Age and Approach

15

Those who have: aways e:njOlyed mustc, perhaps have sung in at choir
and, wiRlh ~he:ir ne:wfoulllcl1 ma~1\idty, wOIuj(cl1now
te qake up an
instrument
Such musicians will be strongly motivated and, once they
have got to grips with problems of technique and co-ordination
(which
will probably take some time to master), they will make good prcgrcss.

m~e

Those who reel that music is going te become

dealt with in Chapter 19.

a career

This will be

Te/dvh; n- dJ V It
Though the methods and strategies for teaching adults will be, broadly
speaking, similar to those you use for teaching children, there will be
some fundamental differences. Adults will be highly motivated but, at the
same time, often dismissive of their ability. They also tend to be very
criticalof
their achievements
and will therefore
require constant
encouragement
and reassurance. They wil! often say '1 know ' when in
fact they may not - reinforcement
and repetition is therefore crucial.
They will want to talk a lot and discuss technical and musical points
much more than children do, and they will probably know quite a lot
about music. Occasionally, you may have to be a little firm with those
adults who question everything you say, or whose awkward manner
begiris to disturb the effectiveness of your teaching.
Clearly. the materials you use will need to be carefully chosen, but there
are a number of methods now available especially written for the adult
beginner. Adults may weIl not progress technically as fast as they would
like, so choose musie that is stimulating
and rewarding to play.
Encourage improvisation. Enter adults for exams only if they are determined and confident - they tend to be much more nervous than children. Adu!ts may like to enter for the ABRSM Performance Assessment a much more gentIe and informal experience with no pass or fail.

What

Next?