Piano Teachers' Course Increases in Music Colleges
2014/08/07 | コメント(0)
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How to be a good piano teacher after graduation from music colleges? Nowadays music colleges, which have been rather performance-oriented, offer courses designed for future piano teachers.
According to Prof. Shinya Okahara, "Course for piano teachers" was established in Osaka Music College to teach accompaniment, transposition, variation, improvisation, etc. that are required in daily piano lessons.
As this course aims at successful acquisition of "Yamaha Performance Grade 4" and "Yamaha Teaching Grade 4" or higher grades at the time of graduation, lecturers are invited from Yamaha to teach college students. It also intends to develop communication skills through learning educational psychology and experiencing teaching practices in kindergartens, so that they can build good relationships with parents and employers in the future.
Prof.Yukiko Deto (photo with her student), the active teacher of this course, thinks it important to be well prepared for teaching children, and let students learn through practical workshops such as demonstration lessons, comparative research of learning materials, piano studio management, etc.
In the piano teachers' course at Soai University, Prof. Eiji Yamamoto asks freshmen to help them clarify the goal; "Where, and how do you want to teach piano?". Then he encourages them to find the grade examinations that correspond to their aspirations, and to start learning chord progression, accompaniment, sight reading, etc. to prepare for exams. He also let them engage in activities that are immediately useful after graduation, such as gathering information on piano competitions, building programs for class concerts, etc. "They love music, and they can work for what they love. Piano teacher is to make people understood the beauty and excellence of music, and I would like to help them aware of that" said Prof.Yamamoto.
Music teaching course at Sapporo Otani University is likewise. In addition to the above-mentioned curriculum of other universities, they incorporate the workshops for comparative research on competition repertoires and live listening of competitions.
Then, how did senior teachers develop their teaching skills so far? Ms. Tomoko Yanoshita is aware that the way of teaching should be changing as the living environment changes. "We have to leave our childhood experiences behind, and try to understand how children are living today. We must learn new things every day and it would make progress in our daily piano lessons. I learned academic side of music at a music college and music therapy at private sector, that helped me face with various students."
Prof.Noriaki Koka, a piano teacher and father of Marina Koka (silver prize winner of 2012 PTNA Grade Superior) states that one cannot teach advanced level students unless s/he can teach students of all levels. "We have to have sense of respect and flexible ways of thinking, as well as good communication skills and reliable personality. If you lose a student who you have dearly taught, you may lose your head. But it is at this moment that you could grow as a teacher. Piano teaching is definitely one of the contributions for society".
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