University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, January 20, 1987
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Below, Pat Burgstahler has been teaching piano in her home at 1620 Massachusetts St. for 38 years, points out the correct keys. Right: Ginnie Heck, 5, practices a duet with Burgstahler.
Teacher gives incentives for young piano students
In the midst of two restless dogs and an affectionate cat, Pat Burgstahl gives piano lessons in her home at 1620 Massachusetts St.
Burgstahler, almost 32 years old and the mother of five, has taught piano for 38 years, and said she has never tired of it. She now has 24 students, ranging from ages 4 to 15.
"I like to teach, and I like children," she said. "I have a compulsion to teach."
Burgstahler taught herself the basics of piano playing at age 8. Her aunt bought her a beginner's lessons book, and Burgstahler soon had the entire book memorized, and Burgstahler taught her piano with babysitting money and help from her mother.
She began teaching at 14 when she helped a younger sister with piano lessons. Soon, she was teaching a
Years later, she still revels in the faces of her small students concentrating on music pieces.
Burgstahler's other love, her dogs Peggy and Casmir and her cat, Macy, also take part in her piano lessons.
"I love to see how their minds work. It's so beautiful to watch a child at the piano really concentrate and get a beat."
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The house's front room, where Burgstahl teaches,
contains two pianos, one a well-used brown Chickering
and the other a shiny, new black Yamaha. Under one
piano sits Peggy, a small white ball of fluff.
Peggy is the first lesson new students receive. As Burgstahl said, the dog likes to " pick on small children and old ladies." So Burgstahl teaches students how to stamp at Peggy to make the dog scurry to another room. Peggy once gave birth to three puppies during a piano
Peggy once gave birth to three puppies during a piano lesson.
Burgstahler, who teaches the Suzuki method, is an avid believer that any child can learn to play the piano.
"Some students have natural aptitudes for music, but any child can learn. And every child can get pleasure from the music," she said.
The Suzuki method includes constant review and develops the ear, technique and a "beautiful tone quality." Children hear taped music, followed by Burgstahler playing the beginning portion of it. Slowly, by rote, children learn entire musical pieces.
Burgstahl combines Suzuki with theory lessons and conventional music reading. She said most children preferred the Suzuki method to reading sheet music because it required less concentration on individual notes.
By the age of 8, most children have as much reading ability as skill at Suzuki playing. Interestingly, she said, this has little to do with ability but is based solely on age.
Burgstabler also involves parents in the learning process. Until children reach the age of 10 or 11, Burgstabler suggests that parents attend the weekly lesson so they know what parts of the lesson to stress.
Parents also are responsible for creating incentives to motivate younger children to practice the piano, which
"You have to catch the child in the mood or incite him," she said. "Progress depends on how skillful the parent is."
Some parents might offer to buy an ice cream cone for
the child after attending the weekly piano lesson
Burgstaller provides her own incentive to practice by hanging two vertical charts in the form of piano keyboards above the table in the front room. Students place their names on the key that reflects how long they practiced their lessons that week. A student who practices every day works harder on the chart than one who played eight hours a week.
Above: Ginnie, too little to reach the floor, uses steps for balance.
Young children improve their skills and techniques by practicing a little bit here and there throughout the day. Burgstalter said. Their attention spans are too short for them to sit in front of the piano for very long.
"It's not a matter of force, but of setting a time (to practice). You don't need the yelling if you structure the environment," she said.
Burgstahler's husband, Albert, is a KU chemistry professor. The two met in a Lawrence church choir in 1956 and married in 1957.
She received her bachelor of arts degree at Nazareth College in Kalamazoo, Mich.
When not teaching, Burgstafler works as chairman for two music guilds, the Lawrence Area Piano Teacher's School and the Lawrence Area Music Teachers' School.
Above: Burgstahler watches as Ginnie practices a song
Left. Ginnie records how many hours a week she has practiced. Above: Rote memory is the key to the Suzuki piano method. Every time Ginnie correctly plays a measure or a short piece she is allowed to move a bead on an abacus.
Story by Jennifer Forker Photos by Margie Chambers