Music Teaching Tips

What do Andrea Boccelli, Evelyn Glennie, and Hitoshi Oe all have in common? Each of these people is a successful professional musician (a vocalist, a percussionist, and a composer who is a pianist), and all are special learners (visually impaired, hearing impaired, and mentally challenged). These people were able to realize their musical talents because music teachers adapted their instruction to meet their special needs as learners.

Teaching special learners in general music generally has been accepted in music education, but the idea of teaching piano to special learners is less common. The cognitive, physical, and social abilities and disabilities of a "special learner" provide significant challenges to a private or group piano teaching situation. The teacher will need to be aware of the instructional adaptations that will need to be made in order for these students to succeed in piano study. However, through minor modifications and adaptations of traditional piano teaching techniques and by borrowing techniques used primarily in special education, piano teachers can teach many special learners and include them in their piano studios.