First Lesson

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Do any of you teachers have a set format or goals for a first lesson with a student, and

[Calista Anne Koch]

I ask them to come prepared with 1 song that is perfected (I prefer it to be memorized) and 1 song they are working on.

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

It depends on whether the student is a raw beginner or not. If they have played for a while already, then they bring something they know well. This gives me a chance to observe how relaxed their hands are, how musically they play, whether they hold their breath, etc., and I make notes as to what is working well and what is not. I ask each student to bring a notebook in which I can write my comments. If they have no book, I write on a piece of paper and ask them to transfer it into the book that they will bring to the next lesson. I usually fire off a few choice bits of advice that they can concentrate on, and we work on those points for the first lesson. I use this approach for any new students whether I have met them previously or not.

[carl-swanson]

Elizabeth- That’s basically what I do too. I only take students who have been playing for a while, and when a new student comes to me I ask that they plan on playing something for me that they are very comfortable with. I’m interested in seeing how they use their hands and fingers, not in the hardest piece they can play. I also ask them to bring a list of everything they have worked on in the past two years or so, starting with the most recent.

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