Teaching senior citizens is quite different than teaching children or younger adults. While seniors can be highly motivated students, they must often overcome physical and emotional challenges not typically faced by younger students. For example, many seniors suffer from physical problems such as failing eyesight and/or hearing, arthritis, backaches, body aches, and other problems. Emotionally, many seniors face problems such as depression, frustration, lack of challenge or purpose in their lives and so on. Compounding the problem of these differences is the fact that most piano method books and teaching approaches have been designed for children. Even method books that have been designed for adults are often unsuitable for seniors due to very small print, inappropriate choice of repertoire, etc. Therefore teachers who teach senior citizens must not only understand the unique characteristics of these students, but then must also adapt their methods, materials, and teaching strategies to suit the needs of these students.
