Have you noticed a trend of piano students quitting before they finish Level 3?
This struck me a few years ago when I was putting in a piano method book order for the new school year. I noticed I hadn’t ordered the Level 4 books in my favorite method book series in over a year!
Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 had all been ordered and re-ordered several times over, but Level 4 was collecting dust.
With any long-term skill like piano, there will always be more who start than “finish,” but what was it about Level 3 specifically that was causing students to drop off?
In this article, I’ll go over:
- Why this is a crucial coming-of-age period in their journey,
- What challenges come up in Level 3, and
- How to turn challenges into wins.
Read to the end for a little freebie just for our Level 3-4 students!
What Happens in Level 3?
As I thought about a piano student’s journey, it all started to make sense. Not all levels are created equal. And there truly is something more challenging about making it through Level 3.
First of all, the momentum of starting a new skill has dropped off. In the beginning, each lesson taught the student something new but it was simple concepts and likely it all came easily.
And secondly, if the student started piano lessons at the typical age of 4-8, they are likely in middle school when working through Level 3. This is a time of big changes in every area of their life!
In addition, Level 3 takes them from the elementary level to an intermediate level so there are legitimate, big challenges each month as they navigate through Level 3.
Why is Level 3 into Level 4 so Important?
Moving through Level 3 to be ready for Level 4 is really a coming-of-age in a piano student’s musical journey, regardless of their age when they approach this transition.
Students must master those big and final late elementary skills in order to emerge into the early intermediate level!
But when this level does come up during the middle school years, the challenge is even greater! They are navigating so many changes during this time and may be struggling to make time for piano at all, much less extra challenges coming up within their hobby.
The Level 3 – 4 Bridge
I refer to this time as the Level 3 – 4 Bridge. It’s the “bridge” that takes them from elementary to intermediate.
Imagine the student is skipping along a well-worn path through the woods. Nothing but sunshine and butterflies on the trip so far.
But they come up on a steep cliff. Dangling from this cliff is a long, narrow bridge. From where they are, they cannot see the other side.
They step on the first plank of the bridge. Okay, not so bad, I guess.
They take another step. A little wobbly. This feels uncomfortable.
“How long is this bridge?” “I’m not sure I want to do this anymore.” “Maybe I should go back on the easy path.”
You can imagine how disorienting it might be if the path has been so easy thus far!
What Challenges Come up During This Transition?
Now that you have a better understanding of what Level 3 feels like from your students’ perspective, let’s talk about the tangible challenges that make up the narrow bridge to Level 4.
Here are some of the challenges students encounter throughout Level 3 of their piano journey:
- Out-of-position reading. For the first time, there isn’t a starting position for each song. And movements within the song are often not marked as they were in Level 2. This brings on a whole new mindset, especially for students who tend to rely heavily on finger numbers and hand positions.
- New notes (ledger lines). They’ve had all of the notes of the staff memorized for a while now. They may not remember the challenge of digesting a brand new note on the staff. And, worse yet, if they haven’t entirely mastered the notes on the staff–now they have to navigate the notes off of the staff!
- New taste in songs. The songs that were fun to play when they were younger are not exciting anymore. They might be into more emotional or deep music. A fast and loud song does not hold the same attraction anymore! Students can struggle to understand just why their method book songs aren’t fun anymore and they may not know how to communicate their tastes to their teacher. Furthermore, their tastes may still be developing, so even they don’t know what they like or want to play.
- Practice strategy needed. Chances are they could glide by playing through their songs a few times a week. Short songs and easier concepts meant a play-through strategy was all they needed. Longer songs and bigger challenges now means playing from the first measure to the last measure isn’t going to cut it anymore.
- Bigger time commitment. In addition to not knowing exactly how to practice, they also may need more time to practice than in previous levels. Unfortunately, this comes at a time when they are busier than they’ve ever been! Simply carving out practice time can be its own challenge.
- Bored of books. Same old books for several levels now–boring! They just aren’t as motivated to crack open those beautiful method books anymore. It’s starting to feel more like a chore than a new hobby.
- Piano lessons are now old. And speaking of a new hobby, piano lessons are no longer the new, cool thing they are trying. Other hobbies may catch their eye, and, at this point, anything looks easier and more fun than piano. Enter: the temptation to give up.
Turning Challenges into Wins
As a piano teacher, how can you support your students throughout Level 3? If you see some of these symptoms come up, it’s easy to feel powerless as their doubts and their busy life seem to pull them away from their dedication to piano.
But the good news is: there is a lot you can do to encourage them and help them over the bridge!
Here are some ideas to try with your students.
1) Acknowledge the “Bridge”
Your students don’t have the big picture of their journey yet, and they may not even know that there is a bridge. And they likely have no idea what is on the other side for them!
Simply by explaining where they’re at in their journey can help a ton!
Let them know they’re not alone. Everyone encounters this bridge in their journey.
Tell your bridge story. How did you make it over the bridge and to where you are today in your piano playing?
2) Find Their Style
Especially if they are in middle school, they need some help finding their musical style and taste.
Simply asking, “What kind of music do you want to play?” will likely not be enough.
Most students are still discovering themselves at this age.
So take the time to sample a variety of music with them in the lesson. This is not a waste of time.
Play them a different genre of music each week at the beginning of the lesson. If they’re shy, just watch their face. If you stumble upon something they love, they will not be able to hide it in their facial expression!
3) Start a Passion Project
Do something that lights them up.
Find what they love and build on that.
Do they love a very specific type of classical literature? Do they love jazz ballads? Are they a gamer? Find the theme song sheet music to their favorite game. Are they an emo kid? Together, learn how to play the opening riff to their favorite song on the keys.
Do they want to play chords like a guy they saw on YouTube? Do it!
Do they want to write their own music? Do it!
Let this project break any rule you have for how piano lesson time is spent. Yes, continue in the books, but carve out a portion of each lesson to spend on the passion project.
Again, it may take weeks or months to even discover what the student wants to do. Be patient, get creative, and don’t give up on them. Watch for that “face lighting up” moment and then run with it.
4) Switch Piano Methods
Something just a change of scenery or something fresh can be the motivation they need.
I know you have your favorite method book series. I do, too. But, it’s not about us, Teacher Friend!
Research some other methods and maybe try something new!
Here is a list of piano method books to get you started.
5) Use Practice Goals
Little incentives are easy with young beginning piano students. But don’t forget that big kids like incentives, too!
I’ve used this Goal Setting Assignment Book for several years with great success in my studio!
Each quarter (13 weeks), if students reach their practice goal, I give them the reward of their choice. Some examples of rewards I offer are (keep in mind some of these are more popular with the littles):
- Game Day
- Pajama & Stuffy Day
- Treat Day
- Listening Day
- Special Song Project
- $5.00 Cash
- $5.00 Starbucks Gift Card
These little books also have a place for students to dream about their goals once per quarter. And one of these books lasts them a full year or more.
Check out the Piano Skill Set Goal Setting Assignment Book on Amazon.
6) Make Theory Fun
For me, music really came to life when I started to study and understand the theory behind it. That’s when I started writing my own music and wanting to teach others and make music my full-time career.
I think if students only experience music theory through a dry, one-page-a-week theory book, it may turn them off to the whole idea of learning the incredible science and math side of music.
And I think it’s up to us as piano teachers to make theory come to life.
Theory Games
One way to make theory come to life is by using theory games and activities in your piano lessons.
Games are not just for little kids! Big kids need a brain break, too.
That is one of the big reasons I started creating my own resources, which I sell on TeachersPayTeachers and Etsy. I couldn’t find fun games for some of those “older kid” theory concepts that come up in Level 3 like key signatures, ledger lines, chords, scales, etc.
Even just grabbing a pair of dice to make warm-ups more fun can be a game changer! (No pun intended.)
Browse through my resources, create your own…whatever you do, change it up and introduce theory games into your lessons.
Change your Theory Book
I love exploring piano method books, and I’ve written a lot about them. But, I do feel there is a serious lack of good quality choices when it comes to theory books! Personally, I feel the theory books that go along with the major piano method book series are lacking. And the “theory only” series out there tend to be pretty dry.
So, I’m actually creating my OWN THEORY BOOK SERIES! As I’m writing this, it is just in the beginning stages of development, but please do check it out. I am super excited about the possibilities with that line of books!
7) Chill Out
Hear me out here. I know you’re a great piano teacher because you have your favorite methods, and your perfect schedule, and way of doing things….but maybe, just maybe…
(and I’m talking to myself here)
…you chill out just a little bit.
Chill out on the assignments. Maybe drop a book or two. I know! We can’t leave anything out! Look, I get it. I’m right there with you. But, maybe we just cut these Level 3 kids some slack for a while.
Maybe…it’s the difference between them quitting piano altogether and sticking with it for another year.
Chill out at the lessons. And maybe we just let the lessons breathe a little bit.
Leave a little space to hear a story about their homeroom teacher’s dog. Maybe lessons need to be a little mini therapy session every now and then. Maybe today we just listen for chords in some hip hop songs. Maybe today is a “not even going to crack open the books” day.
Be open minded. Be flexible. Go with the flow.
Honestly, this will make the Level 3 into Level 4 transition a more fun experience for both you and the student.
8) Get Small Win
Lastly, just go for the small wins.
Student not practicing at all for three weeks straight? Small win = they practiced ten minutes before coming to their lesson. Let’s celebrate.
Student still on the same page of their lesson book for a month? Small win = they remembered the F-sharp in measure 2 for the first time without being reminded. Let’s celebrate.
Student is so busy they never come with all the right books. Small win = they brought all of their books today. Let’s celebrate.
The beautiful part of this piano teacher job is that we get to foster each student in their unique and highly personal musical journey. There is no classroom full of Level 3’s. There is no comparing. There is just you and this student. Let their journey be uniquely their own and be proud to walk with them.
Free Level 4 Early Intermediate Sheet Music
I wrote this original piano solo for a student of mine who is almost across the bridge (through Level 3B). They are struggling a little bit to traverse those final planks.
But something cool happened in a lesson a few weeks back. We were working on a lead sheet for church and I showed him a left hand pattern to spice up the tonic chord. He loved it and wanted to master it.
So I wrote this Level 4 piano solo around that left hand pattern!
The thing about the Level 3 – 4 student is that they CAN do hard things but they have to find motivation their own way. When something sparks their interest, they’ll make the skill jump into something challenging! And that is so fun to see.
Here is a Level 4 “sad pop vibes” solo piano piece called Love For a Moment. Enter your email here and I’ll send it to you.
I hope you enjoy!
Ready For a Different Method?
I mentioned earlier that a change of scenery (i.e. a different piano method book series) could be just the thing to spark interest in a Level 3 – 4 student.
Wunderkeys Intermediate Piano Method books have been that pivot series for a few of my students over the last decade. This series is totally unique and geared towards modern sounds and techniques. It may be just the thing for one of your students.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Wunderkeys books, check out this full review.
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