As a piano teacher, do you ever feel like you go through the Lesson book assignment with your piano student and then *poof* the lesson is over?
I can relate! And on top of our Lesson book pages, we want to squeeze in technique, theory, and some fun songs, too.
It is so easy to teach a piano student for years completely ignoring music history and music appreciation in piano lessons.
Don’t feel bad. I’ve done it, too!
Let’s explore just how important listening to music in lessons is and how to easily incorporate it into your students’ piano lessons!
Why Listening is So Important
I first stumbled across the true importance of listening as a young piano teacher when I noticed a trend with my beginner students:
The young students with parents who intentionally and actively listened to a wide variety of music picked up on everything so much easier than the young students who weren’t exposed to a lot of music growing up.
At first I thought this phenomenon was purely linked to musical genes. After all, musicians are going to play classical, jazz, etc music for their children intentionally! And while that is generally true, I had a few students roll through my studio that proved to me that it was the listening itself and not simply having musicians as parents.
Listening is Learning
We see this with language learning as well.
- Children hear a language first.
- Then they mimic.
- Then they speak to get a reaction.
- Then they communicate vocally.
- Then they learn to read.
- And eventually learn to write.
This progression also happens with the language of music, and as piano teachers I’m sure you are aware of this and use this when teaching notes and theory topics.
But what we might skip over is the listening part! There have been studies done that found that children need to hear adults talking around them a lot before they are able to start vocalizing themselves.
Benefits of Listening to Music in Piano Lessons
While we cannot control what our piano students are exposed to at home, we get them for 30 minutes per week (or 40 minutes, etc) and we should make the most of it!
Listening to music during piano lessons…
- Sparks general interest in music
- Introduces new genres
- Invites interest in older music that might not be as popular in culture
- Lays a musical foundation for creating their own sounds on the piano
- Encourages musicality and sensitivity when playing
- Helps students compare musical patterns and sounds
- Helps students feel rhythm more naturally
- Helps attune students’ musical ear
- Introduces interest into music history
- Clarifies interpretation of pieces they are playing (or will play)
- Makes lessons more fun and interesting
- Gives a brain break from playing
- Inspires them to become lifelong musicians
And all of this is not to mention the IQ and educational studies that have been done on children’s exposure to music at a young age.
What to Listen To
There are some obvious inspirational things to listen to in piano lessons, such as…well, classical piano performances! And that is a great place to start. But we need not stop there!
Here is a list of ideas to get you thinking:
- Classical piano or solo instrument music
- Orchestral works
- Vocal or choral music
- Folk music from anywhere in the world
- Jazz music in all of its forms
- Pop and movie music
- Kids songs
- Seasonal or holiday music
- Songs the student knows
- Songs the student doesn’t know
- Yeah, pretty much anything!
Listen to music related to what you are learning.
Listen to music unrelated to what you are learning.
Just…do it!
How to Sneak Listening into Lessons
Alright, I realize I might be preaching to the choir here. You’re a musician. I’m a musician. We both know the inherent value of kids listening to music!
But that’s not the issue, is it? The issue is that we have such little time with these kiddos and we want those hard working families to get their money’s worth. I totally get it.
Listening IS worth it though! And it’s too important to ignore.
So let’s get creative and brainstorm ways to sneak a little listening session into this week’s piano lessons!
Longer Lessons
One of the obvious ways to make more time for music theory, music history, and, alas, listening is to extend weekly lessons.
If you’re still stuck in the rut of teaching 30-minute lessons, let me encourage you to give this some thought!
I switched to 40-, 50-, and 60-minute lessons a few years back and I haven’t looked back!
Check out this article all about why 40-minute lessons are the new 30-minute lessons.
Listening When Introducing New Songs
As new songs are introduced in your students’ Lesson or Performance books, look for ways to sneak in a little listening session.
Listening to a piece before beginning work on it can be so very inspiring and makes the lesson more engaging than just sight-reading every new song.
Listen to…
- The actual song (as written in the book)
- The original version of the song (classical, orchestral, if it is an arrangement)
- A different version of the song (my favorite one to dig up is the bassoon ensemble version of In the Hall of the Mountain King)
- A similar song from the same genre, time period, part of the world, etc (if the actual song cannot be found)
Check out this article all about creative ways to introduce a new page in the book!
Listening as a Reward
You may know that I love to offer rewards and goals as part of my students’ week-to-week progression.
I created this goal-setting assignment book that tracks practice for 12 weeks and then offers a reward. One of the rewards I offer is a Listening Party.
A Listening Party is where a student (or partners or small group) will listen to some different types of music and talk about what they hear.
Sometimes we guess the instrumentation or the time period or the genre.
Sometimes we listen and replicate the melody or a similar sound on the piano.
Sometimes we just critique.
Students love knowing new things about music.
And students love giving their opinion!
Listening as a Game
Another reward I offer is a Game Day and there are so many ways to make a game out of listening to music!
One example of this is my Classical Period Bingo where students have to guess what time period and then mark off squares to get a bingo.
Another favorite is Christmas Carol Bingo played in December. Students have to guess the familiar holiday tunes and mark squares to get a bingo.
But probably the student favorite takes no printing or planning at all, and that is Freeze Dance. Put on some lively orchestra music while students dance around the studio and pause the music in the most unexpected spot. Watch students attempt to freeze in whatever dance move they find themselves in!
Listening as Background Music
While there isn’t a lot of downtime in piano lessons, every so often I’ll find an opportunity to play music in the background while students are working on something. I also take this opportunity when it arises and students love discussing and commenting on what they’re hearing.
Listening as a Music History or Theory Lesson
And don’t be afraid to carve out ten minutes of a piano lesson to talk through a concept or composer!
Bring up some performances when introducing a student’s first Baroque piece.
Or stop to talk about Tchaikovsky as a student is starting the Swan Lake theme.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to relating a listening session to a theory topic or a music history discussion.
Listening as a Brain Break
And, finally, if you can feel you’re losing a student or a student is having a hard time on a particular day. Stop. Close the book. Put on something to listen to. Tell them, “We’re just going to listen to this for a few minutes.” No game. No specific assignment. Just letting the magic of music calm things down a bit.
Listening Products
Adding a structured activity with a print-out can make listening in piano lessons even more engaging and meaningful!
Here are some digital products I’ve created to help piano teachers actively listen with their students. Click any product image to be directed to its page. For a few dollars, you can have a printable resource to use and reuse for years to come.
Listening Assignments Bundle
Seasonal Music Listening Assignment Bundle combines all four seasons of listening. Includes Google Slides™ presentations and printables. 5 listening assignments for each season (spring, summer, fall, and winter), including classical and jazz performances.
Classical Period Listening Bingo
Classical Period Bingo introduces or reviews all music history eras in a memorable way for elementary, middle school, or high school students!
Includes music history timeline, listening guide, and links to 32 classical music performances. 10 unique Bingo boards included as well.
Christmas Carol Listening Bingo
Christmas Song Bingo is an easy, student-approved game anyone can play with 24 favorite Christmas carols and radio hits. Celebrate the holidays with a music game break! Perfect for private piano instructors, group piano classes or general music classroom settings. Try it for your Holiday Party this year!
This music listening game includes a playlist of 24 familiar holiday tunes (Spotify and YouTube link included). Students are asked to guess the Christmas song title, and then mark their boards to get a Bingo.
Composer Stories & Listening Packs
Music History activity for piano students includes a composer story, listening links, Google Slides presentations, listening assignment sheets, posters, and worksheets.
Currently three composer packs are available: Tchaikovsky, Schumann, and Debussy. More to come in the future!
Peter Tchaikovsky Composer Story & Listening Pack
Robert Schumann Composer Story & Listening Pack
