After I started reading Mrs. Curwen’s Pianoforte Method – The Teacher’s Guide, I soon realized that the way I had been teaching piano for over a decade could be drastically improved upon. This set me out on a journey to apply Mrs. Curwen’s methods and the change I began to see in my students and my own teaching was immediate and dramatic.
As I continue to read her book and study her lessons, I have tried to place some of her most significant and helpful principles here for anyone else studying the method.
Mrs. Curwen is Annie Jessey Gregg Curwen. She is the daughter-in-law of John Curwen. John Curwen happens to be the man that made sol-fa famous (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do).
“Do tell me who taught you to build your nest,” entreated the thistle, half expecting to give offence, yet wishing to ask the question. But no offence was taken, and the rook, after an instant of grave consideration, replied, “Why, you see, I understand it all, for I am what is called a genius.”