Adult Talk with Christina Whitlock
Show Notes and Links
Thanks for joining in on my conversation with Christina Whitlock.
Years ago I remember being surprised by a teacher stating that she would never teach adult students. As a young teacher, I was eager to take on as many students as I could and adults were a sweet addition to my roster as their flexible schedules could fill up my daytime hours.
I began teaching adults to make ends meet. Eventually though, teaching adults became an essential part of my studio. And the same holds true for my spotlight guest, Christina.
In today’s episode, Christina and I talk shop about adult students. She gives a brief history of how she began teaching her first adult student at age 14! Yes, I said 14! And she also talks about what she likes so much about teaching them.
In our conversation, we discover that we have similar observations about the struggles adult students encounter on the bench. Christina has some clever labels for different types of adult students and we chat about common mistakes teachers make when teaching adult pianists.
About Christina
Christina Whitlock operates a lively independent piano studio in Muncie, Indiana. She is an adjunct faculty member at Taylor University, teaching piano pedagogy, piano literature, and directing the Center for Musical Development. Christina is a past state president of the Indiana Music Teachers Association and currently serves as Chair of the Independent Music Teachers Forum, amongst other roles. Quite possibly one of the most enthusiastic piano teachers you’ll ever meet, Christina is equally passionate about helping other teachers feel equipped and encouraged. Her podcast, Beyond Measure with Christina Whitlock, serves as a weekly shout-out of solidarity for other independent music teachers. Most importantly, Christina is a wife and a mother to two young daughters who keep her world spinning in all the best ways.
A little about my experience with adult students
I’ve been teaching adults for as long as I’ve been teaching piano.
Here’s one post I wrote back in 2012 listing ten reasons why to teach adults.
And here’s another post honoring a dear adult student who left this earth far too early.
The conversation with Christine brought back some fond memories of adult students I taught about ten years ago who were in their 80s and even their 90s!
Below are two videos of some of them. Both Don and Sarah have since passed away.
Their biggest struggles were
battling enlarged and crooked knuckles from arthritis,
playing enjoyable music that challenged them but realizing that their brains and their bodies could not always meet the demands of the technical requirements as they did in their younger days,
hearing high pitches,
staying in time with accuracy.
My biggest struggles teaching them were
lowering my expectations of accuracy and timing,
remaining positive as students struggled with aging bodies and brains,
putting away my standard approach used for K-12 students,
expecting that they knew how and would remember how to practice,
moving from chit chat to lesson time.
One of the many duets I played with Sarah. She passed at age 94. I began teaching her at age 88. She kept herself extremely busy at the piano!
These two called themselves the Octogenarian Duo. Don, a World War II vet, usually played secondo because his right ear (his rifle ear) was hard of hearing and couldn’t discern high pitches.
Books mentioned:
Music Teacher Turbo Boost
The five-day event will get you up and moving.
All sessions are only fifteen minutes long and there’s plenty of time to chat with teacher friends around the world.
The last day is dedicated to balance and I’ll be sharing how six-week sprints can help you find more balance. It’s a system that morphs overwhelm to organized. You’ll discover how to design sprints for your studio that include clear, achievable goals with themes that activate student engagement and guarantee progress.
And, you’ll also learn why being off balance is really not so bad.
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I’m honored that you’ve given me your time and your ears. :-)
