Elizabeth Basconi
Piano
Teaching Principles
I believe music belongs to everyone.
With careful instruction, practice, and the desire to learn, everyone can grow as a musician.
These principles form the foundation of my teaching...
1. Every student can become an independent learner.
2. We learn best when we use our whole bodies.
3. We learn from every experience.
...and support my students' learning!
1. Every student can become an independent learner.
A few weeks into the semester, my new student James (age 7) was still getting used to practicing, with gradual progress. At the beginning of one lesson, he announced, “I want to play all the pieces in my book by the end of the year.” I was impressed. His book was 40 pages long! James worked hard each day to break down new music into short sections and to follow my list of practice steps for learning the pieces. With each piece he mastered, his learning became more efficient and his motivation to reach his goal increased. He loved playing each piece and putting a check mark or sticker on the ones he finished. Every few lessons, he asked how many more lessons there were until the end of the year so he could check his progress. Although he finished the year with a few pages left in his book, he became one of my most independent students. No matter their age or experience, I work to find your child’s motivation and translate it into the desire and capability for independent learning.
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No matter their age or playing level, every student can be empowered to become an independent learner. Independence enables a student to become a life-long musician.
Even in his initial weeks of lessons, James showed signs of becoming a life-long musician. Life-long musicians love playing and embracing new challenges. They know how to practice and learn pieces independently. The journey to becoming a life-long musician starts with a student gaining ownership of their learning, just like James did. My piano lessons are not just about learning pieces, but also about acquiring the practice tools and discipline to make independent learning possible. Nothing gives me greater joy than watching students use practice tools to master new music and to witness students recognize their accomplishments!
2. We learn best when we use our whole bodies.
When Hannah (age 9) played music with quarter note and half note rhythms, it took several weeks before the pulse was steady. I knew learning quicker eighth notes would be challenging, so I gave Hannah opportunities to experience eighth note rhythms with her whole body. In lessons, we did activities that connected familiar physical motions to music. We alternated quick tip-toeing eighth notes with walking quarter notes. We used our feet to step the rhythm of her piece. We bounced our knees while speaking and clapping the rhythm of her piece. Soon Hannah connected the steady “down - up” of bouncing her knees with steady eighth note patterns. Hannah practiced these techniques at home and in her piano lessons. Over many pieces and several months, her eighth notes became consistently even! She feels proud to know how to practice and perform eighth notes in new and more challenging music.
Using our whole bodies is the key to unlocking the music that is already inside us.
Some people have a naturally strong sense of rhythm, while others need more time to discover it. Steady rhythmic pulse is already part of our body’s movements, from the quietest heartbeat to the fastest sprint to the most joyful skip. I never give up while working with a student who needs more time. I knew that with regular practice of connecting her physical movements to music, Hannah would be able to play eighth notes evenly. The practice techniques she learned for eighth notes are already empowering her to learn more challenging rhythms.
3. We learn from every experience.
Three years ago, Sarah (age 11) was ready to play a piece from memory in a recital. She had played it confidently in lessons for several weeks. In the performance, she stumbled through part of a section and became quite disappointed. The experience remained so strong in her memory that in the next recital, she was too nervous to play from memory and insisted on playing while looking at the music. I wanted her to regain confidence in her ability to play from memory. In the next semester, she worked hard to apply more practice strategies for memorization and made careful plans for practice performances at home in the weeks prior to the recital. It was deeply rewarding to watch her gain confidence over the next few recitals, and most recently, to perform a piece from memory again - twelve pages long!
The path to confidence and mastery is not always linear. We choose how we respond to our experiences, whether they are positive or negative.
Sarah could have chosen to let her negative experience prevent her from ever performing from memory again. However, I didn’t doubt that she could regain the confidence to do so, and drew upon my own performing experiences to help her discover the right practice techniques. With this empowerment as well as encouragement, Sarah willingly chose to perform from memory again and discovered she could do it! I’m so proud of her willingness to learn from a difficult performance and become a stronger musician. It’s a valuable lesson that will stay with her throughout her life!
