How Piano Teachers Build Confidence in Students

Talent alone is not enough for today's music teacher or music students without a healthy amount of confidence. It has been stated many times in recent years that the growing anxiety of the young generation can be attributed to the over accessibility of the internet. Now more than ever, people can view others across the world participating and excelling in interests that the online viewer shares. Over exposure to this type of content can lead to the viewer experiencing a level of self doubt and uninterest in pursuing their field of interest when they can easily see others already doing it, and well. The mindset "why bother when someone else can do it" is more prevalent than ever when people, especially the young and susceptible, see someone their age succeeding at a craft without witnessing the trial and error beforehand.

This overexposure of witnessing the best sides of people online has tremendously increased in recent years. I remember growing up in the early stages of YouTube, most of the content uploaded were short, mini-productions that had scripts and characters, essentially online tv shows. Now, the majority of content on YouTube and other social media sites like TikTok are "real people" showcasing their talents. This content does not show the struggles and frustrations before being able to master something like a difficult piano piece, and without seeing the other side, it is easy to get in that mindset of self doubt, no matter how talented one may be. That is why talent alone is not enough, and you need to have the confidence in yourself to push towards success even after failing. A talented musician/student must put aside the distractions of the world and truly believe in themselves to be the best they can be.

As a teacher, it is our job to help build that confidence for our students to help them keep playing after us. The fear of failing is what I see hold back many of my students from wanting to take on what they perceive as a challenging piece. Failure must be taught as an important part of the learning experience and not something that doesn't exist, as what students may be led to believe from some online content. Teachers can help students feel comfortable making mistakes by responding with curiosity rather than criticism. For example they can ask, "What happened there?" or  "What could we try differently?' instead of a simple correction. When students learn that mistakes are safe, they become more willing to take musical risks. That willingness is essential for growth. When a mistake is followed by a laugh or a slight smile, then it is clear the student is not afraid to fail. ​

The key to building and maintaining confidence also relies on celebrating every musical victory with a student. No matter how big or small, confidence grows through any size of success. Let's say maybe a student finally plays four difficult measures smoothly, remembers a chord progression without help, or keeps a steady rhythm for the first time.These moments deserve recognition such as a sincere comment like “You worked really hard on that, and it paid off”, or a small reward like a sticker or game break, something to show that that their effort is paying off. Instead of focusing only on the final performance, teachers can point out how far the student has come since the beginning of the lesson, or even since the previous week. Through these shared moments, the relationship between teacher and student naturally plays a major role in maintaining confidence. A supportive teacher creates an environment where questions are welcome, mistakes are expected, and improvement is celebrated. It is hard to take on any task alone. I have been grateful to have had patient, supportive and talented teachers growing up, and I hope to be the same for my students.   
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Written by Chris Saenz.