmize that the problems the artists face largely stem from those early lessons.

What is wrong with the lessons? The largest single factor is simply the TEACHING MODEL itself. Expecting students of any age, and often they are age 6-8 when they begin, to have contact with the "music world" 30-45 minutes, once per week, then go home and plan & carry out practice, flys in the face of everything we know about human behavior, let alone childhood behavior. First, few people can withstand this abject lack of contact--only seeing a teacher for a short time, once per week, then being asked to repeat an assignment daily, verbatim. People generally do not prepare things--anything--without a deadline and having to answer to someone 'higher up.' For children, the scenario is worse, because their brain development is so immature. The parts of their brains that carry out plans are largely ineffective until adolescence, rendering young children nearly incapable to do weekly assignments. Then, there is sheer lack of reinforcement, or knowledge of results, as the week grinds on. Piano is a complex instrument, but regardless of the instrument, only a very few children can negotiate the reality of once-per-week teacher contact. They just cannot do it.

Then, what is the diagnosis? It is the "lack of talent / motivation" diagnosis, and the label is 'being a kid today.' So, this label and diagnosis persists until no one can stand it anymore, and the child stops lessons, never to restart. It is too painful; after all, who wants to be labeled a "kid today" (meaning that you are loser and genetically inferior to prior generations)? No one can take being told they are "unmotivated," or worse yet, "untalented," with all of these labels being applied by people who are not trained to diagnose or look at this problem from a multifactorial viewpoint.

The piano teaching model needs an overhaul. It suffers from the same problem that any profession suffers from when there are no challenges to "it's always been done that way." Our school system, for example, has done scientific research now for neary a century for classroom improvement, teacher training skills, better delivery systems for children, etc. The field is so large it has a name--Educational Psychology, and the school system itself continually conducts self-examination so as to move itself forward. Despite anyone's ability to criticize it today, it is still way ahead of where it was 10 years ago, 20 years ago, etc. Sadly, private music teaching has made no such advancements. Worse yet, practitioners do not consult the resources that are within the school systems' publications, or within psychology.

It appears that the current teaching model is strongly associated with a form of psychopathology in many of those who did not continue long enough to achieve proficiency. We know that conscious negative memories may be more likely to be associated with psychological symptoms like anxiety and depression, while repressed memories are associated with chronic autonomic nervous sytem dysregulation (causing headaches, stomach problems, etc.). Since these issues do exist, it needs to be made a priority to change current teaching models, bringing them up to date with psychological and educational science. Until that shift occurs, large numbers of people will go on failing in private lessons, blaminig themselves rather than the situation.