Last week the administration told me that there was going to be a special student. He is 8 year old, but cannot see. And they told me that I would be a good fit for this child because of my “gentle nature”. I had an impression other teachers did not want this child as their student because it would be difficult. But I had a very different idea. I was happy to accept him as my student, in a way, very honored. He would have an excellent hearing, regardless if he has talent in music or not.

The day he came into my studio, I wasn’t nervous or worried at all. The only thing that was different about his lesson was that I did not prepare the curriculum. He was a complete beginner, and usually I would use the book designed for such students with lots of visual activities.

Because I was born with a perfect pitch and learned music mostly through listening, I said I would apply that method to teaching this child.

He came in with his mother, bright and excited. I told him where to sit, and the first thing I taught him was where the middle C was.

One thing I noticed was that he knew the solfège. This was a huge advantage, because using the solfege is a lot more affective to connect the sound with the brain when learning through C, D, E, ect. Each key has its own distinct name, as “do, re, me..” and it’s easier to learn music this way because later on the keys on piano really sounds as if they are singing “do, re, me…” and so on.

He just had to learn the location of the keys through his touches. But as being a child, he was very curious about the piano itself. He asked lots of questions such as “what is this?” as he touched the power button, volume keys, and the buttons that changed the sound of the piano to other instruments.

Although I wasn’t expecting this, I went along with his curiosity. I answered all his questions, and I found him getting excited.

I am doing a ph.D and the first thing that we learned at cohort class in pedagogy was the importance of the lesson plans that are geared toward student-based. I teach each student according to their own interest, demeanor and style, especially the young children. It is crucial as a teacher to gain their trust and nurture their interest in music, and for this specific child it was discovering the mechanics of the machine that he was using.

I tried to see if he would be interested in Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars, as 90% of the students know this song and eager to learn it. To my surprise, he wasn’t that much interested in this song. Rather, he was interested in the different sounds that the piano made, as it is an electronic piano and can produce the sounds of organ, violin and orchestra.

The lesson ended with him learning the sounds of the machine and being happy about it.

Today I have another lesson with him, and will see if he would be interested in learning the melody of Fur Elise.