Often times, students are taught to practice for n # of minutes or hours, and that repetition is key in order to play a song correctly. However, I realized that if I asked the student to read and play the hardest part of the song first, this becomes more valuable. Why? It removes the frustration and thought of not being able to play the entire piece.
Students will want to keep practicing the easy parts to feel good and confident about learning, and then they tense up when they approach the hard sections. The look of dread and nervousness can be seen on their faces.
What happens is, all the easy parts would be played correctly, and then they stumble on the harder sections and make mistakes. The memory of those mistakes become engrained in their brains and it’s very hard to correct after several repetitions. Imagine the students making those same mistakes throughout the week before their next lesson. The % of successfully playing that song is low.
Piano UX (user experience) tip #1:
If you tackle the difficult scenario first, you remove the uncertainty of success. This builds confidence in your students, since the hardest part is over. As a result, this allows them to develop better learning retention. A positive domino effect naturally evolves as they learn new songs.
CHOhesive 