Dear Mr. Chappell:

Many of my students are technically way below me. When I am teaching, the thing I am constantly struck in the face with is: how do you bring it down to the level of the person you are working with?

— Experienced One

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Dear Experienced One:

I customize my teaching to each person that I’m working with. The questions I want to answer are: 1. where is this person now, 2. what do they need most, and 3. how can they get from where they are to the next higher step? Then it’s up to my imagination to answer the third question. That’s how I bring things to their level--questions 1 and 2. And the third question is designed to bring them to a higher level. I don’t want for them to stay at their level in any case (and neither do you, of course).

Sometimes I find myself answering that third question 10 times in a row if the first 9 things we try don’t seem to catch on with the student. In other words, I keep inventing solutions.

There has to be a way for the student to feel satisfied with results at their own technical level. For example, if the student feels uncomfortable, I ask him/her to practice comfort by playing only when it feels like the right time to play instead of feeling obligated to produce. And ask him/her to play more slowly in order to have more time to think. People may not like playing slowly, but they do like having time to think, so it’s important to give the reason.

I also try to find techniques that can be done at different levels of ability. "Do this thing, but do it at your own level" is what is expected. For example, students can practice using different rhythms (see “Methods for Practicing” under “Articles” on this website), but they can do this on a one-octave scale, a Hanon exercise, or a Liszt etude. It works for all of them.

— J.C.