The Third-Age Piano Class: Challenge, Fun, and Satisfaction for Mature Students of the Piano
Michelle Conda is the Coordinator of Secondary Piano and Piano Pedagogy at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She also teaches an adult piano class for the university’s Communiversity program. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. Adult learning is her focus, as she heads the Adult Learning Committee for the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy.
This issue’s contributor
Jacqueline S. Wright is a retired law librarian and lawyer. She took piano lessons for one year in junior high school. Most of her music education and performance has been in choral music. She sings with her church choir and with the Arkansas Chamber Singers, an auditioned choral group under the direction of Prof. John Erwin.
Adult students never cease to amaze me. Just last week two of my adults volunteered to play for a student recital as part of the Southwest Ohio Music Teachers Fall Festival. This would be incredibly nerve-racking to most people, but both have asked to do it again! For years I have been preaching to leave recitals out of adult piano curriculums. I guess some things I have preached should be thrown out the window!
In my defense, it takes special people to do special things. The people in the following article have found a place to share their talents at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. Jacqueline Wright, the author of this article, is a long-term member of the “Third-Age Piano Class.” I hope you enjoy her insights.
Many thanks to Pamela Pike for starting this extraordinary ensemble! Dr. Pike has shared her photographs of the group, as well as video and audio files of the group’s performances.
The Third-Age Piano Class
by Jacqueline S. Wright
The Third-Age Piano Class at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock is open to “mature” students. Anyone who is age 50 or above or who is at least semi-retired is eligible for the class. The course design encourages an informal group setting for studying the piano. We meet once a week for two hours either in a keyboard piano lab or in any available space with seven portable electronic keyboards provided by the University of Arkansas Little Rock (UALR) Music Department.
Our professor, Dr. Pamela Pike, has a special interest in teaching piano to seniors. Her first piano student was an adult, and when she operated a private studio a quarter of her students were adults. She realized that there is a need to understand the special needs of the older (or “Third Age”) adult if teachers are to be effective with this age group.
The students bring a variety of musical skills to the class. Some have never touched a keyboard, but have always wished to play. Others have studied for several years as youngsters and play quite well. While some participants have played regularly through the years, others left the keyboard for other adventures, only to return in this chapter of their lives to dust off long-dormant musical skills.
Each of us brings a sense of adventure and a desire to accomplish something beautiful. This said, the backgrounds of the participants vary greatly. Bill played violin as a child and was familiar with the treble clef, but he knew nothing about the bass clef. Bob and Jackie had sung with choral groups, so they knew how to count. Jim took piano lessons twice a week for several years as a youngster. When he was big enough to play football he kept up with his piano lessons until one day he came to his lesson with two of his fingers taped together because of a football injury. The teacher told him to go home and not come back until he quit football. Of no surprise, he never went back to his piano lessons, but he has always loved “muddling” on the keys.
Most of the repertoire is scored for piano ensemble. Some of it has an orchestral-type arrangement that allows us to use the various sounds available on the electronic keyboards. Others use the piano sound that, if played correctly, gives the impression of multiple pianos or one piano played by someone with a mastery of the instrument.
The degree of difficulty varies from piece to piece, and also within the individual parts. Sometimes we rotate the parts, giving everyone the choice of which level of difficulty they’d like to play. We’ve found that even the most skilled of the students has something to learn, as none of us have ever played piano in an ensemble before joining this class. We learn to play together, sometimes five or more parts, often two at one keyboard, and this is a real challenge.
One of the characteristics that draws us together is our love of participating in group activities. Bill stated that he didn’t think private lessons would be nearly as much fun! The Third Age Piano Class offers a unique kind of fellowship because our learning is truly a group effort. This is exemplified by Shirley’s excited cry “I got it!” when she mastered a troubling musical phrase. Only in an ensemble class would the entire group care whether Shirley “got it!” Of course, only in an ensemble class would we need to transport seven electronic keyboards. Margaret painstakingly packs up the boxes of wires and connections when the class hauls seven electronic keyboards to an off-campus run-out site.
The off-site performances are great fun, even though they are cumbersome to arrange. When we give a recital on the portable keyboards, they are all attached to one set of speakers. Therefore, if someone makes a mistake, no one can tell who did it – even the one who makes the mistake can’t tell. This in itself helps us all to relax and enjoy the experience.
The longevity of the participants points to the satisfaction we’ve obtained from the Third Age Piano Class. Many people, including Betty, Mary, Shirley, Bob, and Jim, have been in the class for five years, since it first started. We are fortunate that UALR and the music department support this program. The University encourages seniors to be involved in the academic program by waiving tuition for students over sixty years old.
So what keeps us all together year after year, with others always waiting to get in the class? The diverse backgrounds of the class members make an interesting mix. We have a lot of fun together. We enjoy the group action taking place on the keyboards and the feeling of accomplishment when we master a new technique or theory.
The most important glue that holds us together is a positive attitude, both by teacher and student. Negative behaviors are not found, including whining, crying, threatening, demeaning, or just plain acting disgusted! A positive, “you can do it” spirit has pulled us through some pretty difficult musical passages, making us eager for more.
Jim’s teacher, who told him not to come back until he gave up football, would not cut it with this class. She would find herself teaching to an empty room.